Love is in the air…

It’s that time of year, right after the holidays. It’s cold, cozy, and quiet. The snow is covering the ground, our spirits are filled with hopes and goals for the new year. It’s the perfect time for love to bloom.

With these decadent, perfectly soft and crumbly, red velvet cookie sandwiches, bloom it will. Step aside Shakespeare, true romance just entered the room.

They’re rich, warm, and inviting. Filled with cocoa, butter, and a hint of vanilla. The bite is soft, not crispy. Like an embrace. Your teeth sink in, meeting a silky layer of vanilla buttercream. Music is playing somewhere, off in the distance. Take a moment. I’ll wait.

And aren’t they beautiful? That luxurious, deep red; the crisp, clean white buttercream. Topped with edible pressed daises and pansies. Simple and sweet, like the best love stories. They sweep you away.

Here’s my tips to make these beauties:

Use superfine sugar. This can be found in your local grocery store. It’s essentially granulated sugar that has been ground to a superfine texture. It makes a big difference in these cookies. If you can’t find, normal granulated sugar is fine.
The vanilla is very important. Please don’t use imitation vanilla. Same goes for the buttercream. I highly recommend using vanilla bean paste. The flavor is so much richer.
There is no need to chill this dough before baking, however, I recommend chilling the cutout cookies on the baking sheet before baking. This helps the edges stay sharp.
To pipe the buttercream filling I used Wilton piping tip 10. If you don’t have piping tools you can load the filling into a ziplock bag and cut the corner off. Or, just use a butterknife to spread.
I used edible pressed flowers, purchased on Etsy, to decorate. To get them to stick I used a dab of buttercream like glue.

Red Velvet Sugar Cookie Sandwiches

Makes about 15-18 3” cookie sandwiches

You’ll need:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 ounces full fat cream cheese
1 cup superfine granulated sugar
1 extra large egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 3/4-3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
a few drops of red food gel (I use Wilton No Taste Red) or 1 tablespoon liquid food gel

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar together on medium-high speed till combined. About 1 minute.
Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and red food gel. Mix on medium speed till fully combined, scraping down the bowl when needed.
With the mixer on low add 2 3/4 cups of flour, corn starch, cocoa powder, and salt. Mix till the dough comes together. If dough is still sticky, add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Don’t over mix!
Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 1/4” thick. Cut into desired shapes. Continue re-rolling and cutting till the dough is used up.
Place the cookies onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until set around the edges. You want the centers to look a little soft.
Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cook completely. While they cool, prepare your buttercream filling.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream Filling

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp heavy cream, at room temperature
pinch of kosher salt

In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter on high speed till light and smooth, about 5 minutes.
Add half the powdered sugar. Beat till combined. Add the remaining powdered sugar. Beat till combined.
Add the vanilla paste or extract, and a pinch of salt. Beat until combined.
Add the heavy cream. Mix on medium high speed for about 3 minutes, till smooth.
With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir by hand for a few minutes to get out all the air bubbles.
Load the buttercream into a piping bag with a medium sized round metal tip (I use Wilton tip 10) or into a large zip lock bag with the corner cut off.
Pipe a buttercream layer onto one side of a flat cookie interior. Top with another cookie to make a sandwich.
Cookies will stay fresh at room temperature for 4 days or up to 7 days in the fridge. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!