Red Velvet Cookies

Packages of Red Velvet Cookies. These sold quickly at a recent sale to benefit Hunger Ministries at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. A cute way to package them is to place the cookies in cupcake papers and slide them inside self-sealing cellophane bags. I used paper punches to make the homemade tags.

These Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies are sure to please all your sweeties this Valentine's Day and there's still plenty of time to make them.

The cookie is a twist on my favorite tried and true recipe for Chocolate Espresso Sandwich Cookies that's from Julie Richardson of Baker & Spice. I just swapped red food coloring for the espresso in the dough, cut heart shapes, and after baking filled them with cream cheese icing. They are easy to make and so delicious.  Here's the recipe:

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies
(makes about 4 dozen 2-inch sandwiches)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups Dutch process Cocoa, sifted
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 oz red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 minutes or until light, scraping down the bowl occasionally as needed.

Add the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, blending lightly between additions. Add the red food coloring, make sure to mix this in on low so that there's no splattering!

Add the cocoa on low speed until combined.

Blend the flour, and salt and add to the butter mixture until just combined.Wrap the dough and let it chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

After chilling, the dough might need to warm at room temperature for a bit so that it can be easily rolled.

Roll the dough on a lightly floured work area to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into desired shapes, I like to use a 1.5-inch heart cutter and place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for about 6 minutes or until the cookies are no longer shiny but still soft in the middle.

Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before filling them with the cream cheese filling.

Adding the cream cheese filling to the cookies.

Cream Cheese Filling

2/3 cup powdered sugar

8 oz. (1 package) cream cheese 

1/4 cup softened butter

1 teaspoons vanilla

Whip cream cheese and butter thoroughly. Add the vanilla then the powdered sugar, a little at a time and whip until smooth.

Cake For A Crowd

Mini Red Velvet Cakes

Before serving, place each cake in a cupcake liner and add a dollop of cream cheese icing.

These Mini Red Velvet and Carrot Cakes were part of a dessert buffet that I recently catered and of all the things I made, they were the easiest and very well received. I think people liked that the mini cakes were small enough that they could try one of each without over indulging and I liked that I was serving cake without having to slice and plate it.

To make the mini cakes, I simply baked my favorite Red Velvet and Carrot Cakes and then broke them into crumbs that I mixed with enough cream cheese icing to form a mixture that would hold together. This is basically how cake balls are made except that I skipped the rolling into balls step and the dipping into a coating step and just scooped (I used a 1-inch cookie scoop) and released the cakes flat side down on a piece of parchment paper. When you are ready to serve, place each cake in a mini cupcake paper and add a dollop of cream cheese icing on top. That's all there is to it and you have my favorite new way to serve cake to a crowd.

Mini Carrot Cakes

A tray of mini carrot cakes at the reception.

Here are the cake and icing recipes I used, but don't be afraid to get creative and make these using other cake and frosting recipes. Be creative and have fun.

Red Velvet Cake
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ounce red food coloring
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line two 9-inch cake pans.

Cream butter, add vanilla and mix well. Add sugar and beat until fluffy.

Add eggs, sour cream, food coloring and buttermilk. Mix well.

Add salt and baking soda. Mix well.

Add cocoa powder and flour and mix just until blended. Don't over mix.

Divide batter among the two cake pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until done.

Carrot Cake

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable (I have also used canola or olive oil)

4 eggs

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

3 cups raw grated carrots (I usually add an additional cup to bring the total to 4)

1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. With a whisk, cream together sugar and oil. Add eggs; cream well. Add flour, soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix well. Add carrots, nuts and pineapple. Mix well and pour into two 9-inch cake pans that are greased and floured. Bake at 300 degrees for approximately 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

 Cream Cheese Icing

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

12 oz. (1 1/2 pkg.) cream cheese 

1/4 cup softened butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

Whip cream cheese and butter thoroughly. Add vanilla. Add sugar, a little at a time and whip until smooth.

 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Here are the Red Velvet Cupcakes I just baked for a graduation party tomorrow.

Cupcakes are a smart choice for parties because they are easy to serve — no slicing and plating required!

And, they can be baked a day in advance. I won't frost them with cream cheese icing until right before the party. I'll post the final results tomorrow.

I like my recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes because the batter is nice and thick which makes it so much easier to put into the cupcake papers.  Filling cupcake papers can be torture! — Messy and frustrating!

With thick batters that thankfully don't drip like this recipe, I just use a large spoon.  For thinner cupcake batters, I've found that a pitcher with a sturdy spout works best.

The pitcher I like to use when filling cupcake papers with thinner cupcake batters.

But don't worry about that for this recipe. That's why I love it! It's delicious and a breeze to portion out.

Cupcakes that are ready to be baked.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ounce red food coloring
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups flour

Cream butter, add vanilla and mix well. Add sugar and beat until fluffy.

Add eggs, sour cream, food coloring and buttermilk. Mix well.

Add salt and baking soda. Mix well.

Add cocoa powder and flour and mix just until blended. Don't over mix.

Fill cupcake papers 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 14 to 16 minutes or until done.