Red Velvet Cookies revisited

Red Velvet Cookies - made August 20, 2011 from The Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

I've already blogged about this recipe and made it many times but for the newer followers who haven't seen some of the older entries of my blog, I thought I would link back to it and showcase it again.  You never know where you'll find a good recipe as they don't just come from cookbooks or recipe sites.  I found this one in a culinary mystery series that I read by Joanne Fluke.  The books are enjoyable for the most part and I always like checking out the recipes in each one.  (The only thing that distresses the baker in me is there's no way one bakery makes all the different kinds of baked goods she's showcased in all of the books - they'd go out of business trying to keep up with that kind of variety for a small-town bakery.  But I digress.....) I'm glad I tried this one as it's become, as my niece put it, "one of my favorite cookies ever!"

I blogged earlier about the peanut butter surprise brownies I sent in a care package for one of my nieces who started college already.  Her twin is starting college next week and moving into her dorm this weekend so it was her turn for my baking.  I hosted a small family gathering at my place yesterday and besides making her favorite chocolate caramel brownies (see post below), I also made her favorite red velvet cookies.  The dough is easy enough to put together and is a little soft but there's no need to chill them first since they don't spread much.  The tricky thing about these cookies is baking them for the right amount of time.  Despite my legendary inability to time most things, I actually do time the baking of these cookies.  In my oven, at a convection setting of 375 degrees, these come out perfectly at the 8- or 9-minute mark.  "Perfect" means they're a cross between cakey and fudgy.  Underdone, they're a little too moist and fragile and overdone, they're just cakey.  They'll puff up and show some cracks on top - that's how you want them to look.  But inside they should be moist and fudgy. 

These are best eaten at room temperature on the same day they're baked and frosted but they're fine the next day too.  You just don't want to hang onto them too long as they'll dry out if you refrigerate them but you also don't want to keep them out, especially in summer, because of the cream cheese frosting.  Or you can bake them ahead of time and then frost them right before serving.  One recipe makes 24-26 cookies (don't make them too big).

Fueling up for college :)