Name: MoonPie (home recipe)
Prep time: 45 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: Makes 8 pies
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 250g plain flour; 120g wholemeal flour; 150g butter, softened; 120g brown sugar; 3 tbsp honey; 1 tsp baking soda; Pinch of salt; 60ml milk; 200g marshmallow creme or 16 large marshmallows; 300g milk or dark chocolate, chopped; 1 tbsp neutral oil

History

Chattanooga Bakery introduced the MoonPie on April 29, 1917, after a travelling salesman asked a Kentucky coal miner what he wanted in a snack; company lore says the miner framed his hands at the rising Moon and asked for one that big. Paired with RC Cola it became the working man's lunch across the South, celebrated in a 1950s Big Bill Lister song. The bakery, still family-owned, returned to its original sugar formula for the centennial in 2017.

Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Soy

Make it at home

Yield Makes 8 piesHands-on 45 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

250g plain flour
120g wholemeal flour
150g butter, softened
120g brown sugar
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
60ml milk
200g marshmallow creme or 16 large marshmallows
300g milk or dark chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp neutral oil

Method

Cream the butter, brown sugar and honey until light, then work in both flours, baking soda, salt and enough milk to bring together a firm graham-style dough. Chill 30 minutes.
Roll to 4mm and cut 16 rounds of 8cm. Bake at 180C for 10 to 12 minutes until just coloured at the edges, then cool completely on a rack.
Spread half the rounds with a thick layer of marshmallow creme, or sandwich a flattened toasted marshmallow between two biscuits while still warm so it glues them together.
Melt the chocolate with the oil over a bain-marie until pourable. Set each sandwich on a fork, spoon chocolate over to coat completely and let excess drip off.
Set the coated pies on baking parchment until the chocolate hardens, about 30 minutes at cool room temperature.

Tip from the editors. Banana-flavoured coating is the cult Chattanooga variant; add a drop of banana essence to the chocolate rather than hunting flavoured candy melts.