Red Velvet Cookies

Carrot Cake Murder

* 2 cups confectioners ***(powdered)*** sugar ***(no need to sift unless it's got big lumps)***

## Directions

### Cookie Dough

* Preheat the oven to 375°F, rack in the middle position.
* Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. ***(If you don't have parchment paper, you can use foil, but leave little "ears" of foil sticking up on the ends, enough to grab later when you slide the whole thing on a cooling rack.)***
* Unwrap the squares of chocolate and break them apart. Put them in a small microwave-safe bowl. ***(I used an 8-ounce measuring cup.)*** Melt them for 90 seconds on HIGH. Stir them until they're smooth and set them aside to cool while you mix up your cookie dough.

**Hannah's 1st Note: Mixing this dough is easier with an electric mixer. You can do it by hand, but it takes some muscle.**

* Combine the butter, brown sugar and white sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat them on medium speed until they're smooth. This should take less than a minute.
* Add the baking soda and salt, and resume beating on medium again for another minute, or until they're incorporated.
* Add the egg and beat on medium until the batter is smooth ***(an additional minute should do it.)*** Add the red food coloring and mix for about 30 seconds.
* Shut off the mixer and scrape down the bowl. Then add the melted chocolate and mix again for another minute on medium speed.
* Shut off the mixer and scrape down the bowl again. At low speed, mix in half of the flour ***(That's one cup.)*** When the flour is incorporated, mix in the sour cream.
* Scrape down the bowl again and add the rest of the flour. ***(That's the second cup.)*** Beat until the flour is fully incorporated.
* Remove the bowl from the mixer and give it a stir with a spoon. Mix in the chocolate chips by hand. ***(A firm rubber spatula works nicely.)***
* Use a teaspoon to spoon the dough onto the parchment-lined cookie sheets, 12 cookies to a standard-sized sheet. ***(If the dough is too sticky for you to work with, chill it for a half-hour or so, and try again.)***
* Bake the cookies at 375°F for 9 to 11 minutes, or until they rise and become firm. ***(Mine took exactly 9 minutes.)***
* Slide the parchment from the cookie sheets and onto a wire rack. Let the cookies cool on the rack while the next sheet of cookies is baking. When the next sheet of cookies is ready, pull the cooled cookies onto the counter or table and slide the parchment paper with the hot cookies onto the rack. Keep alternating until all the dough has been baked.
* When all the cookies are cool, peel them off the parchment paper and put them on waxed paper for frosting.

#### **Cream Cheese Frosting**

* Mix the softened butter with the softened cream cheese and the vanilla until the mixture is smooth.

**Hannah's 2nd Note: Do this next step at room temperature. If you heated the cream cheese or the butter to soften it, make sure it's cooled down before you continue.**

* Add the confectioners sugar in half-cup increments until the frosting is of proper spreading consistency. ***(You'll use all, or almost all, of the sugar.)***

A batch of Red Velvet Cookies yields about 3 dozen, depending on cookie size. They're soft, velvety, and chocolaty, and they'll end up being everyone's favorite.

**Hannah's 3rd Note: If you really want to pull out all the stops, brush the tops of your baked cookies with melted raspberry jam, let it dry, and then frost them with Cream Cheese Frosting.**