Red Velvet Cookie Bars

These decadent bars are stuffed with rich cream cheese and chocolate, speckled with creamy white chocolate chips, and baked to perfection!

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Why you’ll love red velvet cookie bars

These decadent bars are stuffed with rich cream cheese and chocolate, speckled with creamy white chocolate chips, and baked to perfection!

I’ve always loved this flavor combination in a cookie, and now it’s even easier to make - you can mix all the ingredients in just one bowl and bake them up in one 8 x 8 inch baking dish! So easy to make and even easier to clean up!

Recipe Tips for the best red velvet cookie bars

Mix the batter really well between each addition of ingredients, especially after the food coloring is added. You don’t want the batter to bake up with streaky or splotchy patches of red food coloring!

Do not over bake them. The key to a soft and chewy cookie is to pull them out of the oven as soon as they puff up in the center and turn light golden brown around the edges. The same is true for cookie bars. This is not a secret, but it makes a HUGE difference in the texture of your cookie, and I think it also makes them last a little longer too!

Recipe Variations

Love white chocolate chips? Double the amount by adding one cup instead of ½ cup. They will be so decadent!

FAQ

• So why is it called a cookie bar?

  Cookie bars are actually a bar dessert rather than a cookie. Cookies are shaped or dropped onto a pan in individual serving sizes, while cookie bars are baked in a baking dish as one piece and sliced into individual sized pieces. The flavor outcome is very similar, and I find bar cookies to be even faster and easier than cookies!

• Why are my cookie bars dry?

  You either have too much flour in the recipe

  • Your dough will look crumbly and be hard to compact together. Add 1 tablespoon of melted and cooled unsalted butter at a time until until the dough is just able to stick together.

  Or you left the pan in the oven too long

  • Sorry, there is really no way to fix this. The next time you bake this recipe, set a timer and check the bars five minutes early, then you can watch them closely until they are ready - they should be just lightly golden brown around the edges and puffy in the middle.

• Can I make red velvet cookie bars without food coloring?

  Yes! The bars will bake a chocolate brown color rather than red, but they will still taste absolutely decadent!

• Do I have to use buttermilk in red velvet cookie bars?

  No, you do not. The buttermilk in most red velvet cake recipes adds a tanginess to the flavor. This recipe actually calls for cream cheese, which also adds a tangy flavor and creamy moisture to the dough which bakes up beautifully and you don’t have to add any frosting!

• What can I pair with red velvet cookie bars?

  For extra decadence, you can pair red velvet cookie bars with cream cheese frosting or a cream cheese drizzle that will make your cookies look aesthetic and cute with a little more effort!

• Are red velvet cookies the same as chocolate cookies?

  Not exaclty. Red vevlet cookie bars are different in that the dough calls for a tangy dairy product like buttermilk or cream cheese. The recipe also calls for less chocolate than chocolate cookie bars do.

Helpful Kitchen Tools

• Spatula

• Stand mixer or hand mixer

• parchment paper

• 8 x 8 inch baking dish

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup granulated sugar

• ⅓ cup brown sugar

• ¼ teaspoon baking soda

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

• ¼ cup cream cheese

• 1 egg

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• ½ teaspoon red food coloring

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 3/4 cup flour

• ½ cup white chocolate chips
  

How to make red velvet cookie bars

1. Melt the butter in a pyrex liquid measuring cup in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until melted and let cool slightly. 

2. Preheat the oven to 350. Line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper. 

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add granulated sugar, packed brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix together with a spatula until well combined.

4. Add cream cheese and beat until fluffy, about 30 seconds.

5. Add  melted butter and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

6. Add egg, vanilla, red food coloring and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

7. Add the unsweetened cocoa powder and flour and mix until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

8. Toss in the white chocolate chips in and and mix with a spatula until distributed evenly. 

9. Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly to reach each corner. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of white chocolate chips on top evenly. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until edges turn golden brown and the bars look puffy in the center. 

10. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least an hour before cutting.

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How to Store

Store red velvet cookie bars at room temperature in an air tight container for up to five days, or store in the refrigerator for up to five days. If stored in the refrigerator, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or pop in the microwave for five to ten seconds to warm to room temperature.

You can also freeze red velvet cookie bars easily. Just place (fully baked and cooled) in an air tight freezer container and store in the freezer for up to three months. Remove from the freezer and place in the refrigerator 24 hours prior to serving.

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More cookie bars, please!

Try these:

• Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

• Cookies ‘n Cream Cookie Bars

• Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars

• Iced Oatmeal Cookie Bars

• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

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dessert, cookies, bars

american

Servings: 15

Author: Jessie Cagliero

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Red Velvet Cookie Bars

These decadent bars are stuffed with rich cream cheese and chocolate, speckled with creamy white chocolate chips, and baked to perfection!

Prep time: 15 minutesCook time: 25 minutesTotal time: 40 minutes

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• ¼ cup cream cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon red food coloring
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup flour
• ½ cup white chocolate chips

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a pyrex liquid measuring cup in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until melted and let cool slightly.
2. Preheat the oven to 350. Line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add granulated sugar, packed brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix together with a spatula until well combined.
4. Add cream cheese and beat until fluffy, about 30 seconds.
5. Add melted butter and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
6. Add egg, vanilla, red food coloring and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
7. Add the unsweetened cocoa powder and flour and mix until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
8. Toss in the white chocolate chips in and and mix with a spatula until distributed evenly.
9. Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly to reach each corner. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of white chocolate chips on top evenly. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until edges turn golden brown and the bars look puffy in the center.
10. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least an hour before cutting.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

139

Fat

7 g

Sat. Fat

4 g

Carbs

19 g

Fiber

1 g

Net carbs

18 g

Sugar

13 g

Protein

2 g

Sodium

81 mg

Cholesterol

24 mg

*Nutrition is auto-calculated by recipes generator.

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