happy birthday to me paleo whoopie pies!

i seriously just accidentally made whoopie pies...and they are paleo :-)

ok, ok, no, cavepeople DID NOT eat whoopie pies but if they'd had an oven and a kitchen aid mixer and palm shortening, they certainly would have.

let's face it...these aren't health food by any stretch of the imagination, nor are they really paleo (non-hydrogenated palm shortening, what?) but, hey...

tomorrow is my birthday :-)

i've been on this paleo journey for 6 weeks now...i feel so much better all around...i've lost a bunch of weight, my arthritis is not nearly as bad and i've had way fewer headaches and migraines.

i am very happy.

so, in honor of the 42nd year that jesus has seen fit to give me....i made whoopie pies!

did i mention it happened by accident?

i wanted to make paleo chocolate chip cookies, but i had zero chocolate chips, so i decided to make cocoa cookies instead and just made this recipe up by the seat of my pants.

it came out nothing like what i wanted

i had envisioned a chewy, dense, chocolately, slightly-crisp-on-the-outside and soft-in-the-center type of cookie but what i got was a very light, very airy and very intensely chocolate cookie that was really very much like a slice of cake. hmmmmm......i immediately thought of whoopie pies and set out to make some kind of paleo-friendly filling...and this is what i came up with!

so...happy birthday to me!

for the 24 cookies:

3/4 c coconut oil, solid
1/2 cup coconut sugar or honey
1/2 T vanilla
5 eggs
1/8t salt
3/4 c coconut flour
1/2 c cocoa
1 tsp baking soda

beat sugar or honey with coconut oil until smooth. add eggs one at a time, beating well between additions. mix in vanilla, salt, coconut flour, cocoa and soda until well blended. using a small scoop, scoop out cookie dough onto parchment lined sheet pans, about 2 inches apart. wet the bottom of a glass and dip it into organic sugar, then use the glass to slightly flatten each cookie. bake approx 10 min at 375 degrees...do not over bake! let cool completely before frosting.

for the frosting:

1 cup palm shortening
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 T vanilla extract

whip palm shortening in a stand mixer until light and smooth. gradually add in the honey, about 1T at a time, whipping between additions. repeat with maple syrup. add vanilla and continue whipping until light and airy, approx. 10 minutes. please adjust the amounts of honey and syrup to your taste...some may like it much more sweet than i do :-) fill each whoopie pie with 2 T frosting and celebrate!!

in the picture below, i made another batch and reduced the eggs from 5 to 3 and omitted the soda in an effort to get a less-cakey version. i actually like the cakey version much better :-)

nom nom

healthy, easy Paleo chicken nuggets

every kid in the world loves chicken nuggets, including mine.

but, being uber health-conscious plus Paleo means they are a big no-no in terms of the golden arches type.

but, never fear, mom is here

these are crazy delicious and really, really good for you!

(please to ignore my really old, trusty, baked-on-grease pans, ok?)

ok.

i used one $5 package of organic chicken thighs from costco...there are about 3 nice-sized thighs in the package, which turned out to be more than enough for two adults and two kids.

even kids who are jonesing for mickey d's...

so, just cut them up into bite or two-bite sized pieces, pat dry and season with some kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper...

now, set up your breading station and prepare to get messy, there is just no way around it. you'll need about:

1/4 cup arrowroot powder (i actually had to use cornstarch, which you see below, since that is all i had, but it's not paleo, so if you want to be legal, use arrowroot)

2 whole eggs (you will have some left over, so you can try it with one egg and see if it's enough, but i never want to stop and make more so i just start with plenty) ((also, you could sub flax eggs if you are egg-free))

1/4 c almond milk (or half that if you are using one egg and feeling lucky)

1/2 c almond flour

1/4 c coconut flour

1 tsp herbs de provence

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 T nutritional yeast flakes (available at health food markets and gives a nice, cheesy, nutty taste the kids will adore)

kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper


:: place arrowroot (or cornstarch, if you are cheating) in one bowl

   mix together egg and almond milk in another bowl

   combine remaining ingredients in a third bowl

coat nuggets in arrowroot...shake off excess. this step creates a barrier between the chicken and the breading.

next, dip each nugget into the egg/milk mixture...and this is where it gets messy.

roll each battered nugget in the nut flour mixture and coat well. wash hands. repeatedly. remain calm. sing several songs.

it will be worth it.

place coated nuggets on a cooling rack set into a pan and let rest 10 min or so. this gives the starches a chance to fully hydrate and adhere to the nugget. drink a glass of wine while you wait.

or put lots of hand lotion on your hands that are now super dry from all that hand washing.

coat pan very thickly with coconut oil or other healthy oil and bake 'em at 375 degrees for approx. 20 min., flipping them after 10 minutes or so. You can cook them longer if you like them browner or crispier...thighs can handle a lot of cooking.

it is not golden arches...not by a long shot.

it is much, much better.

nomnom