Who knew that a fateful meeting between a Kentucky coal miner and a Chattanooga Bakery traveling salesman in 1917 would result in one of America’s most delicious cookies. The miner asked for a treat “as big as the moon” but portable enough to take down into the mines. The resulting graham cracker cookie sandwich stuffed with marshmallow and coated in chocolate has reached mythic status in the south. Not to be confused with their Yankee equivalent, a whoopie pie, making homemade moon pies can be bit of a chore. If you want to just buy them at the store, I won’t blame you. But if you can’t find them near you, and are craving this amazing cookie, read on for the recipe.
Tips for Making Moon Pies
Thanks to their three separate components, and multiple rounds of chilling required, making homemade moon pies is no last-minute endeavor. If you plan to bring these treats somewhere, make them a day ahead of time to ensure the chocolate has plenty of time to set.
The Cookie
The recipe below uses a 3-inch biscuit cutter to make 6 large, beautiful moon pies. While the larger cookie remains in the spirit of the miner’s request, smaller cookies are easier to handle and coat in chocolate. Use a 2-inch cookie cutter for a more manageable cookie, and approximately 1 dozen moon pies.
When rolling the cookies out, use a generous amount of flour on your rolling surface, the rolling pin, and your cookie cutter. These cookies can take some extra handling, so if the dough cracks as you roll it out, simply press the cracked parts back together gently. Of all the elements of this recipe, the cookies are the most forgiving.
The Marshmallow
When piping the marshmallow fluff onto the cookies, I recommend a very thin layer (about 1/4 of an inch). The weight of the cookie pushes the excess fluff down and out, so an overstuffed cookie means a drippy, sticky cookie.
If you prefer to use marshmallows rather than marshmallow fluff, heat them in the microwave for a few seconds to soften them up and make them more moldable. Marshmallows hold their own against the cookie a bit better, but they’re more challenging to work with as a filler. Some home cooks like to make their own marshmallows for moon pies, and if you’d like to try it, Flour de Liz has some great variations for homemade marshmallows.
The Chocolate
When melting chocolate for coating, melted chocolate alone will certainly make for the crispiest shell. However, unless you really know your way around a bain marie, chocolate alone can be tough to handle. My recipe uses coconut oil to make the chocolate smoother specifically because coconut oil is solid at room temperature, making it less vulnerable to melting than vegetable oil and other thinning agents.
When coating the cookies, using two forks stuck into the marshmallow ensures the smoothest, most even coating possible, and it’s surprisingly easy to handle. The chocolate adheres beautifully to the textured cookies, so as long as you don’t add too much marshmallow (as I did the first time I made these) and you have plenty of chocolate, the cookies dry beautifully.
How to Make Homemade Moon Pies
Homemade Moon Pies
Equipment
- measuring cups and spoons
- 2 Medium mixing bowls
- rubber spatula
- Whisk or wooden spoon
- electric mixer (optional)
- Round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter (mine was 3 inches wide)
- Wax paper
- Airtight wrap (like Saran wrap)
- Cookie sheet
- Silicone baking sheet or parchment paper
- Piping bag or gallon plastic bag (optional)
- 2 forks
- Small bowl
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 6 ounces 3/4 stick softened butter
- ¼ c light brown sugar firmly packed
- ¼ c light corn syrup
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ c all-purpose flour
- 1 sleeve graham crackers pummeled into fine crumbs
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 Tbs milk
For the Filling
- 7 oz marshmallow fluff
For the Chocolate Coating
- 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
- 1-2 Tbs coconut oil
Instructions
For the Cookies
- Cream together the butter, brown sugar, syrup, and vanilla until mixture is creamy, about 1 minute (this is easier with a stand mixer).6 ounces 3/4 stick softened butter, ¼ c light brown sugar, ¼ c light corn syrup, ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- In your other bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon until thoroughly combined.1½ c all-purpose flour, 1 sleeve graham crackers, ¾ tsp salt, ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- Beat in half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture slowly, until totally incorporated.
- Continue beating while you add the milk in a steady stream.2 Tbs milk
- Add in the other half of the dry ingredients and mix together until totally incorporated. The dough will pull away from the side of the bowl.
- Lay out a large sheet of plastic wrap or other airtight wrap, and dump the dough on top.
- Flatten the dough a bit with your (clean!!) hand into a rough disc shape. Wrap the dough completely and chill in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Place parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on a clean cookie sheet.
- Liberally flour a clean work surface and a rolling pin. Unwrap your dough disk and roll it until it’s about ¼ inch thick. If the dough is difficult to roll out, let it warm up at room temp for 5-10 minutes.
- Use a circular cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to cut circles in the dough. (Flour the cutter for cleaner circles). Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to your prepared cookie sheet. Leave a little room, as the cookies will spread out slightly.
- Gather the dough scraps, press them back together, and re-roll them out to get as many cookies as you can. Make sure you have an even number!
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. The cookies will be soft when you take them out, so allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Cool completely before adding the marshmallow.
Cookie Assembly
- When your cookies just about cool, melt the chocolate. Combine the chocolate chips and 1 Tbs of coconut oil in a small bowl (bigger than the cookies, though).12 oz semisweet chocolate chips, 1-2 Tbs coconut oil
- Heat in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between each time. If the mixture seems too thick, add more coconut oil. It should take 2-3 minutes total for the chocolate to melt completely.
- Pair together cookies with ones approximately the same size and shape.
- Fill a pastry bag or gallon Zip Loc with the corner cut off with marshmallow fluff.7 oz marshmallow fluff
- Add a little less than an ounce of marshmallow fluff to the center of ½ of the cookies. Take the matching cookie and place it on top, squishing down until the marshmallow fluff reaches the edge.
- There should be about ¼ of an inch of filling. If there's too much filling, squeeze the cookies so the excess comes out the sides, and wipe it off with a wet paper towel (let dry before coating in chocolate).
- Place wax paper on a large flat surface, like a cutting board.
- Stick two forks in either side of the marshmallow fluff of one cookie. Use the forks to tip the cookie into the melted chocolate, flip it over, and cover completely.
- Place coated cookie on wax paper. Repeat with all the sandwich cookies.
- Allow chocolate to re-set before eating (probably as fast as humanly possible).
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