Red Velvet Valentine’s Day Cookies

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Description

Made these for my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day while he was gone for the military. They kept and shipped well and were a hit amongst his whole unit. Trial and error went into this recipe and it has become a family favorite.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ¾ cup light sour cream
  • 4 tablespoons red food coloring
  • 1 egg
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
  • 4 tablespoons dark cocoa powder (such as Hershey’s® Special Dark®)
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 ¼ cups powdered sugar, divided
  • 4 (8 ounce) packages Neufchatel cheese, softened
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 (12 ounce) package miniature semisweet chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Combine brown sugar
  2. butter
  3. and white sugar in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Mix in sour cream
  4. food coloring
  5. and egg.
  6. Combine 2 1/2 cups flour
  7. dark cocoa powder
  8. regular cocoa powder
  9. baking soda
  10. and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture until well combined. Place dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.
  11. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a piece of greased and floured parchment paper.
  12. Spread remaining 1/2 cup flour on a clean
  13. dry surface and use some to coat a rolling pin. Roll chilled dough to a thickness of approximately 1/4 inch and cut cookies with whatever shape cookie cutter you like. Place 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet.
  14. Bake in batches in the preheated oven until cookies bounce back immediately after being touched
  15. about 7 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely
  16. 8 to 10 minutes more.
  17. Stir 4 cups powdered sugar
  18. Neufchatel cheese
  19. butter
  20. and vanilla extract in a large bowl until creamy. Fold in chocolate chips. Transfer frosting into a resealable plastic bag.
  21. Cut one corner off the plastic bag and pipe frosting onto 1/2 of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

Prep Time: 45 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins

Servings: 40

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