Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy New Year!

So many blog posts to catch up on, and so little time. But I figured that I could at least kick off 2015 by posting a couple of the recipes that I actually got around to taking photos of during the holidays.

We had plans to get together with my grandma and aunt the weekend before Christmas. My mom was making us a nice dinner, and she asked if I could bring a dessert. I wanted something festive and fun, but also needed something easy—my to-do list was long at this point, and there just weren’t enough hours in the day. Red velvet is Christmasy… but a cake was not in the cards. But cookies? I could handle these.

They turned out a little less chewy than I would’ve liked—they were pretty firm—but I think I may have overbaked them a little. It’s tough to gauge “browning” on a bright red cookie! :) Next time, I will take them out of the oven a couple of minutes earlier. Also, my first batch of cookies that came out of the oven was kind of rough looking, with “sharp,” jagged tops on them (you can see a few of those over to the right and bottom of the platter in the pic). For the subsequent batches, I used the palm of my hand to flatten out the cookie slightly before baking, and that helped make them prettier. All in all, a good cookie—and unique!

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Source: The Nifty Foodie)

Ingredients:
– 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
– 2 1/2 tbsp. cocoa powder
– 1 tsp. cornstarch
– 3/4 tsp. baking powder
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 1/2 cup butter, softened
– 1 cup granulated sugar
– 1 tsp. distilled white vinegar
– 1 large egg
– 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
– 1 1/2 tsp. red food coloring
– 3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.

2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Set this aside.

3. Using a stand mixer, mix together the butter, sugar and vinegar for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg and scrape down the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and food coloring and mix until just blended.

4. With the mixer on low, add in the dry ingredients and mix until everything is just combined. Using a spatula, mix in the white chocolate chips.

5. Using a medium sized cookie scoop, scoop the dough out onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie for baking. Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes, and allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Then, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.