Red Velvet Whoopie Pie

And here we have it.. another sandwich cookie. I was inspired to do a Whoopie Pie when I watched Bobby Flay take on a two woman team in a whoopie pie throwdown. The women were from Maine and I DON'T remember their names or their store, but their pies looked FANTASTIC. They had made pumpkin shaped and flavored cookies with a thick and fluffy white filling that had to have been at least 3/4 inch thick. I wanted to taste those cookies SO BADLY. But I couldn't, of course, because it was on TV and I was watching the showdown from my couch in NY. Oh well.

So what I decided to do was attempt a festive whoopie pie. I would have LOVED to do a pumpkin cookie, but that would have required a pumpkin puree, which I didn't have. So, red velvet is a nice flavor, and red is rather festive, so I based my recipe off of this blog post, which was festive for Valentine's Day (and maybe if I find my special someone I'll make them just like that... any takers? ;)). Here's my spin on the cookie:

Ingredients (for cookies)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1.5 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbs. grounded coffee (I didn't use instant, but you probably can if you want to)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature - if you don't have buttermilk, do this: set aside just under 1/2 cup of milk and about a tablespoon of white vinegar, let sit for a few minutes, and then it's ready to use
red food coloring

Ingredients (for filling)
2 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
1 stick butter
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
2.5 (or as much as you need) cups confectioner's sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Prepare wet ingredients in a bowl: beat an egg and whisk in the pure vanilla extract, light brown sugar, buttermilk, butter (I melt it completely in the microwave before adding it), and red food coloring.

3. Prepare dry ingredients in a separate bowl: sift flour and add cocoa powder, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and coffee. Whisk them all together.

4. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until you have an even consistency and all have been incorporated.

5. Prepare a cookie sheet for the oven. I like it with a piece of aluminum foil and cooking spray. Use ~2 Tbs. of the batter for each cookie. Make them round, not flat, but not spherical either. Use your thumb or something to even out the surface.

6. Leave in oven for 7-9 minutes. My cookies took exactly 8 each time.
7. Set aside the cookies to cool.
8. Prepare the filling. Cream together the butter, cream cheese, and pure vanilla extract. Once you've done that, sift in your confectioner's sugar, adding small amounts at a time, until the mixture is fluffy and yummy to the taste.
9. Let both mixtures cool for a while. Then, make your sandwiches! If I need to explain how to make a sandwich then please leave. There is only so much I can do.