Tag Archives: cream cheese icing

Red Velvet Whoopie Pie Recipe – The Perfect Valentine’s Day Treat

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Red Velvet Whoopie Pies with icing drizzled over the top - Irresistible!!!!

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies with icing drizzled over the top – Irresistible!!!!

Valentine’s Day is next week, and although we don’t make a big celebration of the ‘Hallmark’ holiday, I do use it as an excuse to make (and eat) something sweet.  Because our house is filled with teenagers with a variety of tastes, I had to come up with something that would please everyone. This year I decided that I would make a version of the traditional Whoopie Pie, with a red velvet twist.

Who doesn’t like Red Velvet cake and cream cheese icing???? Although this recipe was made from scratch, it is also easily adapted for the semi-homemade version, using cake batter mix and store-bought icing. Either way, they are easy to make, adorable and beyond delicious.  Just a warning, if you don’t have teenagers in your home to clear them out in a single day, you might want to share them with friends and family.  Otherwise, you will end up eating more than you wanted to, they are so good!

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Ingredients:

Make sure to sift your dry ingredients - especially the cocoa powder.

Make sure to sift your dry ingredients – especially the cocoa powder.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
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 ounce red food coloring

Cream Cheese Filling:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 – 8 ounce cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

Notice the paper towel below the bowl in case of splashing of the red food coloring

Notice the paper towel below the bowl in case of splashing of the red food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. With your mixer (use your paddle attachment if you have one),  beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg beating until combined . Beat in the vanilla extract.  

The secret to good Whoopie pies, is a consistent size - the ice cream scoop helps regulate the size of each cookie

The secret to good Whoopie pies, is a consistent size – the ice cream scoop helps regulate the size of each cookie

4. In a small mixing bowl, mix the buttermilk and red food coloring with a spoon. * Hint – place a paper towel under your bowl in case the food coloring splashes out – it will stain.  

5. With the mixer on low speed,  add 1/3rd of the flour mixture and then 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture. Repeat the process until well combined.  

Cookies on the cooling rack, waiting for the icing.

Cookies on the cooling rack, waiting for the icing.

6. Using a small ice cream scoop (or a standard tablespoon),  drop heaping tablespoons of the batter, approximately the same size, onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Space about 2 inches apart.

7.  Smooth the tops of the cookies to prevent any peaks with your finger or spoon dipped lightly in water to prevent sticking. 

Place a mound of icing in the center of the bottom of one cookie. Place the top cookie on and squeeze until the icing fills in to the edge.

Place a mound of icing in the center of the bottom of one cookie. Place the top cookie on and squeeze until the icing fills in to the edge.

8. Bake for 9-11 minutes. 

9. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

10. Cream Cheese Filling: Beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add in the vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Slowly beat in the confectioners sugar, and continue to beat until smooth and creamy

11. Match up similar sized cookies.  For each pair, take one cookie and spread a heaping tablespoon of the filling on the flat (bottom) side.  Top with the other cookie. Repeat until all cookies have cream filling. 

12. Optional:  Take a few tablespoons of the filling and thin it out in a small bowl with milk until it is able to be drizzled from the tip of the spoon. Place thinned icing in a small piping bag, plastic bag or over the edge of a spoon and drizzle lines back and forth over the tops of the Whoopie Pies.

13. If there are any left, the Whoopie Pies can be stored in the refrigerator, in an air tight container, for several days. Makes about 18 sandwich cookies.

For those who want the short cut version:

  • 1box of Red Velvet Cake mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup flour

Mix the above ingredients, bake as directed above.  Ice with store-bought cream cheese icing.

Enjoy!!!!

Mary and Jim

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What Do I Do With All These Carrots?? – Homemade Carrot Cake, of course! (Recipe Included)

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This past weekend I was so excited to start to pick the first round of our summer crop of vegetables.

Early Spring Crop Picking

I picked a few cucumbers, small onions, zucchini, peppers, and carrots.  I was very surprised at the amount of carrots that were poking up through the soil, begging to be picked.  Because I was in the zone of pulling weeds and digging out the veggies, I didn’t notice that my basket was full of so many carrots that even Peter Rabbit would have been stuffed.   So as I was at the kitchen sink cleaning the crops, I began thinking of what I could make to use up all of the carrots.   Of course, feeding them to our family as a nice crisp snack as we watched baseball games was my first thought.  (You can only eat so much ballpark food, and honestly, by June, I don’t want to even step foot near a concession stand).  So as I packed the orange treats in small snack bags, I realized that we barely made a dent in the supply.  The boys will snack on them when Ranch dip is available, but I knew we would need to get creative to ensure that we would not to waste the remaining supply.  It has been extremely hot in Ohio, and the thought of putting the carrots in a crock pot with a roast all day, honestly just doesn’t sound appealing right now.  I had to think of something fun and cool to make in order to use the rest of the first picking crop.

Of course, with future crops, we will be sharing our treasures with family, friends, and the community, but these are first picking carrots –which are not so pretty, if you know what I mean. So….last night, as I got my nightly sweet tooth, it came to me!  Homemade Carrot Cake!    This isn’t a family recipe passed on from generation to generation……YET!  I did some research on the internet and added a few changes to this basic recipe, and by the end of the night, it was GONE!  Yes, a success I would say.

HOMEMADE CARROT CAKE RECIPE

     Ingredients:

Mixing the ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3 cups grated carrots

    Cream Cheese Icing

     Icing Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch pan. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots.

Folding in the shredded carrots – Hint – use the coarse grater not the fine grater to make the moisture content perfect!

Pour into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy.  Frost the cooled cake.

The Final Product – Moist and Delicious Carrot Cake!

ENJOY!