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Red Velvet Lava Cookies are bursting with red velvet flavor – and molten nutella centers! Chewy, crisp-edged red velvet cookies are rolled in powdered sugar for a crinkle cookie effect, and stuffed with nutella.
Why you’ll love Red Velvet Lava Cookies:
- Customizable! – Fill ’em with chocolate ganache, nutella, or nothing! You’ll still have a delicious cookie either way.
- Easy to Make – This simple no-mixer cookie dough comes together in one bowl and only needs 2 hours of chill time, but can be chilled up to 24 hours.
- Red Velvet Taste – The cookies really have that classic red velvet taste – from a combination of cocoa powder and vinegar. They’re not just sugar cookies with red food coloring!
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Use the table of contents (back at the top, below the first image, to navigate).
- Butter – I always use salted butrer for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer.
- All-purpose flour – Spoon your flour into the measuring cup, then level it with a flat utensil for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly into your flour will lead to too much flour, and a potentially dry bake.
- Gel Food Coloring – Use gel food coloring, not liquid food coloring that you find in grocery stores. See more on this in expert success tips below (use the table of contents above to navigate).
- Sugar – Using a mix of white sugar and brown sugar creates the perfect balance of sweetness and helps the cookies spread just the right amount.
- Nutella – Use the name brand or store brand.
Recipe Substitutions & Variations:
- Gluten-free – I haven’t tried this specific recipe with a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour, but it has worked well in some of my other cookie recipes, and readers have reported the same with other cookie recipes (which almost all share the same base recipe).
- Dairy-free – Use your favorite, trusted dairy-free butter sticks. My favorite is country crock! You’ll need to make ganache with dairy-free heavy cream, as nutella contains dairy.
- Chocolate Ganache Centers – Not a fan of nutella? Make chocolate ganache instead! Find directions in the notes section of the recipe card below.
How to Make Nutella Lava Cookies:
Step 1: Make the Cookie Dough. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients – melted butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla, vinegar, and red food coloring. Then, stir in the dry ingredients.
Step 2: Chill the Cookie Dough. Scoop dough into balls 65 grams in size, and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or up to 24. (After 24 hours, the dough can be stuffed & frozen – see FAQs below.)
Step 3: Make the Lava Filling. Make chocolate ganache or use nutella and freeze either one in two teaspoon dollops on a lined baking sheet.
Step 4: Fill Cookies & Roll in Sugar. Flatten balls of dough and place a nutella dollop in the center. Wrap the dough around it, encasing it completely, then roll in granulated sugar, and powdered sugar.
Step 5: Bake. Bake cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees F for 11-12 minutes.
Serving + Storing:
Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, or dig in while they’re warm! Store leftover, cooled, cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Loved these? Make my Double Nutella Stuffed Cookies or my Cream Cheese Frosted Red Velvet Cookies, next!
Expert Baking Tips:
- Bake a Test Cookie – Use an oven thermometer or bake a test cookie to make sure your oven is at the right temp, and to see what the right bake time is for your oven.
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
FAQs:
Yes! However, for the flavor of the dough to develop, chill the dough at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours before filling with the frozen nutella/chocolate dollops. Then, you can freeze the dough balls and bake from frozen, rolling in the sugars right before baking, and adding 1-2 minutes to the bake time as needed.
Yes, you can do either!
My preference is to bake things fresh as much as possible, but you can freeze these once they’ve cooled to room temperature. Wrap pairs of two in parchment paper then wrap in foil and place all pairs into a freezer bag or container. Freeze for 3-6 weeks. Thaw on the counter for a few hours before enjoying.
More Stuffed Cookie Recipes:
- Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Cookies
- S’mores Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cheesecake Stuffed Funfetti Cookies
- Cinnamon Roll Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Oreo Stuffed Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Red Velvet Lava Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1/2 cup + 7 tbsp salted butter, melted & cooled slightly (15 tbsp in total), 211 grams, or 15 tbsp
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar , 156 grams
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed, 163 grams
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp white vinegar, 10 mL
- 4-7 drops red gel food coloring
- 2 and 3/4 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled or weighed out , 374 grams
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 22 grams
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the Filling
- 2/3 cup nutella
- or chocolate ganache, see notes below
For Baking:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Make Cookie Dough: Melt butter in a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Add the sugars and whisk well to combine. Add the eggs, vanilla, and white vinegar, and whisk until smooth and combined, about 30-45 seconds. Add the red food coloring and whisk in. You'll have a vibrant red – this will become muted after adding the dry ingredients. Stir in the dry ingredients. (It will seem like the dough isn't going to come together at first but it will – it takes some elbow grease! Or, you can get out your mixer for this step.)1/2 cup + 7 tbsp salted butter, melted & cooled slightly (15 tbsp in total), 3/4 cup granulated sugar , 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed, 2 large eggs, at room temperature , 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract , 2 tsp white vinegar, 4-7 drops red gel food coloring, 2 and 3/4 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled or weighed out , 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
- Scoop & Chill: Scoop the dough into balls that are 65 grams in size. This is about 2.5 tbsp each. Place cookie dough balls into an airtight container lined with parchment paper (to prevent sticking) and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Freeze Nutella: Freeze dollops of nutella that are 2 teaspoons in size on a wax paper lined baking sheet. This will take about 20-30 minutes – they must be fully frozen.2/3 cup nutella
- Prep to Bake: Preheat oven to 350℉. Add granulated sugar to a small bowl, and powdered sugar to another small bowl. Line a few cookie sheets with parchment paper.1/2 cup granulated sugar , 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- Stuff & Bake the Cookies: Once you're ready to bake the cookies, get out 5 dough balls. Keep the rest in the fridge. Flatten each dough ball and place a frozen piece of nutella in the center. Completely encase the dough around it, making sure there are no cracks. Roll each dough ball in granulated sugar, then very generously in the powdered sugar. Place the 5 dough balls on a lined baking sheet and bake for 10-13 minutes on a dark cookie sheet (or 1-3 minutes longer on a light colored baking sheet).Cookies will have spread a good bit, and the edges will appear just set, while the tops will have a bit of a wobble and you may see an almost bubbly looking effect between the powdered sugared areas. Don't over-bake! They'll set up as they cool. Tip: Bake one cookie as a test first! This way you can see what the right bake time is for your oven. Let the cookie cool for 20-30 minutes, taste it to make sure it set up to your likeness, then proceed.
- Serve & Store: Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes, then transfer cookies to the cooling rack to finish cooling. Dig in after the first 10-15 minutes or so, while they're still warm, or let them set up to your liking!Once cookies have cooled to room temperature, store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
