Try a New Recipe Thursdays - Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

So the holiday season is in full swing! I've been so busy transitioning from Thanksgiving to Christmas that my poor blog has been neglected the past couple of days. This week we've gotten a lot of Christmas stuff accomplished though... we purchased and decorated a tree, adorned the rest of the house with all things Christmas, made a very comprehensive shopping list (to be tackled online and this weekend) AND ordered some adorable Paper Cafe Christmas Cards! Since it is already Thursday and time for a new recipe, I thought I'd share something I'm looking forward to making this season for a dessert party we will be attending. These taste even more amazing than they look.

Whoopie Pies

1 cup + 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 Tablespoon red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour, baking soda, cocoa and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth. Spoon about 1 Tablespoon of batter about 1 1/2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and cookies spring back when touched, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes. Make filling/frosting while cookies chill. Once they are completely cool, frost the flat side of a cookie with a generous amount of frosting and sandwich with another cookie.

Frosting:

(Hint - you will only need 1/2 recipe of the below)

3/4 cup butter, softened

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/8 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-2 tablespoons milk

2-4 cups powdered sugar depending on desired consistency

Cream the butter and cream cheese together in an electric mixer. (Be sure that the two are at room temperature, but not melted. Cold cream cheese or butter can make your frosting lumpy.) Add the brown sugar and vanilla extract, and beat for about 2 minutes. Turn off mixer and add 2 cups of powdered sugar. Turn the mixer on a low speed so the sugar doesn’t fly out of the bowl. Slowly add more sugar alternately with the milk until you reach your desired consistency.