Name: Gluten Free Red Velvet Blossoms
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 12 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour ((I used King Arthur)); 1 tablespoon cocoa powder; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened; 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed; 1 large egg; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring gel ((or 1 tablespoon red food coloring)); 1/2 cup red sanding sugar; 24 dark chocolate kisses

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Gluten Free Red Velvet Blossoms – soft, red velvet thumbprint cookies with red sprinkles and dark chocolate kisses in the middle. These are my new favorite cookies, so tasty and their red color is perfect for the holidays!

Stress Baking this Christmas

We are almost 2 weeks away from Christmas and I’ve been baking up a storm. How about you? It just doesn’t feel like the holidays for me if I’m not baking lots of cookies. Do you agree? It’s been such a crazy year, so this year I think we could all use a few extra cookies. Baking therapy is a real thing and has always been a great stress reliever for me. And 2020 has had a heavy dose of stress for sure. I hope this post finds you and your family well and enjoying some joy this season. If you need some cookie therapy, I highly recommend these Red Velvet Blossoms.

Ingredients You Need For This Recipe

Gluten Free All Purpose Flour – I used King Arthur

Cocoa Powder – I used Hershey’s 100% Cacao unsweetened

Baking Powder – I prefer aluminum free.

Salt – I used Morton’s Table Salt.

Butter – Use unsalted real butter, not margarine

Brown Sugar – I used light brown sugar, firmly packed.

Eggs – Large eggs at room temperature.

Vanilla Extract – Use pure vanilla extract, not flavoring.

Red Food Coloring – I used Americolor red food coloring gel.

Red Sanding Sugar – Also called sprinkles.

Chocolate Kisses – I used Hershey’s Dark Chocolate.

Funny story. I made the red cookie dough, wrapped in plastic wrap and put in the fridge to chill for a bit. My husband saw it and thought it was hamburger meat. He got excited and was about to cook it up until he realized it was cookie dough. LOL!

Helpful Hints for this Recipe

Make sure you have all your ingredients before you start mixing your cookie dough.

For best results, use room temperature ingredients.

Unwrap all of the chocolate kisses BEFORE baking your cookies as you need to press them into the baked cookies as soon as they come out of the oven.

Refrigerating the dough is a must. Don’t skip this step.

When you take the dough out of the fridge, it will be very hard. Let it warm up for 10 minutes or so. I know it sounds weird. But it’s too soft at room temperature and too hard right out of the refrigerator.

If you don’t want to make them gluten free, you can substitute the same amount of all purpose flour.

Are you going to a Christmas party or cookie swap this month and need to bring cookies? You just found the perfect recipe. Your friends and family are going to love these Gluten Free Red Velvet Blossoms. They are the best and I promise that no one will know that they’re gluten free. Simply delish!

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Print Recipe

Gluten Free Red Velvet Blossoms

These Gluten Free Red Velvet Blossoms are soft, red velvet thumbprint cookies with red sprinkles and dark chocolate kisses in the middle.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time12 mins

Servings: cookies

Calories: 133kcal

Author: Lise Ode

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour (I used King Arthur)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring gel (or 1 tablespoon red food coloring)
1/2 cup red sanding sugar
24 dark chocolate kisses

Instructions

Line 2 half sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and food coloring and beat until smooth and the color is fully incorporated. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Take dough out of the fridge and let it warm up for about 10 minutes. This might sound weird but trust me. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, dip in red sanding sugar and arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and place a chocolate kiss in the middle of each cookie. Let cool completely.
Store cookies in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or for a week in the refrigerator.