Day will briefly become night when the moon passes between Earth and the sun during Monday’s solar eclipse. To celebrate this unique event, we present recipes for a couple of delectable desserts.
As anticipation mounts for the eclipse, our minds naturally turn to the Moon Pie, a traditional Southern treat. Delving into our archives, we rediscovered the recipe for a delightful dessert made with Milky Way candy bars, featured in both the cake and the frosting.
Originating from the Chattanooga Bakery Inc., Moon Pies are cookie-like confections credited to the company’s innovation.
In 1917, as the story goes, a Chattanooga Bakery salesman named Earl Mitchell was inspired by a miner’s request for a snack “as big as the moon” yet compact enough for a lunch box at a Kentucky coal mine store. Mitchell relayed this idea to the bakery, leading to the creation of the trademarked “MoonPie” consisting of chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker cookies.
Market as “the original marshmallow sandwich,” the Moon Pie quickly gained popularity, becoming a staple thrown from floats during Mardi Gras celebrations.
With the solar eclipse approaching, Chattanooga Bakery has ramped up production, sending out over a million MoonPies to meet the demand.
Moon Pies feature a layer of marshmallow encased between graham cracker cookies, all coated in chocolate (additional flavors include banana and vanilla). While reminiscent of s’mores, Moon Pies offer a unique twist. These individually wrapped treats are readily available at grocery stores and major retailers nationwide.
In our quest for a Moon Pie recipe, we stumbled upon a well-regarded version from Garden & Gun magazine, a publication known for its celebration of Southern culture. This recipe opts for jarred marshmallow creme for convenience.
Homemade Moon Pies
Yields: 12 / Preparation Time: 1 hour / Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Cookie Dough:
- 6 ounces unsalted butter
- ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup cane syrup
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1¼ cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
Marshmallow Center:
- 1 container (12 ounces) marshmallow creme
Chocolate Coating:
- 1 bag (16 ounces) bittersweet chocolate
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or canola oil
Begin by creaming together butter, brown sugar, syrup, and vanilla until fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine flour, graham cracker crumbs, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, incorporating fully. Stream in the milk until a cohesive dough forms. Chill the dough, then roll it out, cut into rounds, and bake.
After the cookies cool, assemble the Moon Pies by sandwiching marshmallow creme between two cookies, chilling them, and then coating them in melted chocolate.
Milky Way Bar Cake
Yields: About 20 half-inch slices / Preparation Time: 25 minutes / Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Cake:
- 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- ¼ cup finely chopped nuts
- 15 bite-size Milky Way bars (0.7 ounces each)
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk, plain yogurt, or sour cream
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 4 eggs
Glaze:
- 5 bite-size Milky Way bars (0.7 ounces each)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons water
This cake recipe incorporates melted Milky Way bars into the batter for a rich, indulgent flavor. The cake is baked, cooled, and then drizzled with a glaze made from more melted Milky Way bars, butter, and water.
Adjusted from M&M/MARS and tested by Susan Selasky for the Free Press Test Kitchen.