Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Nothing says Merry Christmas like chocolate crinkles, from their fudgy, brownie-like texture to the snow-covered crackled exteriors made with powdered sugar. And with a few drops of red food coloring, they turn into extra-festive red velvet crinkles.

But you know what makes these cookies so special? That thick layer of cheese frosting in between, the perfect counterpoint to the crackly chocolate cookie. Using Arla makes all the difference—their naturally made cream cheese ensures a luscious, tangy filling that spreads smoothly. You’re sure to come back for a second piece, so aim for bite-sized cookies for the perfect snack-sized treat. Makes about 24 sandwich cookies.

Roll cookies in granulated and powdered sugar

When moisture forms on your cookies, it can dissolve the powdered sugar and ruin that classic crinkle look. There are two ways to prevent this. First, make sure you get a thick, generous powdered sugar coat around your cookies before baking.

The second way: Start your cookie dough with a coat of granulated white sugar.

As your cookies bake, white sugar helps draw out and absorb excess moisture from the surface. This keeps the powdered sugar—and the cracked crinkle design—bright and intact. You’ll also get a gentle crunch out of your crinkles!

Three tips for perfect cream cheese frosting

Use room temperature cream cheese and butter. This is important, especially if you’re making frosting by hand! Make sure to bring your Arla Cream Cheese and Unsalted Butter to room temperature before using—you want them soft and pliable. This makes the two ingredients easier to mix to a smooth, lump-free consistency. If any of the two are cold, you risk forming lumps that are hard to smooth out of the frosting.

Sift powdered sugar. Watch out for clumps in your powdered sugar, which can also cause lumpy frosting. (The older your powdered sugar, the more likely it is to clump together.) Give it a sift before use.

Bring out the electric mixer (if you have one). You can definitely make cream cheese frosting by hand—just expect it to double as a workout, too. An electric hand or stand mixer will get your frosting smooth and fluffy in a quick 3–5 minutes.

Equipment Needed

oven
baking sheets
baking paper or silicone baking mats
rubber spatula
stand or hand mixer
whisk

Ingredients needed

2 cups all-purpose flour
⅓ cup cocoa powder, see Note
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ cup Arla Unsalted Butter, softened
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
½ cup white sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1–2 tsp red food coloring

Sugar Coating

¼–½ cup white sugar
½ cup powdered sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz (227g) Arla Natural Cream Cheese, softened
½ cup Arla Unsalted Butter, softened
pinch of salt
2–3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Let's follow these steps

1. Prepare for baking: Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack at the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. Make dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder.

In a separate mixing bowl, add Arla unsalted butter, light brown sugar, white sugar, and salt. Cream ingredients together until pale and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times with a rubber spatula, about 3–5 minutes. Add one egg and beat until combined, then add the second egg and beat again until mixture is pale and thick. Stir in vanilla extract and red food coloring.

Add half of the flour mixture. Mix slowly, then add the remaining flour mixture. Mix until the dough comes together, just until no dry streaks of flour remain.

3. Coat in sugar: Add white sugar to a small bowl. Sift powdered sugar into a separate small bowl.

For each cookie, spoon out a tablespoon of dough and drop it into the white sugar. (The dough will be too sticky to roll in your hands. If it's too messy to handle, you can refrigerate the dough until firm enough to roll.) Dredge ball in white sugar while rolling it into a ball until coated evenly.

Transfer sugar-coated ball into the powdered sugar. Swirl to coat generously. Arrange dough balls 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.

4. Bake: Bake cookies for 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. The cookies will have puffed up and formed cracks on the surface, with set edges and a soft, underbaked center. Let cookies cool on the sheet for about 3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make cream cheese frosting

5. Beat cream cheese and butter: Add Arla Cream Cheese, unsalted butter, and salt to a mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer on medium-low speed, beat ingredients together until smooth and no lumps remain. You can do this step by hand with a whisk and some elbow grease.

6. Add powdered sugar: Add half of the powdered sugar into the bowl. Mix on low speed until incorporated, then add the remaining powdered sugar. Once powdered sugar is fully mixed in, increase speed to medium and beat frosting until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of the bowl, add vanilla extract, and beat until well combined.

Taste frosting and season with salt if it tastes too sweet, or add more powdered sugar if it lacks sweetness and thickness. You should end up with about 2 cups of frosting.

7. Assemble: Spread cream cheese frosting onto the bottom of a cookie. Set a second cookie on top, bottom side down, to form a sandwich. Gently press down on the top cookie so the cream cheese frosting comes just to the edges. Repeat with remaining cookies and cream cheese frosting. Store airtight at room temperature for 1 week.

Note

The color of your cocoa powder will affect how red your crinkles will be. Reddish-brown natural cocoa will work best for this recipe—its natural hue plus the added food coloring will result in a vibrant red.

Darker cocoa, on the other hand, will give your crinkles a deeper, almost wine-red color. Classy and elegant!