Red Velvet Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling
Red velvet whoopie pies (or gobs, depending on where you live) are filled with cream cheese frosting and are perfect for Valentine’s Day dessert!
Nothing screams Valentine’s Day dessert quite like red velvet, am I right?!
It seems that it was created specifically with this holiday in mind. Although many variations of red velvet are sold year-round, Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to dust off the red velvet recipes and let them shine!
In the past, I’ve also made red velvet cupcakes (which far surpassed any I have found in bakeries!), red velvet cheesecake (a Cheesecake Factory copycat!), a red velvet roll cake, and a red velvet poke cake… all huge hits!
So naturally I wanted to keep the red velvet train rolling… Cue the whoopie pie!
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies!
I’ve mentioned before that I grew up eating the chocolate cake and white filling version of whoopie pies known as “gobs” in the Pittsburgh area, but I love all of the variations that have sprouted up in recent years. There’s pumpkin, s’mores, and a whole host of others. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination!
However, if an easy recipe for red velvet whoopie pies is what you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place!
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Can You Make Red Velvet Whoopie Pies Without Buttermilk?
So, you want to make red velvet whoopie pies, but you don’t have buttermilk. No problem – you can make your own!
Using soured milk is a key component to red velvet cake batter, as the acidic liquid is needed to combine with the baking soda and cocoa powder to get the rise and texture right, so if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, use the following substitution:
- Pour 1 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar to a measuring cup. Add enough milk (I recommend 2% or whole) to measure 1 cup total. Stir together and let sit for 5 minutes, then use as directed in the recipe below.
While these gorgeous red velvet whoopie pies are amazing as-is, here are some ideas for switching them up!
- Use a peppermint filling (and maybe roll in green sanding sugar) for a perfect Christmas dessert.
- Make the batter in a cake pan and then cut out heart shapes and fill to amp up the Valentine’s factor!
- Instead of cream cheese frosting, try using a marshmallow frosting (skip the toasted marshmallows!) or 7 minute frosting to change up the flavor.
- Use a chocolate frosting for the filling, because… chocolate.
If you’re looking for the best recipe for red velvet whoopie pies for Valentine’s Day, you’ve found it!
These are fluffy, a little chocolatey, a deep, gorgeous red, and filled with sinfully sweet cream cheese frosting. Totally dreamy!
Four years ago: Homemade Chocolate Pudding
Five years ago: Buckeye Brownies
Seven years ago: Sausage Dip
Eight years ago: Cappuccino Cinnamon Squares
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling
Ingredients
For the Whoopies
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (28.67 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup (102.5 g) vegetable shortening
- ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 teaspoons red food coloring
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
For the Cream Cheese Filling
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (56.75 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3½ cups (420 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the Whoopies: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, shortening and both sugars on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy and smooth, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and the red food coloring and beat until just blended.
- Add half of the flour mixture and half of the buttermilk to the batter and beat on low until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining flour mixture and remaining ½ cup buttermilk and beat until completely combined.
- Using a spoon (or a medium cookie scoop, which is what I used), drop a tablespoon of batter onto one of the prepared baking sheets and repeat, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes each, or until the cakes spring back when pressed gently. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.
- Make the Cream Cheese Filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed. Add the sugar and beat on low speed until combined. Add the vanilla and increase the speed to medium-high; beat until creamy and smooth, about 4 minutes.
- Assemble the Whoopie Pies: Spread the filling onto the flat side of one cake using a knife of spoon. Alternatively, you can use a pastry bag with a round tip (I used a #12 Wilton tip) to pipe the filling onto the cake. Top it with another cake, flat-side down. Repeat with the rest of the cakes and filling. Assembled whoopie pies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you need to stack layers, place a piece of wax paper between layers.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
[photos by Whitney Wright]
This recipe was originally published on February 10, 2011.
Hi! I LOVE YOUR BLOG! While I LOVE red Velvet, this is my first attempt at making it. This were delicious but I have 2 questions: 1) Mine never came out as well rounded as the one pictured above. There was slight puff, but not as much. Do you think it is an ingredient issue on my part (publix butter instead of a European brand i.e.)? 2) There was a little bit of streaking of color in batches 2 and 3. Pretty cool but not the uniformed look I was going for. I was terribly scared of overmixing but I may have undermixed, no? Thank you again!
Hi. I’m curious as to why you decided to increase the amount of flour to 3 cups from the original 2 1/2 cups in the recipe. Was the original too sticky and moist? I’ve tried both the original (choosing to use 1/4 c cocoa) and your recipe. The original came out smoother on top and moister, although it doesn’t rise as much and becomes a bit too moist after a day or so. I’m interested in hearing your take on it. Thanks!
Hi Karen, I don’t have the cookbook in front of me and I made these so long ago that I honestly don’t remember the reason for the increase in flour – perhaps there was mention in the book about it?
Oh, I thought you changed the recipe since the book now says 2 1/2 cups of flour. So maybe the authors reduced the amount of flour when they reprinted the book. In any case — I find that with 2 1/2 cups of flour, the cake is more moist although it doesn’t rise as much. In general, people prefer the moistness of that over the recipe with 3 cups of flour. Thanks for getting back to me!
Woopie pies seem to be all the craze. I lovee red velvet, definitely think I’m going to have to try them! Great post :)
There look great and I’ll have to try them this weekend (I’m also trying your Margarita cupcakes ;-). I do have a question, I hate using shortening. Can I use butter and have the same effect? Will the pies be too flat?
And thanks for this fabulous website!
Hi Cindy, Butter really won’t have the same effect, as butter and shortening have different properties when it comes to baking. The shortening keeps the whoopie pies soft and help them hold their shape. Using butter instead could cause them to spread and be flatter, and perhaps not as soft.
My first batch of these cookies just came out of the oven, so I thought I’d throw out a few ideas on the “brown cookie” dilemma.
1. Did you add the food coloring? No, I’m not kidding. I’m a terrible baker. I mean, I’m not when I actually pay attention. But I habitually get distracted and forget ingredients or walk off and burn things. If I had brown cookies, this might well have been my problem.
2. What’s the actual temperature of your oven? No, not where you set the dial. Is there an element burned out? Is heat escaping somewhere? Both will wreak havoc on your baking. For some reason, when this happened to me, it took me months to figure out this was the problem. I initially thought I needed to go to remedial baking school.
3. Old food coloring. I have this vague idea that food coloring can go brown with age, but then this website (http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Nutrition-Health-Food-Labeling-646/food-expiration-dates-faqs.aspx#421db231-007a-4014-94ef-4bcf38ecccf5) claims that doesn’t happen. I’d be very surprised, though, if food coloring doesn’t eventually change once it’s been exposed to air.
As it happens, though, I concentrated VERY hard on this first batch and managed to add my coloring (and all other ingredients) and not burn them. Oh, and how I ever got through life without a cookie scoop, I’ll never know. They look perfect!
Hi Michelle, i have a question about whoopie pies in general i have never made them and i am wondering if you can use any cake/cupcake recipie or if there is something special in the ingredients in whoopie pie recipies? and also how do you keep them so perfectly circular?
Hi Ashley, I just use a cookie scoop to scoop out the dough and don’t do anything else to them. As for the ingredients, I have seen some that use a cake mix; you sort of want the puffy properties of a cake with the looks of a cookie, if that makes sense. No special ingredients in these, just the ratios that get you the texture.
Ever since I saw these I have had a terrible craving but I know if I make them that I will be the only one in the family to eat them. They sure look luscious.
found your site while looking for red velvet cupcake (great site by the way!). decided to make your red velvet whoopie pie since I love everything red velvet! love the texture of the pie but it seems taste too much like a chocolate cake. I looked up for other red velvet recipes online and found most of the recipes only require 1 or 2 tablespoons cocoa powder. 1/3 of a cup seems a lot (actually I cut down to 1/4 cup).
also, I only end up making 16 pies and I used medium ice-cream scoop. next week will try red velvet cupcake! thanks!!
This is a great recipe. I made them for my wife for Valentines Day. Thought maybe we’d eat them all in one sitting!!
Thanks for posting it. It’ll definitely get a repeat performance.
Try adding orange zest to your whoopie pie fillings for an extra burst of freshness!
http://theyuppielifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/02/recipe-orange-zested-buttercream.html
Just made these…realized I was out of red food coloring after I’d already started. whoopSie! haha They just looked light brown instead of red, but are still yummy! Thanks for sharing.
I made these on Valentine’s Day and brought to work. Everyone loved them. I make a new cookie every monday and these are a crowd favorite. Thanks for the recipe!
I made these for my husband for Valentines dinner. Thank You! He loved them and so did I. They were wonderful!!!
These look amazing. I tried making them, and they turned out much more brown in color than red … not sure what I did wrong. Advice?
Thank you!
Hi Heather, I’m not sure about the color – could have something to do maybe with the brand of food coloring or if it was perhaps old?
Love woopie pies and red velvet cake – yours is a perfect combination of both! Congrats on the top 9 today!!!
i just made my first whoopie pies today (posting tomorrow), but yours looks amaizing! congratulation on the top #9!
Wow! These look perfect. How do you get them to look so uniform and smooth?
Those are adorable and congrats on top 9!!!:)
We made these whoopie pies and they are dry and brown. I would not recommend this recipe.
I made these with great success!
http://recipeladrona.blogspot.com/2011/02/red-velvet-whoopie-pies.html
These are fantastic – love them!
PERFECT for Valentine’s Day… or any day!
I’m making these for my family today. My daughter loves red velvet anything. Thank you!
I have never seen whoopie pies look so dainty. Superb presentation!
Wow, your photo is absolutely gorgeous and really shows the lovely color of these whoopie pies. These looks delicious!
Whoopie pies are the best. This recipe looks awesome. I noticed the book you’re baking from, I’ve also tried some recipes from it and love that cook book!
they look delicious!
These are so pretty and look incredibly moist. Your pictures are really good, congrats on a great post. Guess I have to get on the Whoopie Pie and Macaroon bandwagon.
I really should make these for my Hubby’s family as they all LOVE red velvet cake (I personally have gotten a little sick of it from eating this and only this for every birthday and special occasion for the past 7 years…), but this might be a nice new change! Thanks!
WHOOP WHOOP! Happy Valentine’s Day – definitely puts in the mood.