Friday, February 12, 2010

The Battle of the Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

I haven't felt compelled to compare recipes for a dessert for a long time.
After I made those red velvet cupcakes last month, I couldn't help wanting to make these Red Velvet Whoopie Pies that I saw in the Food Network Magazine.

I remembered seeing other recipes for Red Velvet Whoopie Pies and decided it was time for a taste test.
Luckily, we had another family dinner that I was bringing dessert to, so I had enough people to actually taste these little guys.
There were more than 2 recipes that I found for Red Velvet Whoopie Pies, but these 2 were the ones that had me most interested.

I liked that the Food Network's recipe actually had vinegar in it, since I think that is one of the key components in red velvet cake.

The Cream Cheese-Vanilla Bean filling/frosting was definitely the favorite of the frostings.
And these Whoopie Pies turned out to be the winners in the flavor department. They may not have been the prettiest of the Pies, but the cake was moist and tender and had the perfect flavor, as well as texture.
The Cream Cheese-Marshmallow Creme filling/frosting was not as popular. There were a few people who preferred this filling, but the overall consensus was that the other filling tasted better.
These BH&G cakes looked better, but didn't taste as good.
Don't get me wrong- they were still yummy, but when compared head on to the Food Network's version, they were not as tasty.
So, which ones will you make for your Valentine's Day treat?? Or, do you want to make both and come to your own conclusion about which ones deserve the title of Best Red Velvet Whoopie Pie?

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Recipe for Red Velvet Whoopie Pies from The Food Network Magazine

Recipe for Red Velvet Whoopie Pies from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

16 comments:

Delicious Dishings said...

I think it's so cool that you took the time to compare the two recipes. If I had enough eaters on hand, I would probably try to do that too. It's also funny that the better-looking ones didn't taste as good. Sometimes that happens (no judging books by their covers)! I'm actually making a red velvet cake for Valentine's Day... but not whoopie pies, which are an incredibly cute idea! I've never made red velvet before, so it should be fun!

Meghan said...

I love your whoppie pie battle!!! While the BH&G ones are beautiful, I'm glad the other ones won :) I've seen too many beautiful-looking desserts that don't have as much taste and flavor as you'd expect. Thanks for reviewing these recipes!

Aloha_Misty said...

Oh my mouth is now watering for another taste of those cookies. I LOVE RED VELVET CAKE!

Joyce said...

Good lucks does not mean good inside and that goes for people and whoopie pies:) Thanks for the comparison test. I could take a big bite out of both since I am so hungry right now but alas I am back on my diet. So your post is a big tease but I have copied the recipe for another time. I posted in the Fall about the pumpkin whoopie pies from Martha. I forget the bakerman who made them but there is a video on her blog about them. Now they were time consuming like whoopie pies are but they were so tasty. Oh gosh now I have to go and eat my salad which is no fun:( Happy Valentine's day.
Joyce

Unknown said...

Dangit, I wish I would have thought of making these, but I've already bought everything for fruit and chocolate on Sunday. I'll have to make these anyway!

The Blonde Duck said...

Those look awesome!

Jane said...

I always love a good recipe-comparison! It's the only way to figure out the very best recipes, afterall. Your whoopies look fantastic!

Unknown said...

What a fun comparison! I've never made red velvet whoopie pies and it's probably not going to happen this year, but I am filing this away for next year for sure :)

Samantha Kate said...

My mom and I were looking at some whoopie pie pans at Williams-Sonoma today. These look good!

mike said...

How funny, I almost made those this year, but ended up doing brownie hearts glazed with ganache. (much easier - I was lazy)! BUT I saw BOTH recipes and read reviews on each - there was so many bad comments on both - especially the FN site for those pies! Surprising - but I'm glad you enjoyed them! Comparing both, the FN ingredients just SOUND better - the BH&G looked good, but as I read the ingredients I thought.... "eh.." so-so! Both are beautiful looking and you've made each version look marvelous!!!

Tanja said...

I love it that you actually took time to compare the recipes. I have no one that would eat so much sweets, so I would only have to bake really small quantities. I bake cupcakes and I have baked the red velvet cupcakes twice. The first time I got the recipe from the Grab Your Fork blog and they were really good, you should try that recipe too. There was a lot of cocoa powder in them so them were really chocolate-y. The second time I took the recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook and I wasn't impressed. They didn't look good either. I would rather eat the pie that didn't look so good, because at least they look real. The other one doesn't look homemade at all.

Kerstin said...

What a fun comparison post! So perfect for Valentine's Day!

Chef Aimee said...

HA, I will take both in my one mouth right now please. :) Happy Valentine's Day!

Sweet as Coco said...

YUM! I love comparing recipes...especially if there is a taste test involved! Glad you found a good one!

Engineer Baker said...

I totally wish I had the time for recipe comparisons - so jealous that you made the time to try this! Have you ever tried the ones from Joy the Baker? Hers are quite good, and they're pretty too :)

Eliana said...

What a fun experiment. I love comparing recipes.