Homemade Marshmallow Moon Pies

When that line popped in my head, I can remember wondering if marshmallow moon pies were a made up treat. Were they a product of my sweet tooth imagination or were they a real desert? I laid down and came to the conclusion that I had never had a marshmallow moon pie, nor could I tell you what they looked like, but there was a familiarity there that I couldn’t shake. Fast forward years later, Brit confirmed; marshmallow moon pies are a real desert! Ah, the subconscious, such a ”wundrous” place! I figure some time long ago I must have come across a moon pie and stored it in some far off corner in my vast subconscious realm. Today, I am thrilled to feature marshmallow moon pies in our book and over the MOON that Brit and I were able to successfully put together the following homemade recipe so you can take part in the fun of creating delicious marshmallow moon pies too. So here’s a sugar filled toast to the following kid-friendly recipe: Magical and Marvelous Marshmallow Moon Pies.

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Cookie Ingredients

• ¾ cup salted organic grass fed butter, softened *I buy Kerrigold!
• ¼ cup golden syrup
  (best with golden syrup but you may use raw honey as an organic option)
• ¼ cup organic brown sugar, packed
  (buy at any Trader Joes or local organic food store)
• 1 tsp organic vanilla extract
• 1⅔ cups organic all-purpose flour
  *For gluten free flour, try King’s gluten free flour  
• 1 package organic graham crackers, finely processed in a food processor or blender
  *For organic graham crackers try Annie’s organic graham crackers
  *For gluten free graham crackers, try King’s gluten free graham cracker crumbs
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp organic grass fed whole milk or cream
• 1 pkg regular sized marshmallows
  *For vegan marshmallows, try Dandies from Whole Foods or Amazon
• 1 jar marshmallow fluff
  *For organic marshmallows, try Toonie Moonie from Amazon

Chocolate Coating Ingredients

• Double boiler or pot and a glass bowl that sits comfortably on top of the pot
• 8 oz organic semi-sweet chocolate chips 
• 2 tbsp organic vegetable or grapeseed oil

Optional Icing Ingredients

• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp meringue powder
• 3 to 4 cups confectioner’s sugar 
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp light corn syrup

Instructions

Making the graham cracker cookie dough

1. Cream the butter, golden syrup, brown sugar and vanilla together until creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Do not add the milk yet.
2. Sift remaining dry cookie ingredients into a bowl. Remove large chunks of graham cracker crumbs, if any.
3. Slowly add dry ingredients into the bowl of creamed butter. Mix between each addition. 
4. Add milk and mix ingredients completely.
5. The dough will be very soft. Use spatula and place dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap the dough completely and transfer to the fridge. Refrigerate for at least an hour, preferably longer. I usually make the dough in the morning and finish the recipe in the afternoon/evening.

After chilling the cookie dough

1. Preheat oven to 325F / 160C.
2. Prep baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Lightly flour an area to roll out the dough.
4. Roll out chilled dough to around ¼ of an inch in thickness.
5. Use circular cookie cutter or a small cup to punch out cookies (approximately 3 inches in diameter).
6. Transfer to parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown on the sides. Cookies will be very soft when they are finished cooking. Allow cookies to cool a few minutes on the pan before transferring them to a cooling crack.

Making the chocolate coating

1. Use a double boiler or place a glass bowl on top of a pot with simmering water. 
2. Pour chocolate chips and vegetable oil into the bowl.
3. Mix continuously until chocolate is completely melted and shiny.
4. Remove from heat. Take a cooled cookie and dip one side in the chocolate. Place on parchment paper to cool. Do this to all of the cookies.*Place them in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process!

Assembling the Moon Pies

1. Once the chocolate coated cookies are cool flip them over so the chocolate coating is facing down. Put a small amount of marshmallow fluff on each cookie. Make sure to spread a very thin layer of fluff and no larger than the size of a quarter. 
2. Heat marshmallows in the microwave for 10 second increments. You want the marshmallows to puff up slightly, warm and soft enough to squish between the cookies. 
3. Take the warm marshmallows and sandwich one in between two cookies with the chocolate coat facing out. Let the cookies sit for a few minutes before serving so they set.

BONUS! Optional royal icing recipe:

1. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer with a whisk attachment to whip ingredients.
2. Pour the water and meringue powder in a bowl and whip the mixture. Begin slowly and then gradually turn the mixer to high. Whip until mixture is fluffy and peaks when you pull back the whisk. This may take a few minutes. 
3. Once meringue mixture is forming peaks, begin to slowly pour in the powdered sugar in. Add in about half of the powdered sugar. Mix and then add in the vanilla, vegetable oil, and corn syrup. Mix completely.
4. Add remaining cups of sugar until desired consistency is achieved. *I like mine to be semi thick, just enough that the mixture isn’t too runny but will still go smoothly onto the cookies. 
5. Transfer mixture into different bowls. Add food coloring. Transfer to pastry bags, cut a small hole and decorate!