Red velvet whoopie pies

You have to admit that the world is going a bit crazy for red velvet anything! Whether it’s in a sponge or cookie form its distinctive red colour makes it perfect for any kind of anniversaries. I first tried whoopie pies in a bakery in London and they are quite simply two soft cookies with a creamy filling or frosting sandwiched in between. Most commonly whoopie pies are filled with a marshmallow frosting but since my take on these is red velvet I wanted it to switch to a tangy cream cheese frosting flavoured with vanilla and lemon zest. Who needs a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch?! Let’s all have our sandwiches in a cookie form!

Ingredients for the red velvet whoopie pies

• Plain flour: Plain flour is perfect for any kind of cookie recipe, as it has medium gluten protein content.
• Light brown sugar: We use light brown to give a chewy texture and moisture to our dough.
• Unsalted butter: Unsalted butter is best when baking as you can control the salt content in the recipe.
• Egg yolk: One egg yolk from a whole egg will go into our recipe. Don’t throw away those poor egg whites! Why don’t you use them to try the strawberry and basil pavlova recipe on my blog?!
• Vanilla extract: I guess you have noticed by now that I add vanilla in most of my bakes. Hey don’t blame me it’s too delicious!
• Cocoa powder: Always use unsweetened cocoa powder. That way you can control the sweetness of your bakes.
• Bicarbonate of soda: Baking soda will help leaven the dough, creating a soft and fluffy cookie.
• Salt: Our cookie dough needs some salt to balance the sweetness. Salt also absorbs a lot of cooking water so that they retain their shape.
• Red gel colour: Let’s talk colouring. To start with, you don’t have to use any colour if you prefer more natural looking cookies. I have used both liquid and gel food colouring. I definitely prefer gel food colour as it is brighter and more intense than liquid. Also liquid colour has higher water content which will make your dough too ‘watery’. I used sugarflair ‘poppy’ red colour but the ‘extra’ red one is even better!
• White chocolate chips: Unlike baking chocolate, chocolate chips tend to have a lower amount of cocoa butter, which makes them more resistant to heat.
• Cream cheese: Use full fat cream cheese to avoid the excess water that you find in the light alternatives. Make sure it is very cold.
• Zest from half a lemon: The tanginess of the zest is very needed to cut through the sweetness of the frosting.
• Seeds from half a vanilla pod: I love vanilla in anything as I already mentioned but it is a must in most frostings! I love the look of the beautiful caviar swirling through the frosting but you can also use 1tsp of vanilla essence.
• Icing sugar: I know I keep repeating myself but I shall never stop reminding you to always sieve your icing sugar! There is no point in everything looking scrumptious and you end up with a lumpy frosting!

For the cream cheese frosting

• 120g icing sugar
• 55g unsalted room temperature butter
• 120g full fat COLD cream cheese
• Zest from half a lemon
• Seeds from half a vanilla pod (or ½ tsp of vanilla essence)
• Pinch of salt

For the red velvet whoopie pies (makes 6 whoopie pies/ 12 individual cookies/ 45g each)

• 115g unsalted butter
• 105g light brown sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 5g vanilla essence
• 10g gel red colour (I use sugaflair)
• 130g plain flour
• 25g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3g baking soda
• 2g salt
• 170g white chocolate chips

How to make the cream cheese frosting

1. Place softened butter in a standing or a handheld mixer with a paddle.
2. Cream butter until soft, fluffy and pale making sure you scrape down every 3 minutes.
3. Sieve your icing sugar, add half to your butter and beat for 3 minutes.
4. Stop and scrape down thoroughly.*
5. Add remaining icing sugar together with all your cream cheese in chunks, vanilla, zest of half a lemon and salt.
6. Turn mixer on to low and beat until everything comes together- stop and scrape down.
7. Turn mixer to medium and beat until fluffy. Do not over mix.
8. Place in a piping bag with a medium round nozzle fitted and store in the fridge until needed*.

How to make the red velvet cookies

1. Melt the butter; add it to a handheld or standing mixer with the paddle attached, together with the light brown sugar, gel red colour and mix on medium speed for a minute or two until it looks thick and glossy.
2. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract.
3. In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder and then add all at once to the creamed mixture.
4. Add the white chocolate chips and mix until just combined.
5. Roll the dough (no need to rest) into 12 x 45g balls and place on a small tray lined with parchment paper.
6. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge to rest the dough for 30-45 minutes.
7. When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 160C fan and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
8. Place them in a zig zag pattern, 2 inches apart on the prepared tray
9. Place the trays in the oven for 8 minutes.
10. After 8 minutes remove from the oven and using a round flat lid from any container or a fish turner* press the cookie to flatten them slightly.
11. Place in the oven for a further 8 minutes.
12. Let the cookies cool completely before assembling your red velvet whoopie pies.

Assemble the red velvet whoopie pies

1. Pipe a big dollop of the cheese frosting to one cookie. Top it with another red velvet cookie and press slightly to create a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and frosting.
2. Consume immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 24 hours*.
3. Enjoy 🙂

Notes

• Don’t worry if your frosting looks a bit softer than other frostings you have tried. That happens because of the high content of cream cheese and it will get firmer after refrigerating for some time.
• It is very important to keep scraping the butter from the sides and paddle of your mixer. The more you scrape and paddle the more certain you can be that the frosting be will lump free!
• You can use any kind of lid or tool you have that is flat and ideally round to flatten your cookies.
• As your whoopie pies contain cream cheese you cannot consume them after 24 hours have passed for health and safety reasons. These delicious treats make great ice cream sandwiches! Yes you heard it. You can freeze the assembled whoopie pies and because of the high content of sugar in the frosting they are perfect straight out of the freezer!

Meringue kisses,
Athina xx