Moon Pies

So you made a full batch of the marshmallow creme from the Heavenly Hash Ice Cream recipe and you're waiting to find out my suggestion on how to use the rest, yeah?  Moon Pies.  These lil' tasty Moon Pies.

No don't panic and run away, these lil' fun time cookies are not complicated at all.  I will never lead you astray.

Or, heh, make these Moon Pies, double the marshmallow creme and then make the ice cream.  Ahhh HA!  There ya go, winning all around.

So as a kid, I didn't eat these much.  No idea why.  Did you?  Every single element in them screams yes:  chocolate, marshmallow, graham-like soft cookies.

There is an actual Moon Pie brand though we definitely never had those.  Barely ever saw that brand in stores around these Midwestern parts though maybe I wasn't looking.  Mike says he never ate these at all as a kid.  Hm.  Poor guy.

We had the Little Debbie version on rare occasion which was fine enough.  I think I remember thinking they weren't terribly great though.  That the cookie part was spongy and pallid, the marshmallow portion a bit weird, and the microscopic thin chocolate layer was that waxy type.  Bleeh.

Still though, sugary treat was sugary treat and I happily ate them anyway.  Oatmeal Creme Pies were my jam of all Little Debbie jams.  Or those (Hostess?) cinnamon coffee cake thingies.  Yeah, gosh, loved those.

Maybe I should track down a real Moon Pie branded one, see what it's like though like everything else over time, surely the recipe has evolved and it's probably not what it once was.  Huh, according to their website, you can get them at particular auto parts stores.  Uhhh....

Edited to add:  I did make an attempt to purchase a Moon Pie from a listed location but they were not there.  Heh, no, I did not go to an auto parts store though I drove by one aaaand kept driving.  If I see them out in the wild, I will try one.

Anywhooo, so Moon Pies!  Right!  They're kinda like a portable, not-hot, campfire-free version of S'mores morphed into a less messy, self-contained cookie.  And when I came upon the Southern Living recipe, I knew these were getting made.

Right?  Because homemade is always tastier.

And I'll tell ya, these will rock your world.

So it's three parts and you can get it all done in an afternoon or, you can prep then assemble later.

Start with the cookies.

Dump all your cookie dry ingredients in a big ol' bowl.  

A one-bowl wonder!

Oh right, yes, whole wheat pastry flour.*  Yeah, I can't find it either which is goofy as I live in a major metropolis, obviously I'm not looking close enough, but you can make a perfectly suitable sub using half whole wheat flour and half cake flour.*  Voila, and you're welcome!

So then next, toss in the butter and smush it up into pea-size bits with a pastry cutter* or in a similar fashion to other suggestions in the Buttermilk Biscuits recipe.

Crumbs and peas, crumbs and peas.  It'll be a theme on this blog.

Pour in your wet ingredients, fold that around with a spatula* and let's get ready to roll!

It doesn't look like it'll come together but it will.

So on a floured work surface, toss the crumbly dough down and give it a few gentle kneads and pushes-together to get it into a ball form.  Slice that dough ball in half.

A bench scraper* is a very handy (and inexpensive) tool but you can use a knife just as well.

And then roll out one half, chill the other half of the dough.

Right.  Roll* to juuust about a quarter inch thick, splash out a pile of flour on the counter, dip a two and a half inch round cutter* into the flour (keeps the dough from sticking, for real, it works), then punch out as many rounds as you can.

You can scoop the scraps up then re-roll.  You should get sixteen cookies per dough ball half.  

Pop the rounds on a silicone mat* lined baking sheet,* or you can use parchment paper* but the mats are washable and reusable and more environmentally-friendly, then bake.  Repeat with the other dough ball.

See, I bake sheets of cookies one sheet at a time for the best results otherwise, the oven is too crowded and air doesn't circulate properly.  Sure, it adds more time but you're baking, who cares.

Meanwhile, make the marshmallow creme from the Heavenly Hash recipe, or no worries, use a store-bought jar of the glorious goo.  Bonus with the store-bought is that you can sandwich in a bit extra than called for in the recipe.  Uh huh, I got'chur back.

Melt the chocolate (you can use bar form or chips, either/or) and when the cookies are cool, slather the tops of each one with about a fat teaspoon and a half.  

An offset spatula* is another handy (and inexpensive) tool to have in your arsenal but eh, a spoon works too.

Then pop those in the fridge to set.  And lick the bowl.

All righty!  Last bit of assembly now....spoon on the marshmallow creme, dividing it between sixteen of the cookies, then sandwich with the creme-free ones.

Why not assemble the cookies then dip them whole in the chocolate?  You'll run out of chocolate.  And it's way messier.  But, feel free!

Tada!

Yum!!

I was having a bad camera day, sorry these photos aren't the best but this Moon Pie recipe is the best so be sure to make these ASAP!

Moon Pies

Yield

16 cookies

Prep time

30 Min

Cook time

12 Min

Inactive time

1 Hour

Total time

1 H & 42 M

Here's a winning homemade version of Moon Pies, those yummy like S'mores chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cookie delights!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (144 g) whole wheat pastry flour (see note)
• 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (107 g) light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (1.3 g) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (113 g) cold salted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup (59 ml) honey
• 1/4 cup (59 ml) water
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
• 1 heaping cup ( 85+ g) marshmallow creme (homemade or store bought)
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (1 bag of chocolate chips, 170 g)
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) canola oil

Instructions

1. Begin by preheating the oven to 350° F (176° C). With parchment paper or a silicone mat, line a cookie sheet.
2. In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients -- the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, the salt, and cinnamon and whisk to combine.
3. Add the cold butter then cut in using a pastry cutter or smushing the butter and flour together into flakes using your fingers. Continue until the butter is the size of peas and there are coarse crumbs.
4. Pour in the wet ingredients, the honey, water, and vanilla and fold together with a spatula until barely combined.
5. Flour a work surface lightly and turn the dough out onto it. Gently form the dough into a ball then split it in half. Lightly flour a rolling pin and roll one half to about 1/4" in thickness.
6. Dip a 2 1/2" round cutter into flour and cut out circles of dough, rerolling the scraps as needed. Place the rounds on the baking sheet with about 1" distance between them and bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookies will look slightly browned, set, and dried. Be sure to rotate the pan halfway through baking for evenness. Cool on the sheet for about 3 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.
7. Repeat with the other ball of dough.
8. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate with the oil in a medium bowl in the microwave. Run it for 30 seconds then stir, repeating the heating as necessary.
9. Once the cookies have cooled, spread about a teaspoon and a half of chocolate on each cookie's rounded top. Set the cookies in the refrigerator to set up for about 10 minutes.
10. Prepare the marshmallow creme as outlined in this recipe
11. or open a jar of store-bought. Divide the creme between half of the cookies and spread evenly across each then sandwich them with the remaining cookies.
12. Store cookies in the refrigerator.

Notes:

To substitute whole wheat pastry flour, use half whole wheat flour and half cake flour.

Adapted from Southern Living.

Calories

352.51

Fat (grams)

15.33

Sat. Fat (grams)

8.18

Carbs (grams)

52.60

Fiber (grams)

4.05

Net carbs

48.56

Sugar (grams)

23.65

Protein (grams)

5.82

Sodium (milligrams)

218.06

Cholesterol (grams)

17.91

Please see the "info" section for nutrition details.

cookies, Moon Pies

recipe

American

Created using The Recipes Generator

 *The whole wheat pastry flour, cake flour, pastry cutters, silicone spatulas, bench scrapers, rolling pins, round cutters, silicone baking mats, baking sheets, parchment paper, and offset spatulas are Amazon affiliate links.  Happy baking, thanks! Please see the "Info" tab for more, well, more info.