#fbcookieswap ~ Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

This is my first year participating in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap - and what a great cause! For a small donation I am joining MANY other bloggers from all over in raising money for a fantastic cause "Cookies For Kids' Cancer". This amazing program has some great sponsors as well including Dixie Crystals, OXO, and Land 'O Lakes who all sent some thoughtful and kind gifts just for participating this year. I hope you will visit the website and consider joining in the festivities and fun next year if you missed out this year.

This year I sent these white chocolate chip studded Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies to: Julie Goes Healthy, Bake At Home Mama, and Bests and Bites. I received Oatmeal Pecan Cookies from This Tasty Life, Sorghum Ginger Cookies from Justina at Fail Sweetly, and both Sprinkled Fudge Bites and Chocolate Crinkle Cookies from Melissa at Persnickety Plates! What a beautiful cookie tray we've had to munch on for the past couple weeks (I admit, I kind of was a huge sucker for the oatmeal cookies... I think I ate all of them by myself).

These lovely red velvet crinkle cookies pack a beautiful visual punch to go along with their tender, moist interiors with a lightly chocolaty taste accented with bites of white chocolate dispersed throughout. I was very happy with how these came out and was happy to share them. I hope those who received their dozen enjoyed them as much as we did! I did discover that you have to roll them pretty heavily in the powdered sugar to get that "pop" of white for the crinkle effect. My first batch were pretty muted in color comparatively.

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies from Cooking Classy

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 TBS milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla
2 tsp lemon juice
4-5 tsp red food coloring
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt and then set aside. 
2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Mix in milk, vanilla bean paste, lemon juice and red food coloring. 
3. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Stir in white chocolate chips. 
4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill 2 hours or until firm enough to shape into balls.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
6. Pour powdered sugar into a bowl. Remove dough from refrigerator, scoop dough out and with buttered hands (I used a quick blast of cooking spray on mine to keep the dough from sticking), shape into medium balls (about 2 1/2 TBS each). Roll cookie dough balls heavily in powdered sugar, coating them evenly. 
7. Set them on a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet and flatten slightly with the back of a spoon and then bake in the preheated oven for 13 - 14 minutes. 
8. Allow cookies to rest on the baking sheet several minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.