I have always thought of red velvet cake as the fancy chocolate cake. Why? Maybe because I have this idea in my head that due to its deep, rich red color, it's somehow better than any other chocolate cake. Or because of the sweet cream cheese frosting it is just a tastebud explosion. So I decided to transform the oh so wonderful cake into a cookie. I believe that it is on a level all of its own, and it's absolutely perfect for a Valentine's Day treat!

These red velvet cookies are some of the softest cookies I have ever had. They combine the wonderful ooey gooey-ness of a chocolate chip cookie with the moist, chewiness of an oatmeal raisin cookie, so they are obviously impossible to resist. Their flavor isn't an overwhelmingly sweet one, although at first I thought that they might be, with all of the chocolate, m&ms and red coloring that is in them. The flavor is a perfect mix of cocoa and vanilla, because there is so much more to this red velvet cookie than sugar and cocoa. The addition of a little bit of milk enhances the other tastes in this cookie besides its delicious chocolate goodness!

Who would have thought that these red velvet cookies would be a new household favorite, but after my fiancé confessed that he wanted to make ice cream sandwiches out of these, I knew that I had to share this recipe with you! Maybe because the cakes are always loaded with cream cheese frosting they don't get the correct recognition, but our tummies are sure glad that I made these naked red velvet cookies!

Yield: 30 cookies

ingredients

Butter—9 oz, or 18 TBL, or 1C + 2 TBL

Sugar—6.5 oz, or 2/3 cup

Brown Sugar—6.5 oz, or 2.3 cup + 2 TBL

Eggs—3.8 oz, or 2

Vanilla—4.6 g, or 1 tsp

Flour—15 oz, or 2.5 cup + 2 TBL

Baking Soda—5.3 g, or 1 tsp

Salt—7 g, or 1 tsp

Cocoa Powder—2.5oz, or ½ cup + 2 TBL

Milk—1 oz, or 2.5 TBL

Red Gel Food Coloring—about .7 oz or 1 tube

Chocolate chips (or M&Ms)—1.5 cup, or 10 oz

process

Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and vanilla.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Slowly add to the creamed mixture.

Sift the cocoa powder, add to the mixing bowl.

Add the milk. The dough will seem a bit sticky, which is okay because you will be refrigerating it!

Add the chocolate chips and/or m&ms.

Add one tube of red food coloring. *This is when personal preference comes in! If you want them really red, use even more than a tube! Looking to go subtler, then use less. I love the warm, darker red that I got with using one entire tube of color. You choose how red you want your “velvet!”

Refrigerate the dough for about an hour, or overnight if preferred.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 F.

Roll the dough into 1.5 oz balls, about 3 tablespoons.

Place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray, and bake for 14 minutes.