These Sourdough Red Velvet Cookies are soft and tender with a striking deep red hue from all-natural beet powder. Made with sourdough discard, they have a subtle tang that pairs perfectly with a luscious cream cheese frosting. I dressed these up for Valentine’s Day but don’t let that stop you from making them any time of year.
Jump to:
- Why I love this recipe
- Ingredients and Substitutions
- Baking with sourdough discard
- How to make Sourdough Red Velvet Cookies
- Step 1: Make the cookie dough
- Step 2: Shape and bake
- Step 3: Decorate the cookies
- Baker's Tips
- Recipe FAQs
- You may also like
- Sourdough Red Velvet Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Mimi is back with another delicious cookie! This is the fourth cookie in our collection of recipes. One of the best parts of our collaboration is the opportunity to test and refine each recipe before sharing it! Check out our other cookie recipes, Sourdough Cranberry Biscotti, Sourdough Molasses Cookies, Sourdough Jam Thumbprints and Sourdough Chocolate Shortbread Cookies.
Why I love this recipe
- Makes monster-sized soft, cakey red velvet cookies.
- Topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting.
- Great way to use excess sourdough discard.
- Quick and easy, one-bowl cookie dough.
Ingredients and Substitutions
All-purpose flour: The low protein content of all-purpose flour imparts a soft texture to these cookies. Do not substitute another type of flour in this recipe. Need help figuring out which flour to use in your recipes? Check out my post on, The Best Flour for Sourdough.
Sourdough discard: Both active starter and sourdough discard work for this recipe. If you don’t have a sourdough starter, add 28 grams flour and 28 grams water to your dough.
Beet powder: This recipe was developed using Suncore Foods Beet Powder. You can sub gel food color, adding ¾ teaspoon to the dough.
Salted butter: Mimi developed this recipe using salted butter, add an additional ½ teaspoon salt to the recipe if you use unsalted butter.
Freeze-dried strawberries: I used ground freeze-dried strawberries for my colored frosting since it is readily available at most grocery stores. If you can get your hands on them Mimi developed this recipe using strawberry powder and raspberry powder.
Sprinkles and sanding sugars: I finished these cookies with heart-shaped sprinkles and red sanding sugar for an added decorative flair, but these are totally optional.
See recipe card for detailed ingredient information.
Baking with sourdough discard
Sourdough discard is any portion of your sourdough starter not used to make bread. Instead of throwing it away, you can store it long-term or make other sourdough discard recipes like Sourdough Sugar Cookies, Sourdough Discard Pretzel Rolls, and Sourdough Discard Sausage Rolls.
The addition of sourdough discard contributes a rich and nuanced flavor to these cookies. Since the sourdough starter is used solely for flavor, there's no need to activate or feed it and you can use it directly from the refrigerator.
How to make Sourdough Red Velvet Cookies
Step 1: Make the cookie dough
Cream the butter, vanilla and sugar using a hand mixer or stand mixer until no chunks of butter remain. Add in the wet and dry ingredients and mix until the dough looks uniform and no streaks remain. The dough should look quite wet and may resemble brownie batter, but don’t worry this is totally normal.
Step 2: Shape and bake
Divide the dough into 12 even portions (I used a large cookie scoop). Lightly oil your hands to roll the dough into balls. Bake the cookies at 375 F for 13 to 15 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool completely.
Use a cookie scoop
Using a cookie scoop helps evenly portion this wet, sticky dough for uniform cookies. If you don’t have one, two spoons work just as well—use one to scoop and the other to help drop the dough onto the baking sheet.
Step 3: Decorate the cookies
Make the cream cheese frosting, then transfer a small amount into two separate bowls. Mix one with beet powder and the other with strawberry powder for naturally tinted frosting. Transfer each to a piping bag. Frost the cookies with the plain cream cheese frosting, then place them frosting-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 30 minutes to set the frosting. Peel the cookies off and decorate with the colored frosting.
Baker's Tips
- Weigh your ingredients. Measuring by weight is much more accurate than by volume (with tablespoons and cups).
- Both sourdough discard and active sourdough starter will work for this recipe.
- This recipe was developed using salted butter, add an additional ½ teaspoon salt to your cookie dough if you choose to use unsalted butter.
- Don’t over bake these cookies or they will dry out and lose their chocolate flavor.
- These cookies taste best when served at room temperature.
Recipe FAQs
Sourdough discard is any portion of your starter removed during the feeding process or any part not used to leaven sourdough bread. You can use it in other bakes and dishes or store it in the refrigerator.
Yes! This cookie dough is naturally soft and slightly wet—that’s completely normal. It should still roll easily without sticking to your hands. If needed, lightly coat your hands with a bit of oil to make handling the dough easier.
Your butter may have been too cold, which can affect the texture of the dough. For best results, ensure your butter is fully softened and at room temperature before starting the recipe.
All-natural cocoa powder is acidic and can cause the cookies to rise more than intended. This recipe was developed with Dutch-processed cocoa powder, which has a neutral pH and will not react with the baking powder in this recipe. For the best results, I recommend using Dutch-processed cocoa.
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Sourdough Red Velvet Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Equipment
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Ingredients
Dough
- 113 grams salted butter softened
- 170 grams cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 57 grams sourdough discard
- 57 grams milk
- 57 grams cream cheese
- 191 grams all purpose flour
- 28 grams Dutch cocoa powder sifted
- 1 tablespoon beet powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Frosting
- 85 grams salted butter softened
- 85 grams cream cheese
- 212 grams powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Beet powder
- ½ teaspoon Strawberry powder
- ½ teaspoon Raspberry powder
Click US Customary to view volume measurements
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Make the dough: Cream the butter, vanilla extract and sugar with a stand mixer or a hand mixer. Mix on low until combined and there are no butter chunks.113 grams salted butter, 170 grams cane sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the sourdough discard, milk, and cream cheese. Then add the flour, cocoa powder, beet powder, baking powder, and sea salt in that order. Mix on low until combined into a smooth cookie dough.57 grams sourdough discard, 57 grams milk, 57 grams cream cheese, 191 grams all purpose flour, 28 grams Dutch cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon beet powder, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Shape the cookie dough: Using your hands, or a cookie scoop, form the dough into 12 balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten them so they are about 2 ¼-inches in diameter. Space evenly apart, you’ll have 6 cookies per sheet.
- Bake: Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the tops look cracked and the edges look dry. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheets before frosting.
- Make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix on low until combined, then speed mixer up to high and whip for 2 to 3 minutes or until it’s light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl part way through to ensure everything is combined.85 grams salted butter softened, 85 grams cream cheese, 212 grams powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Reserve a small amount of frosting (a few tablespoons) into small bowls for the decorating frosting. Transfer the cream cheese frosting to a piping bag.
- Frost the cookies: Pipe dollops of frosting on top of each cookie. Then turn the cookies upside down and smash them against the parchment paper. Place the tray in the freezer to set the frosting. This will take about 30 minutes, the cookies should remove from the parchment paper easily without sticking.
- Add the beet powder and strawberry powder, and raspberry powder to each of the 3 bowls reserved with frosting. You can add less for more pastel colors or more for brighter colors. Mix it up. If the frosting seems dry, add a few drops of milk. If you add more color, you’ll need a bit more milk to make it smooth. Transfer the colored frosting to piping bags.½ teaspoon Beet powder, ½ teaspoon Strawberry powder, ½ teaspoon Raspberry powder
- Pipe hearts, XOXO, or other Valentine’s Day-themed decorations on the cookies. Do this however you like.
- These cookies taste best at room temperature. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Tips
These recipes were developed and tested using grams for precise measurements. To increase your chances of success, I recommend investing in a kitchen scale. I've included rough volume estimates (in tablespoons and cups), but they might not be totally accurate.
Remember all ovens are unique, these recipes were tested in my oven which runs cooler than others. You might need to lower the temperature if your bake appears to be browning too quickly. Monitor your bake closely and make adjustments if needed.
Notes
- Make sure your baking powder is not expired before attempting this recipe.
- Both sourdough discard and active sourdough starter will work for this recipe.
- This recipe was developed using salted butter, add an additional ½ teaspoon salt to your cookie dough if you choose to use unsalted butter.
- Don’t overbake these cookies or they will dry out and lose their chocolate flavor.
- These cookies taste best when served at room temperature.
- Store these cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Let them warm up for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition info provided are estimates.
Did you make this recipe? Do you have questions? Let me know below!