These Pink Velvet Cookies are just the right treat for spring! Rolled in flower sprinkles and topped with a layer of cream cheese frosting, the cookies move into the realm of a decadent dessert!
It’s easy to make cookies, but it’s hard to produce good cookies. More specifically, I am speaking of those bakery style thick cookies. These type of cookies have a crinkly, slightly crisp edge and a chewy interior. Their sturdy shape doesn’t spread.
I assure you that these Pink Velvet Cookies replicate all of those desired sugar cookie qualities! To get a chewy texture, I opted for cornstarch and a tiny portion of brown sugar. The cornstarch inhibits gluten formation and provides a perfectly chewy consistency. Though many recipes that call for cold butter, I seldom like beating chilled butter, because you seldom get even incorporation. You also deal with a messy kitchen. Freezing the cookies prior to baking solidifies the butter and ensures that the cookies don’t spread.
You can certainly add sprinkles in the cookie dough itself, but I simply rolled the dough in the sprinkles.
The cream cheese frosting is the oh-so standard eight ounces cream cheese to four ounces of butter, but here that ratio is needed. This traditional type of cream cheese frosting smooth without spreading, and it balances out the sweetness of the cookie.
Finish out the spring with these Pink Velvet Cookies, which are a quintessential flowery and pastel explosion!
Like me on Facebook and follow me on Pinterest and Instagram
- For the Pink Velvet Sugar Cookies
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces, 3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- Pink food gel
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup flower rainbow sprinkles
- For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 1 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cubed and very soft
- Pink food gel
- Whisk flour, corn starch, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape bowl and paddle, add pink food gel, and beat for an additional minute. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Scrape bowl and paddle as needed. With mixer’s speed in low, gradually add dry ingredients, beating until just incorporated. The dough will be sticky.
- With well floured hands, portion out 4 ounce balls, rolling each in the sprinkles. Shape each portion into a rough hockey-puck like shape. Place on a tray, repeat process with remaining dough. Refrigerate a minimum of 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line trays with parchment paper, setting each cookie 3- inches apart. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes rotating halfway. The cookies will barely be golden in the edges and will look still raw in the center, this is fine.
- Let cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Beat butter until smooth, fluffy, and lump free about 2 minutes at medium-high speed. Gradually add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Raise speed to medium-high and beating until fluffy about 3 minutes. Scrape bowl and paddle as needed. Beat in cream cheese, a few cubes at a time. Do not whip, simply beat to incorporate.
- Reserve 1/4 cup to tint pink.
- Frost and decorate cooled cookies as desired.