Roll Tide Red Velvet Frosted Cookies

So if there is one thing I have learned in the past week … it’s never to show up to work on a Monday without cookies in hand. I had some pretty upset/distressed coworkers who were without their Monday morning sugar fix or those who thought they had been taken off of the highly coveted cookie list. I was in San Fran for a friend’s wedding and didn’t get back Sunday night until late, but I’ve learned jet lag is no excuse … so to make up for it it’s going to be a double cookie Monday tomorrow.

First up are these red velvet cookies topped with cream cheese frosting. My brother, who usually tests my recipes, actually tried this one first. His version had the frosting on the inside of the cookie and then it was topped with white chocolate. Me and melting chocolate never goes well, so I tried this version instead. I think mine came out okay, but I don’t think I actually like the taste of red velvet which means my coworkers will need to be the judge of these tomorrow.

These cookies are dedicated to my very southern sister in law who had the most delicious red velvet wedding cake at her wedding this spring. Roll tide.

Cookie Ingredients:

  • 1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix
  • 1 small box of instant vanilla pudding mix (dry)
  • 4  large egg whites
  • 1/2 cup sour cream

Frosting Ingredients:

  • 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream or milk
  • 2 tablespoons softened butter
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the cake mix and dry instant pudding in a large bowl. You’ll notice my fancy new mixing bowls that mom and I scored a good deal on out shopping this weekend. By fancy I mean, they are bright.

Step 2: In a separate bowl mix together the egg whites and sour cream.

Step 3: Using a large wooden spoon mix the wet and dry ingredients in a large bowl. You are going to need to put some muscle into this as the batter is wicked thick. My poor little arm was already struggling from Thursday night’s bootcamp session of death, so it took a solid 5 minutes of trying to stir this batter. You need to work out all of the little lumps, just like if you were mixing brownie batter. The red color of this is really intense.  Also, do not wear a white shirt when making these cookies.

Step 4: Using a cookie scoop, scoop even size balls of dough onto a baking sheet. Press down lightly with your fingers and put in the oven. Bake for 11-13 minutes. It is hard to tell when these are done because of the color so watch them closely so that they don’t burn.

 

Step 5: To make the frosting, beat together the butter and cream cheese. Then add in vanilla. Add in the powdered sugar (when the mixer is off, or it will fly all over the place). Whip it together until it is nice and fluffy. Put it in the fridge to chill for a little bit before frosting the cookies.

Step 6: Once the cookies have cooled on a cooling rack, it’s time to get to frosting. I just use a small spatula or butter knife to frost. Using generous scoops of frosting, spread evenly over the top of the cookies. Clearly, I take frosting too seriously. Look at that intense focus.

And there you have it. Red Velvet Cookies that will make you scream ROLL TIDE at the first bite. They are a little dense compared to the Funfetti Cakemix cookies that I’ve made in the past, but I think that’s just red velvet’s style.