July 10, 2021
Red Velvet Cookie Bars!
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Easy and delicious red velvet cookie bars, stuffed with white chocolate chips! One of the best cookies, in traybake form!
Red velvet
Red velvet is just one of those things that I love… its basically a chocolate and slightly vanilla flavoured cake, that is red! Traditionally its a sponge cake, and the red normally comes from a certain cocoa powder, or even beetroot!
However, for these red velvet cookie bars, it is food colouring. People love the idea of red velvet, and so do I – but when thinking of cookies, or cookie bars – the realistic part to make the recipe super easy is to use regular cocoa powder, and food colouring.
Cookie bars
Cookie bars are one of my favourite things in general, and this is obvious by how many of them are on my blog! Some of my favourites are my Mini Egg cookie bars at Easter time, or even my millionaires cookie bars – they are so customisable!
I used a very similar version of my NYC red velvet cookies for this recipe because I am utterly in love with it, and I don’t want to mess with it! Some bits change however, such as not needing to use baking powder.
Food colouring
For the cookie dough, it really is so similar because it works. I use this red food colouring for these, and this is so important. Just like in all my other red velvet bakes, I use the same food colouring as its so strong, and you don’t need much at all!
The annoying thing about some food colourings, is that they are awful! Any brand you can get from the supermarket is just not good enough. I always get comments saying “I tried this but it stayed brown” and its always because supermarket colours were used. I wish they were better, but they really are not.
Cocoa powder and chocolate
Another question I often get, is what cocoa powder I use. There are quite a few delicious ones you can buy at the supermarket, but I bake so often I that I bulk buy! I use this cocoa powder which you can buy online, or in wholesalers often! It has also been through the dutching process.
For the chocolate chips, you can use whatever you like. Just like in my NYC Red velvet cookies though, I like using white chocolate chips because of the contrast to the red cookie dough, and I also love the sweet flavour of the white chocolate with the taste of the cookie dough.
You can of course, use whatever you want! You can use a chopped up bar of chocolate, you can use supermarket branded chocolate chips (although they are a lot smaller!) or anything! I always use the callets as they are a good size and I love how they look in the bake, but I get peoples opinions on chip size varies!
Enjoy!
Honestly though, I hope you love these red velvet cookie bars. They are so simple to make, 100% worth the red food colouring purchase, and you will want to gobble up several yourself.
For more red velvet recipes, be sure to visit my website. There are cupcakes, cookies, a loaf cake and even some delicious truffles for everyone to try. Enjoy the recipe, any questions, leave them below in the comments! Jane x
Red Velvet Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 125 g unsalted butter
- 100 g light brown soft sugar
- 75 g white granulated sugar
- 1 medium egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp red food colouring (See below)
- 265 g plain flour
- 15 g cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 300 g white chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan, and line a 9x9" square tin with parchment paper.
- Add the butter, light brown soft sugar and white granulated sugar to a bowl and beat together until creamy - I use my stand mixer with the beater attachment!
- Add in the egg, vanilla extract and red food colouring and beat again.
- Add in the plain flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, and sea salt and beat until a cookie dough is formed!
- Add in the white chocolate chips and beat until they are distributed well!
- Press the cookie dough into the lined tin.
- Bake the cookie bars in the oven for 18-22 minutes, or until the top of the dough looks dry.
- Once baked, leave them to cool in the tray.
- ENJOY!
Notes
- Once baked, these will last for 4-5+ days!
- I recommend using this red food colouring!
- Pre warning... liquid/supermarket colourings do NOT work.
- I use this white chocolate in my baking!
- If you can't access one of the sugars, use all of the other one - i.e. all granulated, or all light brown sugar. Using other sugars can change the texture.
- This recipe is based on my red velvet NYC cookie recipe!
- I recommend this tin!
ENJOY!
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J x
© Jane’s Patisserie. All images & content are copyright protected. Do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and credit me, or link back to this post for the recipe.
I have made these twice now and they’ve been excellent both times! Definitely listen to Jane’s advice regarding food colouring. I love these!
I’m still learning to bake properly, but I made this recipe and OMG! It came out PERFECT!!! And of course, ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!! Thank you very much!
I usually give store-bought cake to the school bake-sale, but these Cookie Bars, I’ll be proud to give to the school bakesale, and say “I baked it myself “… xxxx
Hi,
Mine turned out more like cake, any idea why?
Hiya! This could be down to incorrect ingredients, or even how it was mixed. Hope this helps! x
Foolproof recipes, guaranteed perfection.
Hey could I do this with the Oreo nyc recipe if I remove the baking powder?? As id really like to give it a go!! X
Yes you can!
Hi, this is the second time I have tried to make a cookie bar recipe from yourself. The first time was the kinder cookie bars and now these red velvet ones – both times they came out find, had a lovely chewy and soft texture but tasted of pure flour. I made sure this time to make sure everything was fully combined, I weighed out all of my ingredients to a T and they still just lacked flavour and tasted like flour. Am I doing something wrong?
Apologies if I’ve missed this information but is it possible to freeze this recipe, if so at what stage. Thanks
Yes absolutely! You can freeze it raw or baked for up to 3 months – but if baking from raw, remember to add 1-2 mins to baking time! Hope this helps! x
Hi jane love you and your baking & cake skills!!!quick one i have the sugar flair red colouring but it is chocolate colouring??? Would that be okay to use?
Is the middle bit meant to be fudgy or dry?
Mine are fudgy but actually quite nice 🙈
Should the consistency in the middle of the bar be quite fudgy? Or dry?
Mine is quite fudgy but still quite nice 🙈
These cookie bars are beautiful!!
Made for a red velvet officianado they totally floored him!!
Will definitely make again
I made these at the weekend with your caramel shortcake. Both were delicious with a cup of coffee 😊
Hi! I made these and when they had been in for 20 minutes, the mixture felt a little squishy still in the tin. Have I taken it out too soon? Thank you!
If it was fresh out of the oven, it will still be soft – they need to be cooled fully and then cut and they should be perfect! x
Made these cookie bars today wow so good highly recommend them, i didn’t have enough of the white chocolate chips so added milk chips and small fudge pieces to make up the weight, no problem blended really well
Thank you Jane for a great recipe
Hey! Ahh amazing I am so pleased you love them as much as I do. You are very welcome!x
Thanks for sharing, these bars looks lovely 🙂
Hi what cocoa did you use ? Thanks
It’s linked on the post! x
Hi Jane
Looks like another fab recipe! Would these freeze ok? Thanks 😊
Hiya! Thank you! Yes they will x
Absolutely delicious. Didn’t have choc chips so used chopped white cooking chocolate. Could not wait for it to cool completely so had to try it after about an hour. Ummmmm!!! didn’t have the colouring advised, so not as red, but have sent off for what has been recommended and look forward to using that next time.
Thanks so much for such another lovely recipe.
nut chocolate
Fantastic recipe 🥰 will be making again x
Thank you! xx
Hi! Can I use dr.oetker food gel?
No you can’t, as mentioned on the post any supermarket ones don’t work x
Hi why is it that you melt the butter in your other cookie bars but not this just out of curiosity
Hiya – as mentioned on the post this is based off my NYC Cookies so the method is based off that too x
These look amazing I am definitely going to be making these. Can you use milk chocolate swell ? X
Yes you can use any flavour chocolate added in x