Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

How I have been looking forward to Valentine's Day just so I could make these red velvet whoopie pies. For those of you who know me you know I don't like cake. Except....red velvet cake, if it is done correctly! I have had a few red velvet cakes that are dry and have no flavor. The best was whoever made our wedding cake one layer was red velvet and man was it good! I think these turned out pretty darn good! I did make them a little bigger then I think they are suppose to be, which is OK cause I had one and I didn't need another one cause they are rich! It did take me awhile to decide which recipe to use, I finally decided to go with the Brown Eyed Baker's recipe. She was just as picky as me on how red velvet cake should taste.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

For the whoopies:

3 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 cup granulate sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 tsp. red food coloring 

1 c. buttermilk

For the cream cheese filling:

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. (I used my Silpat) 

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, shortening and both sugars on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy and smooth, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and the red food coloring and beat until just blended.

Add half of the flour mixture and half of the buttermilk to the batter and beat on low until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining flour mixture and remaining 1/2 cup buttermilk and beat until completely combined.

Using a spoon (or a medium cookie scoop) (I tried a spoon it wasn't working so well so since I don't have a pastry bag I made one out a Ziploc bag, this work a lot better then the spoon), drop a tablespoon of batter onto one of the prepared baking sheets and repeat (this is why mine turned out a little bigger what I thought was a tablespoon was a tad too big), spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes each, or until the cakes spring back when pressed gently (I had to cook mine for 12). Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

While the cakes are cooling, prepare the filling..in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (don't try egg beaters I about burned my up trying to make the frosting), beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed. Add the sugar and beat on low speed until combined. Add the vanilla and increase the speed to medium-high; beat until creamy and smooth, about 4 minutes.

To assemble: Spread the filling onto the flat side of one cake using a knife spoon. Alternatively, you can use a pastry bag with a round tip (once again I don't have a pastry bag so I made one) to pipe the filling onto the cake. Top it with another cake, flat-side down. Repeat with the rest of the cakes and filling.

Storing: Assembled whoopie pies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If you need to stack layers, place a piece of wax paper between layers.

Yields about 2 dozen assembled whoopie pies

MMMMM!!! So good!