Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

When making any sort of cake, I have a very challenging time choosing a recipe that doesn’t require cream cheese frosting. I’m downright addicted to the stuff, so if I’m going to put forth the effort to make a cake- it’s going to be cream cheese frosting. So as you can guess, red velvet is often a contender.

Red velvet is a bit predictable when it comes to Valentine’s Day, so instead of making a traditional cake (as I did last year), I went hunting for a twist on the original recipe. After viewing lots of recipes for red velvet cheesecake, cookies, and brownies, I settled on these darling whoopie pies. Whoopie pies can best be described as a cross between a sandwich cookie and cake.  They’re soft and moist while still having a bit of a denser crumb than traditional cake. This was not only my first time making these little pies, but my first time eating them too, and I can whole heartedly say I’m a fan. So is Brandon.  We’re such fans, in fact,  we’ve already gone through our batch and now I’m forced to make a second dessert for the holiday. Poor us, right?

Ps: I’ll be posting another V-day dessert recipe in a few days but there are so many good ones out there, I couldn’t help but list a few more great finds!  Red Velvet Cheesecake, Heart Shaped Chocolate Dipped Crispy Treats, and Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies

Red Velvet Whoopies Pies slightly adapted from the Brown Eyed Baker
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen pies

I followed Michelle’s recipe exactly as she states, except for a few modifications which I found made the baking and assembly process easier:

• Double the frosting recipe.  Michelle’s calls for have a stick of butter and half a block of cream cheese, but since I had softened a full amount of each, I just doubled the recipe- knowing I would need the full amount. Turns out I did, and I think you will too.  I always put far less sugar in my cream cheese frosting than most recipes call for, so I urge you to taste yours as you go along. Even though I doubled the recipe, I only added a total of 2 1/2 cups of sugar.
• I found I needed to bake the cakes for 11 minutes, and then let them rest on the pan for another 8 or so before moving to the cooling rack.  I had two pans going which kept me busy and cranking out the cakes during the time in between.
• Creating perfectly round and uniform cakes with just a tablespoon is a little challenging.  If you feel like investing the time, I recommend chilling the batter a bit and then using a pastry bag to pipe out each cake.