Something Extra: Red Velvet Cookies

TGIF! Three cheers for the end of the week! And to celebrate, let's make cookies!

My aunt Becci made these for a get-together at my grandma's house, and everyone was smitten. Including me. She was nice enough to send me the recipe, and I made them the other week. Just as good as I remembered.

When I made them, I was being lazy and bought cream cheese frosting from the store (shame on me!) But I've included the recipe for my grandma's red velvet cake frosting, the real red velvet frosting made on the stovetop with flour and waxed paper, among other things. Sounds strange, but it is so good. You'll be glad you made frosting from scratch.

Happy weekend cooking!

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Red Velvet Cookies

Ingredients

1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix (Becci and I recommend Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe)

2 eggs

⅓ cup veggie oil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, eggs and oil. (Sifting the cake mix first helps prevent lumps!)

3. Spray your hands and a 1 Tablespoon measuring spoon with cooking spray. Scoop the dough by tablespoon into your hand and roll into a ball.

4. Place the dough balls onto a cookie sheet, leaving a couple inches between each cookie.

5. Bake for 8-10 minutes. The tops of the cookies will crack when they are done.

6. Remove from cookie sheet at let cool while you make the frosting.

7. Here's a step I skipped, but made Becci's cookies extra beautiful: Right before you frost the cooled cookies, make a small cutout in the center of HALF the cookies. Becci says, "I used a washed and dried hair spray lid to make circles!"

8. Divide the cookies into pairs. Frost the flat side of the cutout-free cookie of the pair. Sandwich the cutout cookie on top.

9. Eat away!

Grandma's Frosting

1 cup milk

¼ cup flour

pinch salt

1 cup sugar

1 stick margarine

½ cup stick Crisco

1 tsp vanilla

wax paper

Directions

1. Mix milk, flour and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir continually until mashed potato consistency (4-7 minutes).

2. Remove from heat. Press wax paper down on top of mixture, and leave on while the mix cools.

3. Once mix is cool, combine sugar, margarine and Crisco in a separate bowl. Beat until very fluffy.

4. Add the cooled milk mixture and the vanilla to the mixing bowl. Beat to frosting consistency.

5. Use to frost your favorite red velvet things.

The batter will be pretty thick, and a brilliant red.

When the cookies are done, they'll have pretty crackling on top.

My favorite part of making these cookies was finding a little heart stuck to the

cookie sheet when I removed one of the cookies.

Happy cooking!