Red Velvet Sandwich cookies

Today Sam and I made sandwich cookies...our fingers are red and stained from the food coloring, but we had a blast!

First we mixed the butter and sugar together with our stand mixer, then back away as the machine spits out sparks and then smokes.  Toss cheap proctor silex mixer into the trash and proceed to mix in the egg whites, applesauce, buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring by hand.  I added lots more food coloring to the mix, as I wanted a dark red.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Then add to the wet ingredients and mix until there are no more flour streaks.  Sam enjoyed this part the best!

Make circles of batter on parchment paper-lined pan..2 tablespoons each.

Bake for about 10 minutes at 375 degrees or until set. Place cookies on cooling rack and cool completely.

For the filling, mascarpone cheese, cream cheese, vanilla, milk and confectioners sugar...this stuff is EXCELLENT for spoon licking, just leave some for the cookies!

Frost flat side of cookie with frosting, then top with another cookie...enjoy!

Here is the recipe that I used, from the very yummy blog Baking Bites :

Red Velvet Cake Sandwich Cookies
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1/2 tsp red food coloring (more, if necessary)

Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt, then set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy, then beat in the egg whites, followed by the applesauce, buttermilk, vanilla extract and red food coloring. Add additional coloring, if needed, to reach desired color. Keep in mind that the color will dim slightly with baking, but I try to shoot for a burgundy/brown color. Stir in flour mixture until batter is smooth and no streaks of flour remain.
Drop batter two tablespoonfuls at a time onto the prepared baking sheet, forming 2-inch in diameter rounds.
Bake for 10 minutes, until set but not browned. Cookies should spring back when lightly touched, like a cake.
Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely

Makes about 40 cookies.

Mascarpone Cream Cheese Filling
4 oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract (vanilla paste is even better)
1 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Beat together mascarpone and cream cheese until well combined. Beat in vanilla and milk. Add in confectioners sugar, scraping down the bowl as you go. When it has all been incorporated, beat on high speed for 1-2 minutes, until icing is very smooth and thick, but not stiff. Add more confectioners sugar, if necessary.
Spread filling between pairs of cooled cookies.
Makes about 20 sandwich cookies according to Baking bites, but I may have made mine too big as the recipe only made 8 sandwich cookies.

Now back to the treadmill...