Yesterday I published my 50th post on this blog. To give you guys a break from my constant rambling, my friend Catie was nice enough to write a guest post. While she generally focuses on fabulous cupcakes, this cookie recipe was apparently so good it had to be shared! They do look mighty fine! From Catie:

Red Velvet Cookies (that AREN’T Just Mini-Cakes)

Wedding season is upon us.

This summer, I have found myself particularly inundated with weddings and all the related events – bridal showers, engagement parties, “Jack and Jills,” bachelorettes, cake tastings, wine tastings, you name it…

My college roommate, Beth, is getting married this October. As she knows I am one of the foremost authorities on all things cake (and I really, really like it) she has invited me to act as her cake advisor for the wedding. Hooray!

After a grueling (read: totally awesome) afternoon of trying different combinations of cake and buttercream, we decided on fall-friendly flavors for her wedding cake – a combination of layers of deep red velvet and a delicious, dense carrot cake all with cream cheese icing.

Cake tasting: It’s a tough job, but someone had to do it.

For Beth’s shower, I was in charge of making some desserts.  We had already secured a beautiful cake from a “cake art” friend of the groom’s grandmother, so I had my sights set on cookies.  So, I searched for recipes that I thought would be most appropriate – carrot cake or red velvet cookies! Unfortunately, that was easier thought-up than done…

With a packed calendar and an under-construction kitchen, I had to scratch carrot cake cookies off of my list. Grating carrots and soaking raisins seemed more than I could take on. However, I saw various red velvet cookie recipes that looked easy enough to do.  Only problem: most of them looked more like mini-cakes or whoopie pies – not what I was going for.

I finally found this recipe, which inspired me to give it a shot.  The cookies were pretty easy to make, and the results were not only beautiful, but they were also chewy and delicious – actual red velvet COOKIES.  I made a couple of small modifications, like subbing-in white chocolate chips for regular ones (better color and flavor contrast) and using a bit more food-dye than recommended, but I think my cookies came out great. And, I got a few request for the recipe, too!

Here’s what I did…

Chewy Red Velvet Cookies

Adapted from How Sweet It Is.

Makes about 18-20 cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 (generous) cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 2 or so teaspoons red food coloring
• 8oz white chocolate chips (if you’re me, Ghirardelli is the ONLY way to go)

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Using a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars together until they’re light and fluffy – about 2-3minutes.
3. Add the egg and vanilla, stir together until smooth.
4. Beat in the red food coloring – I used 2-3 teaspoons, but you can use more or less depending on the color you’re going for and the type of dye you’re using.
5. Stir in cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and salt until batter is combined. Consistency will be a bit sticky and “loose.”
6. Fold in white chocolate chips.
7. Form dough into balls about 1-1.5in wide. I dampen my hands just slightly and roll the balls smooth for a prettier finished product.
8. Place balls a couple of inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Be sure to give them room to grow. (Oh, and sing to them. Preferably George Michael songs. It helps. )
9. Bake for 11-13 minutes, but keep an eye on them. If they get burny on the bottom, it ruins the chewiness and the awesome red velvet look.

As the original author suggests, these cookies might also be good as cookie sandwiches with some cream cheese icing in between – hey, why not?

Here are some glamour shots of the cookies at the shower.  Enjoy!