Spicy, sweet, and filled with Red Hots (yeah, the candy!) these are Red Hot Cookies! Perfect for adventurous bakers and cookie eaters!
Red Hot Cookie Tips
Measure your flour correctly. Some people have issues making cookies that won’t spread at all! The common culprit is too much flour due to inconsistent measuring methods. Here’s how I do it and how you’ll get the best results every time. First, fluff your flour by loosely scooping up some flour then dumping it right back out into the bag. This aerates the flour after sitting in the container for who knows how long. Next, spoon the fluffed flour into the measuring cup and level it off. That’s it!
Soften the butter. What about cookies spreading too much? It’s all about using softened butter, not melted. Take the time to plan ahead and pull out your butter from the fridge a couple of hours beforehand. You can try to gently microwave the stick of butter but use extreme caution, it could get real melty real fast.
How to Make Red Hot Cookies
For full details on how to make red hot cookies, see the recipe card down below 🙂
Prep and Preheat
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray light-colored baking sheets* with nonstick cooking spray. Then line with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat and set aside.
Crush Red Hots by placing them into a Ziploc bag and crushing with a rolling pin. Set aside.
Make Cookie Dough
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla and egg. Scrape sides and mix again.
Stir salt, baking powder, baking soda, and flour together in a small bowl and then pour into the mixer and slowly mix until just combined. Scrape sides of the bowl and mix again briefly.
Hand stir in crushed red hots candy.
Roll in Powdered Sugar
Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place cookie dough on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.
Bake and Cool
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte (not melty or shiny). Remove from oven and cool the cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling wrack.
Storing Red Hot Cookies
Red Hot Cookies can stay good for up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. To keep cookies soft, store with a piece of plain white bread which acts as a moisture regulator.
Freezing Instructions
To freeze red hot cookies, follow the directions up until baking. Line a baking sheet with powdered sugar-covered cookie dough and place in the freezer for up to an hour. Once frozen transfer cookie dough balls to a freezer-safe bag.
To bake, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place frozen cookie dough balls. Bake for a minute or two more than what it says on the recipe card then enjoy!
More Cookie Recipes to Try!
- Candy Cane Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Cookies
- Chewy Lemon Cookies
- Cake Mix Cookies
- Peanut Butter Caramel Cookies
Happy baking, my friends! The printable recipe card is down below 🙂
Red Hot Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons Red Hots candy crushed
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 whole egg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray light-colored baking sheets* with nonstick cooking spray. Then line with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- Crush Red Hots by placing them into a ziploc bag and crushing with a rolling pin. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla and egg. Scrape sides and mix again.
- Stir salt, baking powder, baking soda, and flour together in a small bowl and then pour into the mixer and slowly mix until just combined. Scrape sides of the bowl and mix again briefly.
- Hand stir in crushed red hots candy.
- Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place cookie dough on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte (not melty or shiny). Remove from oven and cool the cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling wrack.
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