Description
These Red Velvet Valentine’s Day Bear Cookies are irresistibly chewy with a tender crumb, featuring the classic red velvet flavor enhanced by cocoa and a hint of vanilla. Shaped like adorable bears with chocolate-decorated faces, they make a perfect sweet treat for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion. The recipe involves mixing, chilling the dough for better texture, baking, and then decorating with melted chocolate and food coloring for a charming finish.
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, 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) for tinting white chocolate
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a hand mixer, beat the melted and cooled unsalted butter with granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Add vanilla extract, white vinegar, the egg, and desired amount of red food coloring to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix until smooth and homogenous.
- Combine Wet and Dry Mixtures: Pour all the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir gently until just combined. Add additional red food coloring if a deeper red color is desired.
- Chill Dough: Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. This rest period hydrates the flour and firms the butter, resulting in chewier cookies and easier handling.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Trays: Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Line two baking trays with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Shape Cookies: Using a small cookie scoop, portion out about 1 ½ tablespoons of dough per cookie. Roll into balls and arrange on prepared trays about 3 inches apart. For the ears, take about 1 teaspoon of dough, divide into two equal balls and place them at the top of each cookie ball to form bear ears.
- Bake Cookies: Bake for 9-11 minutes until the edges are set and centers appear slightly puffy. Slightly underbaking yields chewier cookies.
- Cool: Let the cookies cool on the baking pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Decorate Faces: Using a piping bag, toothpick, or cookie scribe, draw faces on the bears. Use melted white chocolate to create snouts and ears; tint leftover white chocolate with oil-based pink or red food coloring for blush. Use melted milk or dark chocolate to make eyes and noses. If the chocolate seizes, add a teaspoon of neutral oil at a time until smooth again.
- Serve and Enjoy: Allow the chocolate to set, then enjoy your charming and delicious Red Velvet Valentine’s Day Bear Cookies!
Notes
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
- To make a vegan version, substitute melted unsalted butter with high-quality vegan butter and use vegan chocolate. Omit the egg and add 1-4 tablespoons of alternative plant milk to help bind the dough if it’s crumbly. The dough should be thick but scoopable.
- If you don’t have oil-based food coloring for the chocolate decoration, add a small amount of neutral oil (canola or vegetable) to prevent the chocolate from seizing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 140
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 100 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
