Description
These Red Velvet Blossom Cookies are a festive and delightful treat featuring a soft, cocoa-infused red velvet dough rolled in colorful sprinkles and topped with a melting Dove chocolate heart center. Perfect for holidays, parties, or gifting, these cookies bring a beautiful pop of color and rich flavor with every bite.
Ingredients
Scale
Chocolate Center
- 36 Dove Chocolate Hearts (1) 8.87 ounces package
Cookie Dough
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon red food coloring
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For Rolling
- Red sprinkling sugar and/or sprinkles
Instructions
- Freeze Chocolate Hearts: Place the Dove Chocolate Hearts into the freezer for at least an hour so they won’t melt too quickly when added to the warm cookies.
- Prepare Oven and Baking Sheet: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking and ensure even baking.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, beat the room temperature butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. This will create a smooth base for the cookie dough.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Mix in the egg, milk, red food coloring, and pure vanilla extract until the mixture is well blended and evenly colored.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and kosher salt to evenly distribute the leavening and flavorings.
- Incorporate Dry Into Wet: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing just until blended to avoid overworking the dough which can toughen the cookies.
- Shape and Roll Dough Balls: Using a tablespoon, scoop the dough and form into 1-inch balls. Roll each dough ball in red sprinkling sugar or sprinkles, coating them nicely, then place them spaced on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes until the edges are set but the centers are still soft.
- Add Chocolate Hearts to Cookies: Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately press one frozen Dove Chocolate Heart into the center of each cookie, allowing it to melt slightly into the warm dough.
- Cool Completely: Transfer the cookies from the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool completely, which helps the chocolate set properly and the cookie to firm up.
Notes
- Dove Chocolate Hearts are preferred due to their size and melting quality, but Hershey’s Chocolate Hearts can be used if desired, noting they are larger and affect the cookie to chocolate ratio.
- For easier rolling with sprinkles, keep the dough at room temperature instead of refrigerated. Refrigerated dough may cause sprinkles to have difficulty sticking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
