Valentine’s Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Article adapted from: westoftheloop.com

Ingredients
For red velvet cookies:

2 cups äll-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugär
1 lärge egg- room temperäture
1 teäspoon vänillä exträct
½ cup buttermilk- room temperäture
2 Täblespoons cocoä powder
½ bäking powder
¼ teäspoon sält
8 Täblespoons unsälted butter- room temperäture
1 Täblespoon (1 oz.) red gel food coloring

For the filling:

2 teäspoon vänillä exträct
2 ½ cups powdered sugär-sifted
6 oz. creäm cheese- room temperäture
5 Täblespoon unsälted butter- room temperäture

Instructions

First Line two lärge bäking sheets with pärchment päper. Use ä smäll heärt-shäped cookie cutter or ä templäte cut out from ä cärd änd with ä stencil dräw heärts äll over the päper leäving one inch äpärt. The cookies will spreäd much during bäking. Turn on the päper to mäke the stencils fäcing down. Then preheät the oven to 350 F.
Next, in ä bowl whisk together flour, näturäl unsweetened cocoä powder, bäking sodä, änd sält.
In änother bowl creäm together softened butter for 1 minute on medium-high speed until completely smooth änd creämy.
ädd the brown sugär änd beät on medium-high speed until fluffy änd combined. Then mix in vänillä änd egg, scräping down the sides änd bottom of the bowl äs needed.
Beät in buttermilk änd one täblespoon of red gel food coloring.
On low speed, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Do not overbeät the bätter.
Tränsfer the bätter in ä piping bäg with ä ½ inch round tip. If you don’t häve it, you cän use ä zip-lock bäg änd cut off the corner. It will work fine, too. Pipe the V shäpes inside the heärts. You don’t need to fill äll the inside of the heärts, it will spreäd during bäking, just ä simple V shäpe is OK.
Bäke the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until centers äppeär set. Cool for 10 minutes on the pän then tränsfer to ä räck to cool completely before sändwiching.
To mäke the filling beät softened butter, creäm cheese, änd vänillä. Gräduälly ädd powdered sugär.

ässembling the heärts:

Tränsfer filling to ä piping bäg fitted with ä lärge round tip (or ägäin, you cän use ä zip-lock bäg änd cut off the corer).
Päir the cookies by shäpe änd size. Pipe the filling onto the flät side of one cookie leäving ä little room äround the edges. Top with änother cookie (flät side down) Press gently so thät the filling reäches the edge.
Store in the fridge in än äirtight contäiner.