Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

🥘 Ingredients

Red Velvet Whoopie Pie Cakes

• All-Purpose Flour - Make sure you measure your flour by fluffing it up, scooping it into your measuring cup with a spoon, and then leveling off the top with a knife (spooned and leveled).
• Cocoa Powder - You can use regular unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch-processed cocoa powder, or dark cocoa.
• Baking Soda - Some baking soda to help the cakes rise.
• Salt - Just a little salt to highlight ingredient flavors and balance the sweetness of the cookies.
• Butter - Let your butter come to room temperature before getting started.
• Brown Sugar - I like to use light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar would work, too.
• Egg - Let the egg come to room temperature, too.
• Vanilla - Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
• Red Food Coloring - Use gel food coloring for a deep red color best suited to red velvet recipes.
• Buttermilk - I recommend using actual buttermilk rather than a buttermilk substitute for the best results.

Cream Cheese Filling

• Cream Cheese - You can use full-fat or reduced-fat cream cheese.
• Butter - Let your butter come to room temperature.
• Confectioners' Sugar - Also called icing sugar or powdered sugar, this will thicken your frosting and add sweetness.
• Heavy Cream - Using heavy cream (or milk) can help you to thin the frosting.
• Salt (optional) - Salt in any frosting recipe will balance out the sweetness and keep the filling from being overly sweet.

🔪 How To Make Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Whoopie pies are an easy treat to make, you just need to bake the cakes and make the filling. You will need a sieve, some baking sheets, a stand mixer, and your measuring utensils.

This recipe will make 20 assembled red velvet whoopie pies.

Preheat. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C/Gas Mark 5) and line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper or use silicone baking mats in your baking sheets.

Make the Whoopie Pie Cakes

Combine the dry ingredients. Use a sieve to sift your 2¼ cups (281 grams) of all-purpose flour, ¼ cup (21.5 grams) of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1½ teaspoon of baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon of salt into a large bowl (photo 1). Set aside.

Cream the butter. In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together ½ cup (113.5 grams) of butter and 1 cup (220 grams) of light brown sugar (photo 2) until smooth and creamy.

Add. Add 1 large egg, 1½ teaspoons of vanilla extract, and 1-2 teaspoons of red gel food coloring (photo 3) and beat at medium-high speed until completely combined.

Alternate the dry and wet ingredients. Turn the mixer off and add half of your 1¼ cup (296 milliliters) of buttermilk and half of your dry mixture (photo 4).

Mix. Mix at low speed, stopping occasionally to scrape the bowl, until well combined.

Add. Add the rest of your dry ingredients and buttermilk and mix again until everything is combined and it resembles a very thick cake batter (photo 5).

Portion, Bake & Cool

Portion. Use a standard-sized cookie scoop (about 1 - 1½ tablespoons) to scoop the batter and drop it onto your prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space in between each ball of dough (photo 6).

Bake. Bake in the oven at 375°F (190°C/Gas Mark 5) for 9-11 minutes, or until the top is no longer shiny and the cake slightly springs back when touched gently.

Cool. Remove the cakes from the oven (photo 7) and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Cream Cheese Filling

Cream the butter and cream cheese. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together 8 ounces (227 grams) of cream cheese and ½ cup (113.5 grams) of butter (photo 8) until smooth.

Add. Add 3 cups (360 grams) of confectioners sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (photo 9) and mix, starting slow and gradually increasing in speed, until combined.

Adjust. Add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and beat at medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy (photo 10). Adjust the consistency by adding more heavy cream or powdered sugar if needed.

Taste and add optional salt to reduce the sweetness of the frosting if needed.

Assemble the Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Fill. Spread, spoon, or pipe the cream cheese frosting onto the flat side of the cooled cakes (photo 11).

Press. Gently press another cake on top and serve immediately or store them for later.

💭 Tips & Notes

• Use actual buttermilk. While I do love a good buttermilk substitute, I recommend sticking with actual buttermilk when making whoopie pies. It is the secret to activating the baking soda and is what gives them their tender texture.
• Use your preferred cocoa. I used regular unsweetened cocoa powder, but you can use dark cocoa powder (or Dutch-processed).
• Make even circles. If you drop your batter onto your baking sheet in uneven shapes, they will bake unevenly. Use a spoon to gently shape them into circles if needed.
• Chill the cookie sandwiches. If you are planning on transporting your whoopie pies, I recommend chilling them in the fridge first. This makes them sturdier (and gives them a fudgier texture). 
• Keep them cold. Since the filling for these cookies contains cream cheese, they do need to be kept refrigerated and shouldn't be left out for more than two hours. 

🥡 Storing

Store your whoopie pies in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 4-5 days. I like to use a sheet of parchment paper between layers if stacking the cookies.

Freezing

Whoopie pies can be frozen for up to 1 month. Let them thaw overnight in the fridge before serving or bringing them to room temperature.

📖 Recipe Card