Favorite Dishes: Ghostbuster Red Velvet Cookies

Who you gonna call? Paula Deen!?!

A few months ago, the Hollywood Forever Cemetery was showing Ghostbusters. Yes, that's right. A cemetery was playing Ghostbusters. I previously had a great time at their Night of the Living Dead screening (aside from my Catholic guilt telling me I was doing something wrong), and I wanted to make this night even more special for my friend who had somehow never seen this movie (what a horrible childhood). Naturally, cookies covered in Ghostbusters designs were in order.

Ghostbuster Red Velvet Cookies
From Paula Deen's Recipe
Servings: 8 large cookies or 16-20 normal ones
Time: 40 minutes (plus decorating)

Red Velvet Cookies

Seemingly boring cookies... but not for long!

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp buttermilk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp red food coloring


Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar
Colored icing

Yes, marshmallows do taste better toasted, but that's just overkill.

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer until it's fluffy (about 3 minutes).
4. Add the eggs 1 at a time until well incorporated.
5. Beat in the buttermilk, vanilla, vinegar and food coloring. 
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients until thoroughly mixed.
7. Line a cooking sheet with parchment paper and drop the batter onto it using an ice cream scooper. Note this is going to spread a lot so give them room.
8. Bake for 10 minutes or until the toothpick test comes back clean. Let cool on the sheet for a couple of minutes then move to a wire rack.
9. Make the frosting by beating the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth on low speed. Then slowly add in the powdered sugar. Once the powdered sugar is all in, ramp it up to high to make it extra fluffy.
10. Once the cookies are cool, spread on the frosting in the desired shapes then finish with various colored icing pens to add detail. 

My decorating skills are a work in progress... a delicious work in progress.

Here's a general rule when it comes to desserts: you can always trust Paula Deen (so long as you have a licensed cardiologist at the ready).  Her recipe makes wonderful, cakey red velvet, and the cream cheese frosting really hits its mark. I actually found these cookies tasted better when cold, so let them refrigerate for at least an hour before eating. If for some reason, you don't feel like frosting awesome Stay Puft marshmallow men, then I highly recommend you turn this into a cookie sandwich.

The night was more fun than you could ever expect to have at a cemetery, and the cookies were a hit. Between them and the s'mores we made, it was quite a tasty evening that even Walter Peck would approve of.

I'm gonna take a wild guess and say this is the first food blog to feature Mr. Peck.