Description
These adorable Red Velvet Valentine’s Day Bear Cookies combine a soft, chewy red velvet cookie base with charming chocolate decorations that create cute bear faces. Perfect for a festive treat, these cookies are made with a simple dough enriched with cocoa and a touch of vinegar for classic red velvet flavor, then delicately decorated with melted chocolate and colored accents to celebrate the season of love.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup (180 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 tbsp (14 g) cocoa powder, sifted
- ½ tsp (2 g) baking soda
- ½ tsp (2 g) baking powder
- ½ tsp (3 g) salt
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) light or dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- 1 tsp (5 g) white vinegar
- 1 egg
- red food coloring (amount as needed)
Decoration for Face
- 1 tbsp (15 g) melted milk or dark chocolate
- 3 tbsp (44.36 g) melted white chocolate
- oil-based food coloring (pink/red, as needed)
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until fully combined and smooth.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer), mix melted and cooled butter with granulated and brown sugar on medium speed until combined. Scrape the bowl to incorporate all ingredients. Add vanilla extract, white vinegar, egg, and red food coloring; continue mixing until the batter is smooth and color is uniform.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Add the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Add additional red food coloring if a deeper red hue is desired. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes to hydrate the flour and firm the butter, which helps yield chewier cookies and easier handling.
- Preheat and Prepare Baking Trays: Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Shape Cookies: Use a small cookie scoop (about 1 ½ tablespoons) to portion dough and roll into balls. Place dough balls about 3 inches apart on prepared trays. For ears, split about 1 teaspoon of dough into two equal pieces, roll into balls, and place atop the heads of the larger dough balls to form bear ears.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes, until edges are set and centers are slightly puffy. Slight underbaking will result in chewier cookies.
- Cool: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Decorate Bear Faces: Using a piping bag, toothpick, or cookie scribe, decorate each cookie. Draw snouts and ears with melted white chocolate; tint the leftover white chocolate pink or red with oil-based food coloring to create blush effects, adding neutral oil if chocolate seizes. Use melted milk or dark chocolate to pipe eyes and noses, completing the bear faces.
- Enjoy or Store: Serve once decorations have set. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
Notes
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week to maintain freshness.
- To make the recipe vegan, substitute unsalted butter with a high-quality vegan butter and choose vegan chocolate. Omit the egg; if dough is crumbly when adding dry ingredients, incorporate 2-4 tablespoons of plant-based milk gradually until dough is thick but scoopable.
- Use oil-based food coloring for decorating chocolate to prevent seizing. If seizing occurs, add a teaspoon of neutral oil to smooth the mixture.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 130
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 110mg
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 17g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
