Red Velvet Whoopie Pies. Whoopie!

So to thank my wife for taking such good care of me, I made one of her favorite treats while she was at work today, Red Velvet Whoopie Pies.

Now, I loves me some whoopie pies, but I have to admit that I am not a big fan of Red Velvet cake. If you have not heard of "red velvet" cake, essentially it is chocolate cake with added red food coloring. I don't see the need for the red color, but my wife likes it, and these were made for her. If, like me, you would be rather turned off by a bowl of red chocolate pudding, you could always omit the red food coloring and these would still be excellent.

I also have a set of whoopie pie baking tins. I assume most people do not, so I will write the recipe for people who would use a baking sheet. I used this before I bought my pans and it works fine. Please use parchment paper as these will stick without it. Parchment paper is now super-cheap in all major grocery stores near the wax paper and tin foil.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Ingredients for pies:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg (large)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1-oz bottle red food coloring (2 tbsp) OPTIONAL

Ingredients for filling:
1/4 cup softened butter
4 room temperature cream cheese
1 7-oz jar of marshmallow creme

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In medium mixing bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In large mixing bowl beat butter with electric mixer on high for 30 seconds. Beat in brown sugar until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
4. Then alternately add in flour mixture and buttermilk, beating each addition until it is combined, then adding the next addition. Stir in food coloring.
5. Spoon batter in 1 or 2 inch diameter rounds, about 1/2 inch high on the baking sheets covered in parchment paper. Allow 1 inch between each round for expansion.
6. Bake 7 to 9 minutes for 1 inch cookies or 9 to 11 minutes for 2 inch cookies (basically when the tops are set).
   
7. Cool completely on baking sheets on a rack. Remove cookies from sheets.
8. In medium mixing bowl beat 1/4 cup softened butter and 4 ounces of cream cheese until smooth. Fold in one 7 ounce jar of marshmallow creme.
9. Take 1 cookie, generously dollop filling on the flat side of the cookie and then sandwich the filling with the flat side of another cookie.

This will make approximately 42 cookies, which combine to make 21 whoopie pies. They should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and will generally keep up to 4 days (or so I am told. Mine never make it that long). Let them stand at room temperature about 15 min before serving, but are nice cool on a hot day. Enjoy with coffee or a cool glass of milk.