Red, White and Blue Velvet Mini Whoopie Pies

Ingredients

Patriotic Whoopie Pies
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon red food coloring*
1 tablespoon blue food coloring*

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 cup (8 ounce package) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
11/2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Whoopie Pies

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment; set aside.
2. In medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Beat in brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beating after each addition just until combined.
4. Evenly divide batter into two bowls (about 1 1/2 cups batter per bowl). In one bowl, stir in the red food coloring. In the other bowl, stir in the blue food coloring.
5. Transfer the red velvet dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round frosting tip. Begin piping dough into quarter-sized rounds onto the parchment lined baking sheets placing them about 1-inch apart, then flatten cookie as needed.**
6. Bake in preheated oven for about 5 to 6 minutes until edges are set. Allow to cool 2 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until creamy and lump-free. Transfer to a frosting bag fitted with a 1/4-inch tip.

Assembly
Match red velvet cookies up with blue velvet cookies based on size. Frost a dollop of frosting on one red velvet cookie and sandwich with a blue velvet cookie. Repeat for remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container (in refrigerator if not serving within an hour). Whoopie pies will stay for three to four days in the fridge.

Notes

Use 1 Tablespoon food coloring for regular liquid food coloring. For gel or concentrated food coloring, use 1 teaspoon.
*Sometimes peaks will form when using a frosting bag. Get your hands slightly wet with water to help shape the cookies if needed. Alternatively, cookies can be scooped and placed on to the cookie sheet, but will most likely still need shaping to create rounds.