red heart cake cookies;
Red heart cake cookies are the perfect sweet Valentine’s Day treat! Made from red velvet cake, these cake cookies are little puffs of love. They’re so soft and airy, with a sweet cocoa flavor dusted in powdered sugar. And the best part? Red heart cake cookies only need 4 ingredients!
If you’ve tried some of my other cake crinkle cookie recipes like spice cake crinkle cookies and butter pecan crinkle cookies, it’s pretty much the same basic recipe. Only this time we use red velvet cake mix. Because obviously we need a little festive red for Valentine’s Day!
The recipe couldn’t be simpler. It’s just dump, mix, and go! The batter will be thick so you’ll get a nice mild workout as you stir. Make sure there are no streaks of Cool Whip or cake mix left when you’re done.
The busy part of the recipe isn’t mixing the batter, it’s forming the sweet little hearts. I’ll spell out two different ways to make the hearts.
Using a piping bag is my recommended method. It may mean a couple extra equipment to wash but it gives you full control over shaping your hearts. If you choose this method, then use a large/wide tip (roughly 1/2” diameter). Prepare the icing tip on your bag then stuff it full of the cookie batter.
Pipe hearts onto a lined baking sheet (either silpat or parchment paper). Keep the hearts sharp since the red heart cake cookies will puff in the oven. You don’t need to overthink it. Pipe a heart of your desired size by outlining the heart shape and then filling in the remainder. Try not to leave gaps but you don’t need to go crazy—because they puff it’s pretty forgiving.
Make sure to leave at least 1.5” between cookies so they have enough space to rise and expand without crowding the other red heart cake cookies.
Secret to success
Make sure to leave at least 1.5” between cookies so they have enough space to rise and expand without crowding the other red heart cake cookies.
The second method requires only spoons and a toothpick. Basically you take two equal-sized Tbsp balls and place them beside each other, touching (think like a peanut or sideways 8 shape). You can use regular spoons and eyeball it, but I have a Tbsp scoop that makes it quick and easy to drop them on the sheet pan. Then take a toothpick and drag the dough down to make a point.
I’ve used both methods and they both work well. The toothpick method loses a little sharpness in the shape, but they’re (generally) still identifiable as hearts. I had a couple of puffy peanuts instead of pretty hearts, but I ate the evidence.
I will say, the original crinkle cake cookies are drop cookies meaning voluminous little balls of fluff. Because we’re spreading out the batter into hearts, these red heart cake cookies are thinner. They only need 4-6 minutes in the oven. Usually for the first tray I poke at the middle of a couple of cookies. If they dimple under the lightest pressure in the middle they need more time. When they’re done they’ll be firm and springy, enough to resist a very light touch. Once I have rough timing on the first batch, that becomes my standard bake time for the rest.
Don’t over bake! I use a very light touch to test the first batch of cookies is done. Once I have tough timing down, that becomes the bake time for the rest.
Secret to success
Make sure not to overbake your red heart cake cookies. Smaller cookies work fine but aren’t quite as light and airy since they dry out faster than larger cookies. I made an assortment of sizes, some as small as 2” across, and while they were just fine, I definitely preferred the larger ones, 3”-4” across. If you’re piping, you could even do another layer on top for extra volume, but they may spread and puff more. You need the right balance of precision for the shape and volume for light and fluffy cookies.
Smaller cookies work fine, but they’ll cook quicker and it’s easy to lose the light and fluffy tenderness by over baking. I think 3-4” across hearts are perfect.
Secret to success
When it comes to powdered sugar on the red heart cake cookies, there are only a few steps different than the OG crinkle cake cookies. Instead of coating the whole ball, I just sprinkle powdered sugar over top of the hearts before and immediately after baking. If you get enough sugar coating the cookies before baking you may not need to dust post-oven. Instead of just rolling the cookies directly in the powdered sugar, I dust over-top using a fine mesh strainer. Doing it this way gives you a finer layer of sugar and can sometimes absorb into the cookie during baking. So I like to hit it with another sprinkle fresh out of the oven.
secrets to success;
Want all the best tips and tricks to make this recipe a success? Check out the blog post above to find out more!
more recipes;
Looking for other sweet treats this Valentine’s Day? Here are some of my favorites!
- chocolate strawberry sugar cookies;
- easy no-bake raspberry chocolate tart;
- strawberry shortcake truffles
- strawberry mochi;
- red velvet cookies;
red heart cake cookies;
Ingredients
- 1 15.25 oz box red velvet cake mix
- 2 eggs
- 1 8 oz container cool whip
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Ensure cool whip is thawed. Beat together with eggs.
- Add in the red velvet cake mix, and mix until combined. Dough will be thick.
- To make well-formed hearts, use a piping bag and piping tip. Transfer the dough to the piping bag and pipe 2"-3" hearts on a silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Make sure to fill any gaps. Alternatively, if you don't want to use a piping bag or don't have one available you can make each individual heart with 2 Tbsp of dough. Drop two spoonfuls of dough so they're touching, and use a toothpick to swirl them together to form the top of the heart and drag down enough dough to make the pointy bottom. Repeat for all cookies.
- Sprinkle powdered sugar over the cookies. This is done best with a fine mesh strainer so you can sprinkle evenly.
- Bake for 4-6 minutes at 350°. The exact time will depend on the size and thickness of your hearts. I usually prod the center of the cookies when I remove them from the oven. If they dimple and are still wet, they need another 1-2 minutes in the oven.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Dust with additional powdered sugar if desired (sometimes it'll absorb into the cookies in the oven).
