Red Velvet Cookies and the Soviet Flag

American Dessert

RED VELVET COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

1¼ teaspoons baking soda
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2⅔ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
¾ teaspoon lemon juice
3½ teaspoons red food coloring
1¾ teaspoons vanilla extract

SPECIAL UTENSILS

electric beater
parchment paper
2-to-3 cookie sheets

Makes 40 cookies. Takes 1 hour 10 minutes.

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add baking soda, cocoa powder, flour, and salt to 1st large mixing bowl. Mix with whisk or fork until well blended. Add butter and sugar to 2nd large mixing bowl. Use electric beater set on high to beat butter and sugar until the mix is light and fluffy. Add eggs, lemon juice, red food coloring, and vanilla extract. Mix with electric beater set on high until well blended. Gradually add in flour/cocoa powder while mixing with electric beater set on high. Mix until dough is well blended. Chill in refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Form 1″ dough balls. Put parchment paper on cookie sheets. Place dough balls 1″ apart on parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until edges of cookies turn golden brown. Transfer cookies with spatula to plate and let cool. Cookies go well with cream-cheese frosting.

Red Velvet flag………. Soviet flag

TIDBITS

1) By March 15, 1917, the Red Velvet Cookie makers of Russia finally had enough of the Czar’s indifference, cruelty, and incompetence. So they up and overthrew him, setting up the Provisional Red Velvet Government. The Red Velvet Makers chose the red background of the new flag to match their cookies. They also put their cookies in the upper left corner because you can never have enough red velvet cookies. Then the bratty Communists overthrew the Provisional Government and replaced the cookies with the hammer and sickle, because the Soviets weren’t into nice things.

Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef, Ph.D.