Red Velvet Hearts

Valentine's Day is less than a week away!!!

When I think about food that goes with this holiday, I think about desserts.  That's it.  No regular food.  Just chocolate and sweets! 

These Red Velvet Hearts are a super easy Cake Mix Cookie that is perfect for Sunday!

Your Shopping List for the Red Velvet Hearts:

• 1 box red velvet cake mix 
• 1 stick butter 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• red sugar sprinkles (you can always use plain white sugar and color it red if you cannot find red sugar sprinkles) 
• 24 dark chocolate hearts, unwrapped (like the kind by Dove)

Now Let's Make the Red Velvet Hearts:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, eggs, and vanilla extract
3. Add the red velvet cake mix and the baking powder to your mixer and beat together until a soft dough forms
4. Use a cookie scoop to form dough into 24 balls (about 1 inch each)
5. Roll each dough ball into the red sugar sprinkles
6. Place onto prepared baking sheets and bake in oven for 10  - 12 minutes
7. While the cookies are in the oven, unwrap your chocolates and have them ready 
8. Remove from oven and immediately press a chocolate heart into the center of each cookie
9. Allow to cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely
10. Once cookies are cool and the chocolate has completely set, store in an airtight container

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Tuesday was Lacie's third birthday, and the only thing my sweet little girl wanted was WHOOPIE PIES!!!  She specifically asked for Red Velvet Whoopie Pies....and what the birthday girl wants, she gets!

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies are also CAKE MIX RECIPE #44!!!

Your Shopping List for the Red Velvet Whoopie Pies:

• 1 box red velvet cake mix
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup veggie oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 recipe cream cheese icing (you could always use store bought cream cheese icing in a pinch)

Your Shopping List for the Cream Cheese Icing:

• 1 stick room temperature butter
• 1 block room temperature cream cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 pound (4 cups) powdered sugar

Now Let's Make the Red Velvet Whoopie Pies:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs on low speed for 30 seconds
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on medium speed for two minutes
4. Use a medium cookie scoop to drop batter onto prepared baking sheets
5. Use a knife or spatula to smooth each drop of batter into a circle
6. Bake for 10 minutes
7. Remove from oven and cool 2 minutes on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely 

Now Let's Make the Cream Cheese Icicing:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the butter and cream cheese until soft and combined
2. Beat in the vanilla extract
3. On the lowest speed, add the powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix until combined
4. Turn up to medium/high speed and beat until icing is light and fluffy

Now Let's assemble the Red Velvet Whoopie Pies:

1. Turn half of the cooled whoopie pies upside down
2. Generously frost the bottom of those pies
3. Top with the other half of the pies
4. If desired, place extra icing in a piping bag and pipe around the outside of each completed whoopie pie

A very happy birthday girl! 

My Essential Tools for making perfect Whoopie Pies are:

1. My Kitchen Aid stand mixer (in pink of course)

2. Parchment Paper

3. Really Good Cookie Sheets (this will help everything bake evenly)

Red Velvet Hearts

Valentine's Day Week is upon us!  If you have been keeping up with this blog, then you know that I love this special holiday!  It is a day to celebrate love and the color pink!  It is also a time when Red Velvet desserts are in abundance!  And I love me some red velvet!  I also happen to love chocolate...seriously I have to eat chocolate every.single.day!  It's a must!  So I combined my love of red velvet and chocolate in this recipe!  It's the perfect treat to whip up for Friday!

And it's a cake mix recipe!  Cake Mix Recipe #28 if you're keeping track!

Here's What You Need to Make the Red Velvet Hearts:

• 1 box red velvet cake mix 
• 1 stick butter 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• red sugar sprinkles (you can always use plain white sugar and color it red if you cannot find red sugar sprinkles) 
• 24 dark chocolate hearts, unwrapped (like the kind by Dove)

Now Let's Make the Red Velvet Hearts:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, eggs, and vanilla extract
3. Add the red velvet cake mix and the baking powder to your mixer and beat together until a soft dough forms
4. Use a cookie scoop to form dough into 24 balls (about 1 inch each)
5. Roll each dough ball into the red sugar sprinkles
6. Place onto prepared baking sheets and bake in oven for 10  - 12 minutes
7. While the cookies are in the oven, unwrap your chocolates and have them ready - don't forget to unwrap a few extra to eat while you are waiting! 
   
8. Remove from oven and immediately press a chocolate heart into the center of each cookie
9. Allow to cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely
10. Once cookies are cool and the chocolate has completely set, store in an airtight container

There is just nothing better then a cookie topped with a piece of chocolate!  

Click here to check out my original Cookie Butter Kiss Cookies that I made for Christmas!  

And click here to check out my Valentine's Day Kiss Cookies made with funfetti cake mix!  

Red Velvet Neiman Marcus Bars

I love red velvet anything!  I have shared my love of this delightfully scrumptious flavor on my blog from time to time!  Check out my past red velvet recipes...

The Best Red Velvet Cupcakes You Will Ever Eat

Red Velvet Fudge Bars

Red Velvet Cookies

And Now Red Velvet Neiman Marcus Bars!

Red Velvet is the perfect dessert for my two favorite holidays - Christmas and Valentine's Day!  That's why I thought today would be the perfect time to share these bars with you - Valentine's Day is 3 weeks away!  Inspired by original Neiman Marcus Bars (also know as Chess Squares or Gooey Butter Cake or sometimes Texas Gold Cake - I promise whatever they are called you have had them at some point)...I simply swapped out yellow cake mix for red velvet cake mix!  That makes these bars Cake Mix Recipe #25!!!

That's It!!!

Here's What You Need to Make the Red Velvet Neiman Marcus Bars:

• 1 box red velvet cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 block cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups of powdered sugar (which equals 1 pound...which is one box...or a half of a 2 pound bag) 

Now Let's Make the Red Velvet Neiman Marcus Bars:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9x13 pan with butter or nonstick spray
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, one egg, and melted butter until a soft dough forms
3. Press dough into bottom of prepared pan
4. In the stand of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment beat together the cream cheese, remaining two eggs, and powdered sugar until combined and smooth
5. Spread mixture on top of red velvet cookie dough - it will look like this
   
6. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes until the edges are crisp and the top of the cream cheese mixture has a slight crust but doesn't seem completely set (the center will still wobble a bit) - The picture below is what you are looking for 
   
7. Allow pan to cool on a wire rack for thirty minutes
8. Transfer pan to fridge to cool completely (an additional two hours)
9. Cut into bars and serve or store in the fridge until you are ready to eat

These Bars Get Lacie's Stamp of Approval! 

If you liked these Red Velvet Neiman Marcus Bars, don't forget to check out my other Red Velvet Recipes!  You can also find a butterscotch version of this recipe - Blakely's Butterscotch Neiman Marcus Bars - Here!

Happy Friday!

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day #6 - John's Jolly Red Velvet Cookies

John's Jolly Red Velvet Cookies

I have loved red velvet since I was in high school, which was <sadly> a decade ago...long before red velvet became trendy!  When I met John, I passed my love of red velvet onto him!  He now requests my red velvet cupcakes on his birthday (he tries to request them for other people's birthdays as well)!  That is why I knew I had to make red velvet cookies as part of my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies.  

Now these cookies are super simple...they are cake mix cookies!!!  Of course if you don't feel like making drop cookies, you can always whip up a batch of my Red Velvet Fudge Bars.  They are just as good and slightly less work.  Both will look festive and cheery on your Christmas Cookie Tray! 

Here's What You Need to Make John's Jolly Red Velvet Cookies:

• 1 box red velvet cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup oil (veggie or canola work best)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• extra white chocolate for melting and drizzling 

Now Let's Make John's Jolly Red Velvet Cookies:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper
2. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment combine the cake mix, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract on a low to medium speed (if you do not have a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer or just mix by hand)
3. On the lowest speed, beat in the white chocolate and semisweet chocolate chips - your batter will be stickier than a traditional dough
   
4. Drop dough onto prepared cookie trays - I used a cookie scoop but you can just use a spoon
5. Bake for approximately 10 minutes
6. Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheets for 1-2 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely 
7. Once cookies are completely cool, drizzle with melted white chocolate (I used a bar of Bakers White Chocolate melted in the microwave on 50% power).  Allow white chocolate to cool and harden before storing cookies.

Red Velvet Fudge Bars

Happy Friday and Happy Dessert Day (if you are new to my blog, Friday is always dessert day at our house)!!!  I love love love red velvet!  I love it almost as much as the color pink!  John also loves red velvet, so when he called me yesterday sounding exhausted from working so much overtime, I knew I had to make him a special treat for when he got home.  I made these delightful bars, and he absolutely loved them...in fact he ate 8 of them!  I thought he was exaggerating when he said that he had 8.  But then I looked at the plate, and he was clearly not kidding!  So I know that they were a hit!  Since last night, I may have enjoyed one three bars myself!  

Here's the thing about these Red Velvet Fudge Bars!  They are a cross between a cookie bar and fudge.  They have a nice cookie texture around the edges, top, and bottom while maintaining this soft fudge-like middle!  Make them this weekend.  I promise you will not be disappointed!  I used a Red Velvet cake mix as the base for this recipe.  If I am making Red Velvet cake or cupcakes, I always make it from scratch using this fantastic recipe!  I do not think the mix tastes as good as homemade when you are trying to make a cake or cupcakes.  However, when you are making a treat like this, the mix is the perfect shortcut!  

Here's What You Need to Make the Red Velvet Fudge Bars:

• one box red velvet cake mix
• one stick butter, melted
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 bag white chocolate chips
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 

Now Let's Make the Red Velvet Fudge Bars:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 pan
2. In a large mixing bowl stir together cake mix, melted butter, and eggs until well combined 
3. Fold in the white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips
4. Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan
5. Bake in oven for 20 minutes
6. Remove from oven (you will see that the mixture is cooked but "puffy").  Use the back of a spatula and press down the bars evenly - making them flatter and more dense
7. Put back into oven for 5 minutes
8. Remove from oven and press down with spatula one more time
9. Cool in pan completely
10. Cut into even squares and store at room temperature 

If you have read any of my other cookie bar or fudge bar recipes (like these chocolate caramel fudge bars) you will already know that I use this spatula method outlined in steps 6-8 often.  I just think it makes the bars perfect!  It creates a crisper outside and a softer inside!  In other words, it is what makes these bars perfect!  Try them and see for yourself! 

The Best Red Velvet Cupcake You Will Ever Make (and eat)!

I love a good dessert (doesn't everyone?)!  One of my most favorite desserts of all time is Red Velvet!  Red Velvet what you may ask.  The answer is I don't really care!  Cake, cupcakes, brownies...you name it and I like it in the form of Red Velvet!

Cupcakes happen to be an all time favorite of mine.  I feel like it is such a fun way to give every person you are feeding their own mini cake!  Plus if you make cupcakes the right way, you get a ton of icing (a.k.a. the BEST part of any cake or cupcake)!

I have made a few different Red Velvet recipes in my years of baking, and this particular recipe happens to be my favorite!  I recently made it for John's birthday back in June and Lacie's birthday last week!  They did not disappoint!

What You Need for the Cupcakes:

• ½ cup (one stick) butter, softened (I use regular salted butter...I never use the unsalted stuff even when I am baking...I think that the extra salt gives it better flavor)
• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 ounces red food coloring (I use two McCormick bottles of Red food coloring...yes 2 whole bottles...you can find them by the Vanilla and other flavor extracts in the baking aisle)
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 ounces water
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

What You Need for the Icing:

• 2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup (two sticks) butter, softened (again I like salted butter, I think the flavor is better)
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Now Let's Make the Cupcakes

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Line two cupcake pans with cupcake liners (this recipe will make 24 regular size cupcakes)
3. Cream butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy (I like to use my PINK kitchen aid stand mixer for this recipe)
4. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition
5. In a separate bowl combine cocoa powder and food coloring (be careful not to dye your hands or kitchen counter red like I did) and add the colored mixture to the butter mixture
6. In a small mixing bowl combine flour and salt (I whisk them together - I actually never sift anything but if you like sifting flour go right ahead).  
7. Slowly add the flour mixture into the wet mixture, beating on low until combined
8. Add the vanilla, buttermilk, and water to your batter and mix until combined
9. In another bowl combine the white vinegar and baking soda (it will fizz up).  Then, fold this into your batter 
10. Divide batter evenly among cupcake cups
11. Bake for approximately 20 minutes (it may be a little more or less depending on your oven) until a toothpick comes out clean
12. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans, transfer cupcakes to wire racks to cool completely

Now Let's Make the Icing

1. Blend together softened cream cheese and softened butter
2. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract
3. Blend until smooth - you can add a little more or less powdered sugar to achieve the thickness of the frosting you would like
4. Frost your cupcakes and enjoy!  

Here we are blowing out the candles on Lacie's Red Velvet Birthday Cupcakes!  

A Few Notes

Make sure that the cupcakes are totally cool and frost them.  I like to use a star tip from Michaels Arts and Crafts Store.  I put a lot of icing on each cupcake!  STORE YOUR ICED CUPCAKES IN THE REFRIGERATOR!!!  You will most likely have some left over icing...trust me this is not a bad thing!  You can eat it on graham crackers, make up a batch of cinnamon rolls and use it as icing, or just eat with a spoon!  You could also cut the icing recipe in half and use less icing on each cupcake, but I don't recommend doing that.  

Here are the finished cupcakes before I put them on the cupcake stand!  See how much icing there is?!?