I’ve wanted to make whoopie pies for quite some time … and was especially inspired by Starbucks’ mini red velvet whoopie pie. I found a listed of suggested whoopie pie recipes on the kitchn and decided to use/adapt the food network’s red velvet whoopie pie recipe. After reading the reviews I made a few slight adjustments.
Originally, I had the idea to make a batch of traditional chocolate and vanilla, homemade red velvet AND a batch of red velvet from premade mix. However, my first batch did not turn out as planned. And by that I mean I forgot to add the baking soda so they were really dense. Ooops. After the first whoopie pie debacle, I decided to redeem myself by making just the homemade red velvet version. I was happy I read over the reviews first and knew to sift the flour. The cookies were light and delicious. I was wanted to pay homage to the traditional recipe by adding marshmallow fluff to the filling. It turned out a little too sweet and not as fluffy as I wanted so I’ll have to experiment with different ratios for next time. Overall, though, quite a success!
Here’s what you’ll need…
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 12 tablespoons of butter (1 stick & 1/2); melted
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ounce of semisweet chocolate; chopped
- 1/2 ounce of milk chocolate; chopped
- 1/2 cup of sour cream
- 1 tablespoon of red food coloring
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the filing:
- 8 ounces cream cheese; room temperature
- 2 heaping tablespoons of marshmallow creme (fluff)
- 2 1/2 cups of confectioners’ sugar; sifted
- 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and seeds scraped OR approx. a tablespoon of vanilla extract
+ Parchment paper for the baking sheets.
Cooking directions:
- Preheat oven to 375F and line baking sheets with parchment paper
- Whisk together melted butter, sour cream, eggs, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract and food coloring in a large bowl until combined.
- Sift flour (SIFTING THE FLOUR IS KEY) in batches into a medium sized bowl; add sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. whisk until combined
- Combine semisweet and milk chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 50percent power until melted … about 2 mins. whisk until smooth. (you could also use a double boiler)
- Add flour mixture to butter mixture in four equal batches, incorporating each batch completely before adding the next then stir in melted chocolate.
- Scoop tablespoon-size dollops of batter onto baking sheet and smooth over the top of each with a damp finger.
- Bake until the cookies “spring” when lightly pressed about 10minutes
- Let cool on baking sheets for 10minutes then transfer to racks to cool completely filling directions:
- Beat room temperature cream cheese and butter with a mixer until smooth
- Slowly add in sifted confectioners’ sugar; beat until smooth, add in vanilla seeds OR vanilla extract (approx. 1 tablespoon)
- Add marshmallow fluff a tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth
Assembly:
- Once cookies are COMPLETELY cooled, sandwich a heaping tablespoon of filling between two cookies
- Refrigerate for no less than 30minutes before serving
… And enjoy!