An Update To My Hiatus and Red Velvet Cream Cheese Whoopie Pies To Celebrate

Hello again, strangers! I know it's been over 3 months since I've done any blogging, and I'm sorry that it happened without any warning. Some personal issues came up and I started working 45 hours a week and never taking a break, and of course it affected me more than I wanted to admit to. However! This weekend I was encouraged to take a much needed break and spend the weekend with my parents in Chicago. It was an absolutely lovely weekend, and I spent it doing absolutely nothing that I hated and everything that I loved. I wrote, I watched movies with my parents, I ate (finally), and most of all I got back in touch with who I am and who I want to be. It's been an eye opening weekend, and I'm hoping that my plan to take one of these a month is going to seriously help me relax and take a breather sometimes.

This is how I spent my entire weekend (with movies in the background)

So I took a train to Chicago Saturday morning, and as soon as I got there we went for lunch, and then I asked to go on a grocery run. My parents have always been my most loyal guinea pigs for anything that comes out of my kitchen, so I had fully intended to make the most of it. My mom loves my Strawberry Chocolate Chip cookies, so I got stuff to make those, and then I decided that I wanted to try something new. Now, if you know me at all, you know how much I LOVE red velvet and cream cheese. It's a match made in heaven that belongs in my tummy at all times. And since I really really wanted something chocolatey and awesome, I decided I might as well grab some red velvet cake mix and have at it. What ensued is the richest, densest, most refreshing and filling whoopie pie you will ever have in your life! It goes without saying that if I had the patience to make it from scratch, I would have. But during a weekend where I'm supposed to be taking a break, I decided to take my favorite shortcut and go the cake mix route :)

I'm trying to get back into doing the things that relax me the most and trying to destress my life. So to show you all how much I appreciate everyone's support, here's my new favorite sandwich :) I hope you take a moment to destress your life with one of these soon!

The great news is there's not much to this recipe. Start with the usual cake mix cookie recipe: cake mix, eggs, oil, and vanilla all into a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until it all comes together. I found that the red velvet was a little drier than other cake mixes, so I had to add another tablespoon or so of extra oil just to help bring it together.

Once it's all together, drop tablespoon sized balls (or smaller if you want mini pies) onto the cookie sheet. Being that they were a bit more dense than other cake mix based cookies, I made sure to round out the balls so no little peaks that I hadn't smooshed down browned too unevenly. Into the oven for 8 minutes, and they'll be perfect!

Once the cookies have cooled completely, match 2 of them of the same size to make a sandwich. Try to get them as even as possible, but if you have some that aren't exact, it's perfectly fine. Then take your favorite cream cheese frosting and spread it generously on a cookie, and top with the other.It's worth it to note that when I frost mine, I like to keep them all open faced until I've used all of the frosting. I tend to have a lot of leftovers that I could have used to overstuff my cookies if I don't keep them open. You can enjoy one right then and there, or you can refrigerate them for a few hours and enjoy them cold! My parents and I liked them better cold, but they're still delicious freshly iced. I hope you've enjoyed this recipe, and I hope you'll come back next week to share another one with me!

Ingredients:

1 box red velvet cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup + 1 T oil
Vanilla to taste
Cream Cheese Frosting

1.) Combine all ingredients except for cream cheese frosting in bowl with wooden spoon or spatula.
2.) Make 1" sized balls, smoothed, onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
3.) Match cookies to equal sizes with bottoms touching. Spread generous amount of cream cheese frosting between bottoms of cookies. Refrigerate and enjoy!