Name: Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened); 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar; 1/4 teaspoon vanilla; 1 large egg yolk; 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring; 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons flour; 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 cup buttermilk; 3 ounces cream cheese (softened); 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened); 1/2 cup powdered sugar; 3 teaspoons buttermilk; 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

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Why eat one cookie when you can eat two with fluffy vanilla frosting in the middle? These Red Velvet Whoopie Pies are soft, fluffy, and completely irresistible. Make these for the true red velvet lover in your life. (The recipe only makes 4 cookie sandwiches!)

Horizontal image of red velvet whoopie pies stacked on each other.

Please disregard the name of this recipe if you’ve never heard of a ‘whoopie pie.’ All you really need to know about whatever a ‘whoopie pie’ is, is this: it’s a way to eat two cookies at the same time! With fluffy frosting in the middle!

To be honest, you could call it literally anything, and I would eat it because, again: it’s two soft fluffy cookies with frosting in the middle.

I know I’m the last one on earth to discover the soft version of Oreos called ‘cakesters,’ but to be honest, they are nothing but packaged whoopie pies. And whenever we find something pre-made and packaged, we always try to make it at home, don’t we?

Stack of bright red cookies with white filling.

Ingredients

Butter. Three tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened. This is a small batch whoopie pie recipe, so we’re only making 8 cookies (or 4 cookie sandwiches total). We also need 2 tablespoons of softened butter for the frosting filling.
Sugar. One-quarter cup of granulated sugar plus 2 tablespoons, which is 6 tablespoons of sugar total.
Vanilla. One-quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract for the cookies, and another 1/4 teaspoon for the frosting filling.
Egg Yolk. Please split the egg and just use the egg yolk. Reserve the egg white for another use.
Red Food Coloring. To make these red velvet whoopie pies vivid, use one-half teaspoon of red food gel. Food gel is more potent than food dye, so if you’re using the dye, you need to increase the amount to 3/4 teaspoon.
Flour. Measure out 1/2 cup of flour and add another 2 tablespoons for this recipe. Apologies–sometimes small-batch recipes require unusual measurements.
Baking Soda. One-quarter teaspoon of baking soda.
Buttermilk. Anytime cookies are soft, it’s because a small amount of milk is in the batter. For these red velvet whoopie pies, we’re using 1/4 cup of buttermilk. If you don’t want to buy a carton of buttermilk just for 1/4 cup, you can use 1/4 cup of milk with a very small splash of white vinegar in it. However, please note that we will also use a small amount of buttermilk for the frosting (but again, you can swap in milk).
Cream Cheese. Nothing goes better with red velvet than cream cheese frosting. The filling for these whoopie pies starts with 3 ounces of softened cream cheese.
Powdered Sugar. One-half cup of powdered sugar to make the cream cheese filling.

How to Make Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

White ramekin being traced onto a baking sheet.

Baking bowl with half a stick of butter, sugar, and a splash of vanilla.

First, use a standard 6-ounce ramekin to trace eight circles onto parchment paper. (Flip the paper over so the batter doesn’t touch the pencil marks directly).

Next, beat together the softened butter, sugar, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy.

Yellow batter with an egg yolk and food coloring in the center.

Add the egg yolk and red food coloring.

After blending, sift the flour and baking soda on top. Beat, while adding the buttermilk slowly.

Eight dollops of raw red batter on a baking sheet.

Half a brick of cream cheese, butter, and sugar in a mixing bowl.

Use teaspoons to divide the red velvet whoopie pie batter into each circle. Make them as uniform as possible. Bake 10 minutes; they will be soft, but a toothpick will tell you they’re done. Let cool on the pan.

Make the frosting: beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, buttermilk, and vanilla. Divide into 4 portions to make 4 cookie sandwiches.

Two red velvet whoopie pies leaning on each other with one bite missing.

You might also like my pumpkin whoopie pies in the fall!