my secret baking adventure

i'm not ashamed to admit that i've never had red velvet cake. the thought of eating something not quite chocolatey and an unnatural color never really appealed to me, though i do love cream cheese frosting. but lyss constantly sings its praises, along with the rest of the world. 

she's dancing in THON this weekend, and i wanted to bake something to put in her bag of fun to keep her occupied for 46 hours. THON (if you were overwhelmed by the link) is a 46-hour no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon to raise money for the 4 Diamonds Fund, which works to fight childhood cancer. it's the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, and last year PSU raised over $6.2 million. it's incredible.

so yeah. lyss is dancing this year and needed a baked good, obvi. since she's in love with it, red velvet was on the menu. but cupcakes would be useless without frosting, and i didn't want to give her a mess. joy the baker came to my rescue with her red velvet cookies! i didn't modify the recipe at all, since i am not at all versed in this southern tradition. i also tend to ruin cookies when i try to change things.

i used regular milk, so i can't taste them, but if looks and smell are any indication of goodness, i think we're solid. i had to rush back from class and bake them while lyss was still out. i also had to cool them on a rack on the floor in my bedroom. it smelled glorious =). i may have to do secret baking adventure #2 with lactaid and make them into cupcakes. perhaps i'll be a convert to this strange, strange dessert.

good luck, lyss! FTK <3.