Tags: 12daysofchristmascookies Christmas cookies Holiday Sweet Tooth
DAY 5 – Pistachio & Dark Chocolate Biscotti
DAY 6 – Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
DAY 9 – Bourbon Maple Pecan Shortbread Cookies
DAY 10 – Black Forest Crinkle Cookies
DAY 11 – Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting
I’ve saved the best for last! How beautiful and festive are these red velvet sandwich cookies? They’re sure to be the highlight of any dessert table this Christmas, and for good reason…they’re so incredibly yummy! These beauties are not only gorgeous AND delicious, but also SUPER simple to make.
I like simple recipes. I refuse to try recipes that require 10,000 ingredients and 50,000 different pots, pans, and mixing bowls. It’s just too much. I owned a Tyler Florence cookbook for about a week before cheerfully donating it to the library because ALL the recipes required 16 different specially items from 18 different specially food stores (all of which would sit in your pantry unused FOREVER)…AND 6 bowls, 12 saucepans, and 4 sauté pans!! Sure, if someone else would come in and clean my kitchen after I finished, I might not mind. But when the entire counter is covered in dirty dishes and the stove is covered in goo, it makes the entire meal soooooo not worth it. Sorry, Tyler.
That’s also why I don’t fry chicken, bacon, on anything else in my kitchen…the clean up required afterward is just not worth it. We tease my sister because whenever she makes homemade pan-fried cheeseburgers, she covered her entire stove in foil because the spitting hamburger ends up all over the stove. This way, she just crumples up the foil and tosses the entire mess into the trash. Other than the lingering smell of pan-fried meat, there’s no trace of burger mess in her kitchen. We laugh…but really, it’s genius!
You can compare this recipe to the genius that is my sister’s foil covered stove. All you need to make these delicious Christmas cookies is a bowl and a baking sheet! AND even simpler still…the cookie dough is made from store-bought boxed cake mix! In the words of my idol, Ina Garten, “How easy is that?”
Besides how easy these cookies are to make, they’re ridiculously beautiful. Anyone who sees these cookies will think you spent much more time on them than you actually did. You’ll be heralded through the streets for your cookie brilliance…you’ll be known far and wide as a culinary master! Seriously though…they’re perfect for any festive gathering (how adorable would these guys be for Valentine’s Day?!)
Now, while these cookies are perfectly wonderful eaten by themselves, what’s a red velvet anything without cream cheese frosting? Would you eat a red velvet cupcake if it wasn’t topped with pillow-y cream cheese frosting?! Of course, you wouldn’t…THAT would be crazy! Since these cookies are more in the cake-y side, and not all that sweet, they’re amazing sandwiched around creamy whipped cream-cheese frosting. Awe…bliss!
You’re welcome, and Merry Christmas!!
RED VELVET SANDWICH COOKIES
· 1 box red velvet cake mix
· 2 eggs, room temperature
· ⅓ cup vegetable oil
· 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
· 4 Tbsp butter, softened
· ½ tsp vanilla
· 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
For the Cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°
In a large mixing bowl, beat cake mix, eggs, and vegetable oil until well combined.
Roll into 1-inch balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake 9-12 minutes. You want them to be cooked through or else the cookies won’t be sturdy enough to make sandwiches.
Cool completely before frosting.
(Ridiculously simple, right?!)
For the Frosting:
Beat cream cheese and butter until light and very smooth.
Add the confectioners’ sugar a little at a time and beat well between each addition.
Add the vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.
Pipe or spread a generous helping of frosting onto the bottom of half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies and prepare for instant fame and glory!
