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

honey pork shoulder with brussels sprouts slaw

tonight i have a recipe for you that is not dessert.

shocking, i know

but even paleo cavegirls have to eat dinner, at least once per day :-)

i wish we had taken some photos, but we ate it so fast, there was no time.

i hope you like it as much as we did...

honey pork shoulder with brussels sprouts slaw

for the pork:

3-4 pound pork shoulder
1/3 cup raw honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 T ancho chili powder
2 T Weber (tm) Chicago Steak Seasoning

mix together honey, vinegar and seasonings. rub all over pork shoulder. place pork into a heavy dutch oven, cover and cook on 300 degrees for about 4 hours or until falling apart tender. Shred pork slightly into big chunks, pour cooking liquid over the top and serve with slaw.

for the slaw:

4-5 cups shredded raw brussels sprouts
3 shredded carrots
3/4 cup paleo-friendly mayo, or homemade mayo
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (more or less to taste)
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
salt and pepper to taste

mix everything together in a big bowl, refrigerate one hour and eat :-)

even my littl'uns wolfed it all down!

nom nom

yummy paleo snickerdoodles

hey y'all.

sorry for the lack of posts lately..life is busy...i am sure you understand.

but really i am just struggling with the winter doldrums,

and satan

i know that sounds dramatic, but it's true. i believe when we draw very near to God, our hearts become very vulnerable to the enemy.

so, i've been laying low. praying. talking to God. trying each day to decide to obey Him. it should be easy, with all He's given us.

but sometimes it isn't.

pray for me, would you?

and i will thank you for it in Jesus' name...

(and with some yummy snickerdoodle cookies :-))

::recipe slightly modified from urbanposer::

for approx 16 cookies, you will need:

2 cups finely ground almonds (homemade or store bought "flour")

1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt, depending on how much you dig salt

1 tsp baking soda

4 tbsp soft coconut oil

1/4 cup raw honey

1 tsp pure vanilla

1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon, plus 1 more tsp for rolling

2 tbsp organic sugar or coconut crystals for rolling

heat oven to 350 degrees and line a pan with parchment

mix all ingredients through first 1 tbsp cinnamon together in a bowl with your hands. this will be messy, but stangely satisfying. lick all the bits off your fingers (wash your hands) and proceed.

scoop 1 tbsp balls, roll in cinnamon sugar mixture and place a few inches apart on parchment lined pan. press each ball down with the bottom of a flat glass...they stick so either wet the glass in between cookies or dip bottom of glass into leftover cinnamon sugar mixture between cookies...either way works.

bake anywhere from 8-10 min. do not over bake. let cool on pan about 10 min and enjoy.

nomnom