Natural Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

For the cookies:
Cream together the Earth Balance butter and coconut butter until smooth. Add in the coconut sugar, eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, soda and salt. Add the dry to the wet in 2 batches and mix until it just comes together. Add the water and the beet juice/red food coloring. You can add as much food coloring as you would like until you reach your desired red color. The dough should look like a moist play-dough. If your dough is still a little too dry, add a bit more liquid.

Scoop out dough and place in a large piping bag. Pipe out big dollops of dough (about 1-tablespoon size) onto a parchment-lined baking dish. Gently press down to flatten. Bake for 6-8 minutes but be careful not to over-bake! Allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:
In a mixing bowl, beat the Earth Balance butter and coconut butter for at least 2 minutes until ingredients are well blended. Add all the other ingredients and beat until smooth and it all comes together. Make sure the xylitol is sifted well so it will be smooth just like powdered sugar. You can add a bit of almond milk to reach desired consistency.

Pipe or spread onto cooled cookies and top with a second cookie. Store cookie sandwiches in an airtight container in a cool place.

Yields 18-24 cookie sandwiches.