Red velvet is one of those things that tends to evoke lots of strong opinions. Even though it’s true that the original red velvet cakes were just slightly red-tinged because of the hint of cocoa powder (it’s not really a super chocolate cake), I like mine really red. Ruby red. It doesn’t change the taste, of course (because that would be gross), but it does change my eating experience. If you don’t want/can’t have the food coloring? Leave it out. These gluten free red velvet chocolate chip cookies are based on my recipe for gluten free soft batch CCCs, but—I’m gonna say it—better. *gasp*
There’s something about the hint of cocoa, the red color, the slight tang from some apple cider vinegar and just the right amount of white chocolate chips that makes these cookies … just my thing.
And, of course, since they’re soft batch, they really do taste like they’re just right out of the oven. But without the ooey gooeyness. I like my cookies to stay together, and cookies that are actually right out of the oven? They don’t do that. If you like to eat them right out of the oven, though, I won’t judge. That’s the beauty of the Internet, sometimes. I won’t even know!
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
2 tablespoons (10 g) cocoa powder (I have tried it with natural cocoa powder, like Hershey’s, and Dutch-processed cocoa powder—both work just fine)
3 tablespoons (24 g) cornstarch (can’t have cornstarch? try arrowroot and let us know how it goes!)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup (133 g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 tablespoons (60 g) vegetable shortening (I use Spectrum nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 egg (60 g, out of shell) + 1 egg yolk (30 g) at room temperature, beaten
Red gel food coloring (Americolor brand is gluten free) – NOT liquid
1 cup (6 ounces) white chocolate chips, tossed with 1 teaspoon cornstarch (or another starch)
Directions
Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper, and set them aside.
In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the brown sugar, and whisk again to combine, working to break up any lumps. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, shortening, vinegar, vanilla and eggs, mixing to combine after each addition. Add about 1/8 teaspoon of the gel food coloring, and mix to combine. The color should be a relatively deep red color, as it will fade during baking. Add more food coloring in very small amounts, if necessary, to reach the desired color (see photo). Add the chocolate chips tossed in cornstarch, and mix until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Divide the dough into about 20 pieces and roll each into a tight ball, each about 1-inch in diameter. Place the balls of dough in the freezer until firm (about 10 minutes). Place the balls of dough about 2 inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheets (they will spread during baking). Bake for 11 minutes, or until the cookies are just set in the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Love, Me
P.S. Do you have your copy of Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Breadyet? If you’re baking away, snap some photos of your baking successes from the book! Then send them to me at contact [at] glutenfreeonashoestring [dot] com & I’ll include them in an upcoming post featuring YOUR gluten free bread!
What is the consistency of the batter supposed to be? I tried making these and it felt like something was missing (like another liquid, or another egg or something…). It wasn’t like regular cookie dough at all, it was really crumbly and didn’t stay together. Is it supposed to be like that? And I couldn’t get mine to turn red at all with the food coloring.
Nothing is missing from the recipe, April. The 11 total tablespoons of shortening and butter, plus the egg and egg yolk, provide plenty of moisture. My guess is that either your ingredients were not at room temperature when you made the recipe (fats will not properly incorporate into dry ingredients if they are not at room temperature, or that you used a flour blend that is too high in starch. As for the food coloring, as stated in the recipe, you need to use a gel food coloring. Those are pretty potent, and don’t change the chemistry of the recipe. Good luck!
April
January 6, 2014 at 12:33 PM
Hmmm… not sure then. All my ingredients were definitely at room temp but I had tons of trouble getting the butter and shortening mixed it. I guess that was the problem… I also used a gel food coloring but if I was having trouble with the butter & shortening, that would explain why it didn’t mix in properly. I used Better Batter also; is that too starchy? I will have to try again :)
April
January 6, 2014 at 12:36 PM
Scratch the questions about Better Batter, it’s listed that you used it.
First, thanks so much for this great recipe. My daughter loves red velvet anything and her birthday is in a week. We’ve been trying to figure out what to make her. Now, here is where I tell you how I completely altered your perfect recipe. While I’m highly gluten intolerant, my daughter has severe fructose malabsorption with mild gluten intolerance. She can’t have wheat (rye or barley either) because of the fructans in them. The gluten she could probably tolerate in some moderation. My daughter can’t have brown sugar since molasses is a huge no-no. We bake mostly with dextrose and not sugar (since it is half fructose), but small amounts of pure cane sugar are tolerable. So, I did 1/2 cup of cane sugar, and 2/3 cup of dextrose. I had to up the liquid content in the recipe because dextrose absorbs more than sugar. So, 8 tbsp of butter and 2 tsp of water. She also can’t have the apple cider vinegar (nothing apple.. ever), so I used rice vinegar. I used unsweetened 100% cacao baking chocolate cut into pieces. And.. the big kicker.. she can’t have gel food coloring (corn syrup), so we just went without the coloring.
I’m sure it tastes entirely different than you planned, but it is wonderful to us. We will probably try it with dark chocolate chips next time, since she can’t have milk chocolate at all, not even semi-sweet. Still, these cookies aren’t lasting long and she has hit her sugar load for the day just on the cookies. My daughter also wants me to try making it into a cookie cake for her actual birthday. We’ll see how that works out. At any rate, thank you very much for the wonderful recipe. Most recipes don’t survive our modifications very well at all. I’m not good at developing recipes and barely competent at altering them. We depend so much on your GF recipes for our food.
Hi, Christy, I’m so glad that you were able to adapt this recipe to suit your daughter’s dietary needs. I admire your fortitude, and am happy to be able to provide you with a base recipe you can work with! Thank you so much for the kind words. :)
What happens if the eggs aren’t at room temperature?
Anneke
January 2, 2014 at 8:55 PM
Hi Janelle — I’ll jump in here and say that they need to be at room temperature because it makes a difference. Cookies are very sensitive! I am a terrible cookie baker, but when I follow Nicole’s directions, I have much better luck. The good news is that you can bring eggs to room temperature pretty fast by putting them in a cup of warm water for a few minutes, while you are getting everything else ready. Hope that helps!
Michelle
January 2, 2014 at 5:37 PM
My family loved (and inhaled) the soft batch chic chip cookies, and I know they will love these, too. Great idea!
Mare Masterson
January 2, 2014 at 3:14 PM
Just spoke with Larry at Montana’s Gifts of Nature and ordered my Expandex. He is a delightful man! Have you ever used their GF flour blend? It appears to be cheaper and includes Xantham Gum.
Hi, Mare, Glad you got in touch with Larry. Yes, he’s a great guy. I have not tried their all purpose gluten free flour blend, but it has chickpea flour and is not at all like the blends that I use and recommend. It might be a very nice blend, but I’m afraid I don’t recommend it for my recipes. Sorry!
Mare Masterson
January 2, 2014 at 3:44 PM
Yeah, not a fan of pea flour either. Oh well.
laura
January 2, 2014 at 3:08 PM
what would you recommend for a substitution for the brown sugar? honey? agave? i’m new to the gluten free/sugar free way and am trying to add a few treats to my list. :-) blessings ~*~
I’m afraid that you can’t substitute anything for the brown sugar and granulated sugar in this recipe and get a comparable result. If you are looking to bake without refined sugars, I’d take a look at my Paleo recipes.
rachel
January 2, 2014 at 1:08 PM
apparently you can read minds I have been looking for this recipe but could only find ones that had cream cheese in them. Thank you !!!!!!
Of course these look sooo yummy and they will be perfect for our next holiday that will come upon us!! So festive! I am baking a loaf of the English muffin bread today – so I’ll take some pics. Cross your fingers for me!! :)
HELLO! I’m Nicole! I make gluten-free food enjoyable & affordable. If they can make it with gluten, we can make it without. That’s a promise!
Comments are closed.
What is the consistency of the batter supposed to be? I tried making these and it felt like something was missing (like another liquid, or another egg or something…). It wasn’t like regular cookie dough at all, it was really crumbly and didn’t stay together. Is it supposed to be like that? And I couldn’t get mine to turn red at all with the food coloring.
Nothing is missing from the recipe, April. The 11 total tablespoons of shortening and butter, plus the egg and egg yolk, provide plenty of moisture. My guess is that either your ingredients were not at room temperature when you made the recipe (fats will not properly incorporate into dry ingredients if they are not at room temperature, or that you used a flour blend that is too high in starch. As for the food coloring, as stated in the recipe, you need to use a gel food coloring. Those are pretty potent, and don’t change the chemistry of the recipe. Good luck!
Hmmm… not sure then. All my ingredients were definitely at room temp but I had tons of trouble getting the butter and shortening mixed it. I guess that was the problem… I also used a gel food coloring but if I was having trouble with the butter & shortening, that would explain why it didn’t mix in properly. I used Better Batter also; is that too starchy? I will have to try again :)
Scratch the questions about Better Batter, it’s listed that you used it.
First, thanks so much for this great recipe. My daughter loves red velvet anything and her birthday is in a week. We’ve been trying to figure out what to make her. Now, here is where I tell you how I completely altered your perfect recipe.
While I’m highly gluten intolerant, my daughter has severe fructose malabsorption with mild gluten intolerance. She can’t have wheat (rye or barley either) because of the fructans in them. The gluten she could probably tolerate in some moderation.
My daughter can’t have brown sugar since molasses is a huge no-no. We bake mostly with dextrose and not sugar (since it is half fructose), but small amounts of pure cane sugar are tolerable. So, I did 1/2 cup of cane sugar, and 2/3 cup of dextrose. I had to up the liquid content in the recipe because dextrose absorbs more than sugar. So, 8 tbsp of butter and 2 tsp of water. She also can’t have the apple cider vinegar (nothing apple.. ever), so I used rice vinegar. I used unsweetened 100% cacao baking chocolate cut into pieces. And.. the big kicker.. she can’t have gel food coloring (corn syrup), so we just went without the coloring.
I’m sure it tastes entirely different than you planned, but it is wonderful to us. We will probably try it with dark chocolate chips next time, since she can’t have milk chocolate at all, not even semi-sweet. Still, these cookies aren’t lasting long and she has hit her sugar load for the day just on the cookies. My daughter also wants me to try making it into a cookie cake for her actual birthday. We’ll see how that works out.
At any rate, thank you very much for the wonderful recipe. Most recipes don’t survive our modifications very well at all. I’m not good at developing recipes and barely competent at altering them. We depend so much on your GF recipes for our food.
Hi, Christy,
I’m so glad that you were able to adapt this recipe to suit your daughter’s dietary needs. I admire your fortitude, and am happy to be able to provide you with a base recipe you can work with! Thank you so much for the kind words. :)
[…] Soft red velvet chocolate chip cookies. […]
What happens if the eggs aren’t at room temperature?
Hi Janelle — I’ll jump in here and say that they need to be at room temperature because it makes a difference. Cookies are very sensitive! I am a terrible cookie baker, but when I follow Nicole’s directions, I have much better luck. The good news is that you can bring eggs to room temperature pretty fast by putting them in a cup of warm water for a few minutes, while you are getting everything else ready. Hope that helps!
My family loved (and inhaled) the soft batch chic chip cookies, and I know they will love these, too. Great idea!
Just spoke with Larry at Montana’s Gifts of Nature and ordered my Expandex. He is a delightful man! Have you ever used their GF flour blend? It appears to be cheaper and includes Xantham Gum.
Hi, Mare, Glad you got in touch with Larry. Yes, he’s a great guy. I have not tried their all purpose gluten free flour blend, but it has chickpea flour and is not at all like the blends that I use and recommend. It might be a very nice blend, but I’m afraid I don’t recommend it for my recipes. Sorry!
Yeah, not a fan of pea flour either. Oh well.
what would you recommend for a substitution for the brown sugar? honey? agave? i’m new to the gluten free/sugar free way and am trying to add a few treats to my list. :-)
blessings
~*~
Hi, Laura,
I’m afraid that you can’t substitute anything for the brown sugar and granulated sugar in this recipe and get a comparable result. If you are looking to bake without refined sugars, I’d take a look at my Paleo recipes.
apparently you can read minds I have been looking for this recipe but could only find ones that had cream cheese in them.
Thank you !!!!!!
I wish I could, rachel! It appears I just got lucky, though. ;)
No, you totally can read minds.
YUM! Oh I cannot wait to make them (sans the food coloring)
I’m a sans food coloring gal, too, Mare. ;)
These look amazing and my SIL is obsessed with red velvet.
They look good… Unfortunately difficult to bake free of gluten, egg, dairy, corn and low carb. I am missing baking :(
Paleo recipes might work for you, Gaylene, except for the egg-free thing. Vegan Paleo is not easy!
Do you have a suggestion for what to use in place of the xantham gum? I’m in the group of folks who get stomach upset from gums :-(
I’m afraid I don’t, Kristin. Sorry!
Of course these look sooo yummy and they will be perfect for our next holiday that will come upon us!! So festive!
I am baking a loaf of the English muffin bread today – so I’ll take some pics. Cross your fingers for me!! :)
You don’t need me to cross my fingers, Jennifer! You’ll do great no matter what. I believe in you. That’s better than luck. ;)
It turned out SUPER fab and it is soooo yummy. Everyone raved about it at our “Brinner” (breakfast for dinner) last night.
The English muffin bread is the one that I keep making over and over. That stuff is SO good! Even better as toast:)
You don’t need me to cross my fingers, Jennifer! You’ll do great no matter what. I believe in you. That’s better than luck. ;)