I’ve made only four recipes this weekend for the cookbook and here is one of them. These are super decadent whoopie pies which have all the taste and flavour of the sugar and grain-laden ones. The book has over 40 recipes now so I only need a few more before it is complete.
Meanwhile I just wanted to talk to you about something interesting that I found out the hard way.
A few months back we had some testing done in our house to test the levels of toxic gases, moisture and unhealthy living conditions. This was not something we commissioned. In fact, someone who was doing a thesis at university approached us about using our house as part of the test for their studies. Most of our house was just fine but one thing came out of the study. Our bedroom had high levels of carbon dioxide, which is detrimental to health. We both always woke up feeling more tired than when we went to bed and I always had a headache. It would take all morning to feel normal again. There were also some other inconclusive results on other materials for that room.
I spent the day after hearing the news scrubbing the room from head to toe, de-mildewing all the windows behind the blinds, vacuuming under the bed, washing all the bed linen etc. then we opened several of the windows and have never shut them again. We also now sleep with the door open to create an air flow.
The result is that we sleep better, wake up fresher and I seldom have those morning headaches. A fresh pillowcase always means a great night’s sleep but how often can you change them? Apparently one of the things that can accumulate in bedrooms is skin cells so bedding and sleepwear should be changed often. We spend up to 8 hours sleeping in our bedrooms so it makes sense to make that one of the healthiest rooms in the house.
Most of you are probably more than aware of all of this but I thought I would pass on my experience anyway, just in case.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup oil
- 2-3 tbsp date puree (depends how sweet you want your cookies)
- 1 ripe banana
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup of coconut
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 150g /5oz sugarless chocolate
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
- Mix the flour, butter and date puree in a food processor.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and mix.
- Add all other ingredients except the coconut.
- Remove the mixture from the food processor to a bowl and add the coconut.
- Place a sheet of baking paper on an oven tray.
- Drop big spoonfuls of the dough onto the paper and shape them into circles.
- Bake about 10 minutes until they are golden but still soft.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray for half an hour so they firm up a little.
- Heat the coconut cream gently in a saucepan.
- Break up the chocolate into smallish pieces.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it stand for a while.
- Stir vigorously to a smooth paste.
- If there are still pieces of unmelted chocolate, place in the microwave for 20
- seconds and stir again.
- Place in the fridge to firm up - about 15 minutes.
- Pipe the chocolate ganache onto half the cookies and cover with the remaining cookies.
Hi Suzanne
its true its something I dont often think about and thats spending so much time in my room. I know there s a lot of dust under my bed because I have a tiny little room and the bed is close to the floor,. I will have to stop blogging long enough to do something about it. These whoopie pies look delicious
Beds close to the floor, like ours too, are a real pain for cleaning under. Stopping blogging to clean under a bed is not a fair contest.
Suzanne recently posted..Coconut Chocolate Whoopie Pies – grain, dairy, nut and refined sugar-free
All of those dead skin cells are food for dust mites – which tend to accumulate in bedding. We always wash out blankets every week, and change our pillows once a year – overtime, an awful lot of dust mites accumulate in pillows. Never thought of the carbon dioxide levels in our house, but we always sleep with the windows open (except sometimes in the summer then the AC is running). Anyway, really nice recipe today! Wonderful pictures, and glad to hear the end of the book is in sight! Good stuff – thanks.
john@kitchenriffs recently posted..Chocolate Fudge with Nutella
There are an awful lot of things that we take for granted and don’t think about in our lives. I would never have thought that two people sleeping in a closed room would produce dangerously high levels of carbon dioxide. It sounds like you are doing everything right.
Suzanne recently posted..Coconut Chocolate Whoopie Pies – grain, dairy, nut and refined sugar-free
Washing our foam bed pillows is something I know I should do but rarely remember to do. Our kids had strong allergic reactions to dust mites so we always have had dust mite covers on their matresses and pillows. We probably should have them on our bedding as well. Thanks for the reminders. Your recipe looks wonderful. I can’t image that anyone would miss anything in this treat.
Wendy recently posted..Fig Jam Biscotti
I’m sorry to hear about the issues with your children. I have always thought it would be terribly hard to keep a house clean enough for someone with a dust mite allergy.
Suzanne recently posted..Coconut Chocolate Whoopie Pies – grain, dairy, nut and refined sugar-free
Even though we lived in Wellington, my mother was very big on always airing the house and we had to keep our bedroom doors open to create airflow and she was always cleaning the bed linen and vacuuming under the beds and wiping down windowsills and skirting boards etc. I found it highly annoying but perhaps she was onto something. Do you buy the date puree (not sure I’ve seen it before) or do you make your own? xx
Hotly Spiced recently posted..In My Kitchen, March 2013
Your mother probably knew exactly what she was doing. Apparently our houses are a lot less healthy today with all our technological advancements.
I make my own date puree. Soak dates in hot water for a few hours and then drain and puree in a food processor. It takes a bit for it to puree smooth but just persist. I do a heap and then keep it in the fridge to use as needed.
Suzanne recently posted..Coconut Chocolate Whoopie Pies – grain, dairy, nut and refined sugar-free
What scrumptious whoopie pies, I love coconut with chocolate!
It is a great combination.
Suzanne recently posted..Coconut Chocolate Whoopie Pies – grain, dairy, nut and refined sugar-free
Hi, Suzanne, sorry for the absence
Been quite busy here on my end – adjusting to new routines and new-ish diet 
– you know what I mean. But yes! Very interesting about the dead skin cells, etc. It is true. We live in a condo and in the winter, our window is usually closed because it’s always freezing outside (and in turn, it freezes our window shut, too)! But we noticed that we always get lots of “dust” accumulation! This dust is, in fact, dead skin cells we accumulate and it just circulates inside the house / room. This is also the reason why I can’t wait for warmer weather – so we can have more fresh air around the house.
Anyway, on to better things, your whoopie pie looks amazing! You can’t even tell that they are grain-, dairy-, nut-, refined sugar-free (not that there’s anything wrong with that!) I want a piece…or two!
Jen L | Tartine and Apron Strings recently posted..Bacon-Wrapped Brined Chicken Breasts
That must be awful, not being able to air the house in winter. I imagine you have some kind of air circulating system. Otherwise the vacuum cleaner would have to be in action all the time. I wonder what people do in those circumstances. Our winters are never that cold so we can leave our windows open, though it does get rather chilly.
Have a go at making the whoopie pies and you can have 3 or 4, though that would be an overload.
Hope the new eating regime is having benefits.
Suzanne recently posted..Coconut Chocolate Whoopie Pies – grain, dairy, nut and refined sugar-free
Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention! It’s honestly something that I hadn’t thought of! Your whoppie pies look decedent!
The Life of Clare recently posted..In My Kitchen, March 2013
You’re welcome. I’m so glad we had that testing done or I wouldn’t have thought about it as well.
Suzanne recently posted..Coconut Chocolate Whoopie Pies – grain, dairy, nut and refined sugar-free
I wonder if that’s also the reason why my husband and I have constant headaches. I have always thought that it’s because of the kids noises. Now you opened another possibility. We do open all the windows of our house everyday to change the air inside especially in the morning when we wake up. In winter, shorter times but at least 2 – 3 times a day. I should dedicate some time in turning the room inside out for dust and mildew. Thanks for passing that info Suzanne. Now to move on to something better. I love these whoopie pies and I can’t wait to see your cookbook!
Rowena @ Apron and Sneakers recently posted..Miso Soup
Headaches can have many causes but I would say if both you and your husband have headaches, I would look at your home environment. It could be the quality of the air but it could also be the chemicals you are using in your home to clean it. As we get older, we cope less well with all these foreign substances in our homes and in our food. Meanwhile, turning your bedroom inside out would be a great start, using gentle cleaners like soap, vinegar and baking soda. I must do it again soon too.
Suzanne recently posted..Coconut Chocolate Whoopie Pies – grain, dairy, nut and refined sugar-free
Mmmm….coconut whoopie pies! These look like winners! And you’re so close to finishing up your recipe development…congrats! I can’t wait to open up our windows…hopefully we’ll get a few warm days soon! I’m glad it was carbon dioxide and not carbon monoxide…but it’s still unnerving to know that there was an imbalance in a room you spend so much time…yikes.
Liz recently posted..Turtle Brownies…#ChocolateParty
It will hopefully be all over with the recipe development this weekend. I have been compiling the book in the evenings after work so its layout is well under control too.
Excess carbon dioxide doesn’t kill you like carbon monoxide but it makes you sluggish, foggy-minded, slow to rev up and gives you headaches. Not a nice way to wake up.
Suzanne recently posted..Coconut Chocolate Whoopie Pies – grain, dairy, nut and refined sugar-free
I change my linen twice a week, but should replace my pillows asap! The whoopie pies are sounding delicious and I love the pic and your beautiful styling!
Zirkie recently posted..PinkPolkaDot’s menu for a week from 4 to 10 March 2013-03-03
Thanks, Zirkie. You are doing excellent work by changing your sheets twice a week! Replacing pillows is something that we often forget to do.
Suzanne recently posted..Coconut Chocolate Whoopie Pies – grain, dairy, nut and refined sugar-free
I totally agree with you. Years ago, we bought this really expensive vacuum. The salesman asked us if we could point to the dirtiest area of home. We thought it had to be somewhere in the kitchen. It was the bed. Yes, skin cells gather there and accumulate. He vacuumed the bed and then removed the filter to show us. It was pretty amazing. I feel like am always cleaning my bedroom because I like to have the windows open. But it is really windy in Texas so that means layers of dustiness all the time. That vacuum is a clunker compared to today’s versions…but we still use it for everything!
Oh, my gosh, I have never vacuumed my bed. Perhaps I should try. It’s really windy here in Auckland too but it’s better the dust from outsisde than a build up of carbon dioxide. But I do hate cleaning. In fact Adriano and Dario do most of it.
Suzanne recently posted..Coconut Chocolate Whoopie Pies – grain, dairy, nut and refined sugar-free
The whoopie pies look delicious and I love the color. I am glad that you got the CO2 issue fixed and I am sure you feel so much more healthier.
Nik@ABrownTable recently posted..quinoa kheer
Thanks, Nik. We do feel better without an overload of CO² but it does get a little chilly in winter.
Suzanne recently posted..Pita Bread and Mexican Spread – grain-free & fructose intolerant friendly