Ever had a craving for red velvet cake, but didn't want to cut a whole slice because you knew you wouldn't be able to finish it all in one sitting? Well here is the solution: red velvet whoopie pies! Last Thanksgiving my mother and I decided to make a new dessert for the family feast. We came across this recipe in her handy-dandy cookbook and thought it would be great to make them for our family.
Since I had a craving for these recently, I decided to make them for myself as well as my friends and thought it would be nice to share the process of making these delicious treats.

Step 1: Ingredients

The ingredients for this recipe are simple and easy to find in any local grocery store.
Here is what you will need for the whoopie pies:
1. 2 Cups of All-Purpose Flour
2. 2 Tbsp of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3. 1/2 Tsp of Baking Soda
4. 1/4 Tsp of Salt
5. 1/2 Cup of Softened Butter
6. 1 Cup of Packed Brown Sugar
7. 1 Egg
8. 1 Tsp of Vanilla
9. 1/2 Cup of Buttermilk
10. 1 1-oz Bottle of Red Food Coloring (2 Tbsp)

Here is what you will need for the filling:
1. 1 8oz Package of Cream Cheese
2. 1.5 sticks of Unsalted Softened Butter
3. 1 Tsp of Vanilla Extract
4. 1 lb of Confectioners sifted Sugar (all of this may not be needed)

Step 2: Let's Get to Mixing!

Make sure to preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit before mixing your ingredients.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set this aside for now.

Step 3: Mixing Continued

In another medium size bowl, beat/cream your softened butter on medium to high for 30 seconds. This process allows any pastry to have a little lightness to it. After beating the butter, add in the brown sugar until it is light and fluffy. Now add the egg and vanilla, mix well.

Step 4: Time to Alternate

Here comes the tricky part. Gradually add the buttermilk and flour mixture, making sure to alternate between the two.
My first attempt at this recipe wasn't all that good because I dumped all the flour and buttermilk in all at once. Beware! This will have the whoopie pies extra lumpy during the cooking process making them non-presentable.
When the mixture is just starting to combine well, add in the food coloring. I tend to start off with small doses of the coloring so I have the option of seeing what shade of red I would like for the whoopie pies to be. This part is really up to how light or how dark of a red tint you would like it to achieve.

Step 5: Scoop Out the Batter

If you would like to be precise, spoon the batter out with a small ice cream scoop so everything will turn out uniform.
Make sure to leave an inch between every scoop because these will spread during the cooking process.
Bake them 7 to 9 minutes, or until the tops set and start to crack.
Let these cool on baking racks so they will be ready for the filling.

Step 6: Filling

While the whoopie pies are cooling, go ahead and prepare the filling.
Some people like marshmallow filling, but I prefer a cream cheese filling because it really reminds me of a slice of red velvet cake.
This part can be done with a bowl and whisk, or with a Kitchen-aid.
Cream together the cream cheese and butter. After this add the vanilla extract and combine thoroughly.
Gradually add the confectioners' sugar until you reach the desired consistency of the filling