Tuesday, June 7, 2011

#11: Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

I knew I needed to make SOMETHING red velvet. Since the time Nichelle and I took over a nail salon with our Starbucks cupcakes (FANTASTIC outing that day, by the way), it seems that is the ONE dessert this woman is fixated on. I myself don't mind red velvet, although it does bring back vivid nightmares of one particular friend's 21 Run (that's another story entirely), so I had no problem finding a recipe for it. I DID know though that I wanted to avoid just making red velvet cupcakes. I was still a little scarred from my experience a month ago attempting to make vanilla cupcakes, so instead of settling, I simply typed in "red velvet recipes" into Google and this little gem came up. It comes from the Joy of Baking website, which I put my full trust in, so I assumed it would turn out fine. Plus the name itself just sounds fun! Like my little brother and I agreed- "Why do they call 'em whoopie pies? Why, because of the sound you make when you eat them, WHOOOOOPIE!" ... We're probably the coolest 19 and 24 year olds I KNOW...

#11: Red Velvet Whoopie Pies (as found on joyofbaking.com)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (can use regular unsweetened)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring

Cream Cheese Filling:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 8 ounce cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
    - I didn't do any of these things, besides pre-heat the oven. You all know my conspiracy theories surrounding parchment paper and the baking industry, right? Completely unnecessary, that stuff.
 
2. In a large bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment (can also use a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg beating well. Beat in the vanilla extract. 
     - SHOUT OUT TO MY COUSIN, CECE: This woman is my hero. Although I didn't use it during this recipe (I'm determined not to take it out of the package until I get to Utah), she went WAY above and beyond the call of duty and sent me an electric mixer and a Martha Stewart cookbook. I couldn't be happier! ... although I feel completely undeserving. You are the best. Pictures of me with these FINE products will be coming soon. Love you, cousin! 

3. In a small measuring cup, mix the buttermilk and red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. 
     - Why does this step sound so much more frightening than it actually was? In "people-speak," not "bakers-speak," all I did was dump half the flour mixture into the bowl with the butter, mix it together, dump in the buttermilk mixture, mix it, and then add the rest of the flour mixture. What was frightening was the color of the dough that resulted from this step. I didn't even use the full tablespoon of red food coloring (I ran out, oops!), but this is what it looked like:



4. Drop heaping tablespoons (can also use a small ice cream scoop) of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. With moistened fingers or with the back of a spoon, smooth the tops of the cookies.
     - That smoothing step is pretty important, just FYI. I only did it to one batch, and the rest of the pies had a VERY hard time staying upright. They were "tumbley" little buddies!
 
5. Bake for about 9-10 minutes or until the tops of the cookies, when lightly pressed, spring back (or a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean). Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Filling:  

1. Beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar, and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.
    - Seriously, be careful with the sugar. I forgot how much that stuff will fly around if you let it. This was BY FAR the messiest recipe I've tried thus far. Here is a picture of my filling, which was what made this treat...
To Assemble: 

1. Take one cookie and spread a heaping tablespoon of the filling on the flat side of the cookie. Top with another cookie. 

2. If desired, take a little of the filling and thin it out, to piping consistency, with a little milk or cream. Place in a small piping bag or plastic bag and pipe lines back and forth over the tops of the Whoopie Pies. The assembled cookies can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for several days.

Tee hee, here's a little look at what my first batch of finished cookies looked like, and then the second, in that order. Needless to say, I needed a little practice:


 

Unfortunately, I had no idea both of my parents hate red velvet cake. Apparently I can't please everyone. Needless to say, there is a whole tupperwear full of these puppies that can't even be eaten because they've been on a kitchen counter for four days. Sigh. Talk about rejection. These are still delicious though, give them a try!

1 comment:

  1. Psshhh! I totally would have eaten their share!!! I LOVED my share of them!! Thanks for making these for me, by the way! Can't wait for the next recipe! :)

    ReplyDelete