Paleo Baking WIN! Whoopie Pies (updated)

OK, I made these again and the new version is EVEN BETTER than the last. Changes will all be in bold below. I also came up with the holy grail: a Paleo Buttercream frosting!!!

Sorry I’ve been MIA, team, I’ve been throwing the crazy party you guys were all SO AWESOME about supporting.

I’ve been keeping a pretty good Paleo course, with two frozen yogurts and some sourdough bread this week but not much else cheating. Until last night, after aforementioned party, when I ate an abnormally HUGE amount of Mangia Pizza. It started out because Promise Pizza was at the party and I had a small slice but it wasn’t that good so I threw it away and thought, as I also did after eating pizza on my trip, if I’m going to have pizza, it’s going to be Mangia. Thick crust, whole wheat spinach and mushrooms from Mangia. Worth the gluten and dairy.

So I did. And then I felt it in my runs during today’s workout–even on just 200s I was S-L-O-W. I felt heavy. I still finished “Lumberjack 20″ in a respectable, even good, time, but I didn’t FEEL as good as I had been. But especially because I didn’t suffer ill effects, the Mangia was worth it–a highly-anticipated, deliciously-executed treat.

Tonight, I set out to do some Paleo baking, but knowing that this is technically a “cheat” (a word I STRONGLY dislike, as the forbidden just makes me want to do it) treat. I will write a post soon on sweeteners, because I love to bake and am therefore very interested in them, but I’ll sum this up by saying that right now I think palm/coconut sugar (same thing) is the best sweetener to use. With a GI of 35 and natural background (from palm trees’ coconuts), I think it’s better than artificial sweeteners, agave nectar, and even–gasp!–our Paleo fallback, dates (GI of 103, holy moly). I will elaborate more in the future. For now, behold what I made:

Paleo Whoopie Pies!

So these are really effing tasty. Almost too sweet, even though I cut some of the sugar. And they “technically” aren’t Paleo, though you could use honey and be Paleo, but I’m calling them Paleo because I am writing the post and I can.

The recipe, from Comfy Belly blog (as usual, my mods follow the written recipe):

Spiced whoopie pie

• 2 cups of blanched almond flour - subbed 1 c hazelnut flour, for 1 c each of almond and hazelnut
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of ginger (dried) 
• 1/2 teaspoon of allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon of cloves - didn’t have any, so didn’t use
• 1 cup of honey (or other sweetener) – used 1/2 c. palm sugar, makes it plenty sweet
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla

Wanna know the SECRET INGREDIENT? I added some (1 tbsp?ish) Apple Cider Vinegar. Amazing addition.

Before, I was worried about the liquidity. Turns out, they’re better less liquidy, so let the dough be a little chunky and you’ll end up with much nicer cookies. Also, when putting them on the cookie sheet, press them thin, as they will rise substantially but won’t spread very much.

Do it:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Blend all the dry ingredients together, and then add all the wet ingredients and blend well.
3. On baking sheets covered with parchment paper or a baking mat (such as a Silpat), place heaping tablespoons (about 3 measured tablespoons) about 2 inches apart in circles, across the sheet.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. The smaller and thinner the cookie, the less time this will take. My best batch took 8 minutes.
   
5. Cool completely – at least 15 minutes – before sliding them off the mat with a spatula.
6. Take one pie and spread frosting on it. Place another pie on top of the frosting. Serve.

Creamy Vanilla frosting/filling

• 4 tablespoons of shortening (I use Spectrum Naturals Organic Shortening) – I used coconut butter.
• 2 tablespoons of honey (adjust sweetness to your liking) – I used palm sugar, same measurement
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

You may want to double or triple this recipe depending how much frosting you want.

1. Blend all the ingredients together with a whisk.
2. Spread, serve, and store sealed at room temperature.

I had a very, very hard time with the frosting. It wouldn’t come together; it stayed piecey. So I added a tablespoon of water … no luck. If I’d had coconut milk, probably would have tried it. In the end, I whisked it electrically for probably 7 minutes before giving up, and spreading a thick but spreadable but non-fluffy mixture onto a pie, then patting another on top. This, apparently, was the magic. Because together they taste ahhhhhmazing.

Yield: 8 big cookies = 4 whoopie pies.

And that’s it. Paleo(…insert caveat…) Whoopie Pies!

UPDATE:

PALEO BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Again, Paleo is a misnomer if you don’t believe Palm Sugar is better for you than dates. But I do, so I’m calling it Paleo.

Whisk in a bowl:

1. 1/2 c. coconut butter
2. 1/4 c. coconut milk
3. 1/8 c. palm sugar
4. sprinkle of arrowroot powder

Feel free to play around with these measurements to your liking. Whisk for awhile–at least 5 solid minutes–but even if the icing is lumpy, it’ll taste good. My icing hardened up quite nicely, as the cookies preserved well both in airtight jars and non-airtight boxes.