When the moon passes between the Earth and the sun during Monday’s solar eclipse, day will temporarily turn into night. To celebrate, we’ve prepared some sweet treat recipes for you.
When excitement about the eclipse began to build, our thoughts first turned to moon pies, a confection with Southern roots. Then we couldn’t resist digging through the archives to find a fun Milky Way Cake recipe. It’s made with Milky Way candy bars, which are used in both the cake and the frosting.
Moon Pie is a cookie-like treat invented by Chattanooga Bakery Company.
According to Moonpie.com, in 1917, a traveling salesman for a bakery named Earl Mitchell visited a company store in a Kentucky coal mine, where a miner asked Mitchell for a snack “as big as the moon” that would fit in a lunchbox. It is said that box. Mitchell reported to the bakery, who devised a confection named “Moon Pie” (trade name), which combined chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker cookies.
The bakery marketed this product as the “original marshmallow sandwich,” and it quickly became popular. Nowadays, Moon Pies are thrown from floats during Mardi Gras. The tradition began in Mobile, Alabama.
With the solar eclipse just around the corner, Chattanooga Bakery has made and shipped more than 1 million moon pies.
Moon Pie is a marshmallow sandwiched between graham cracker cookies and covered in chocolate. (Other coating flavors are banana and vanilla.) Similar to s’mores, but with a different structure. Chattanooga Bakery’s individually wrapped boxes of Moon Pies are sold in grocery stores and big box stores nationwide.
When I searched the Internet for moon pie recipes, I found numerous references to the recipe in Garden & Gun, a magazine that celebrates Southern culture. Instead of making marshmallow filling from scratch, you’re asked to use jarred marshmallow cream.
homemade moon pie
What to make: 12/ Preparation time: 1 hour / total time: 1 hour 15 minutes.
cookie dough:
6 ounces unsalted butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
1/4 cup sugar cane syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups (about 1 sleeve) finely crushed graham cracker flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
2 tablespoons whole milk
Marshmallow center:
1 container (12 oz) marshmallow cream
Chocolate coating:
1 bag (16 oz) of bittersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, syrup, and vanilla until mixture is fluffy, about 1 minute.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, graham cracker flour, kosher salt, baking powder, baking soda, and ground cinnamon.
With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until the dry ingredients are completely combined. Add the milk in a slow, steady stream. Continue mixing until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap. Flatten it with your palm. Wrap the edge of the plastic wrap around the dough. Refrigerate for up to 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Place the chilled dough on a lightly floured work surface. You may need to let the dough sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to make it easier. Roll the dough until it is 1/4 inch thick. Cut out cookies using a 3-inch round cookie cutter. Place cookies on prepared cookie sheet.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. It’s still soft when you take it out of the oven. Let the cookies cool for 10 to 15 minutes before carefully transferring to a cooling rack. Allow the cookies to cool completely before starting the next step.
Once the cookies are cool, spoon about 1/4 cup of the marshmallow cream into the center of each of the 12 cookies. Place a second cookie on top of the marshmallow and gently press down until the marshmallow touches the edges. Place the sandwiches on a cookie sheet and chill for at least 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a bain-marie or a heatproof bowl set over a small pot of boiling water. Once the chocolate has melted, remove the pan from the heat and allow the chocolate to cool until it is still warm to the touch but no longer hot. Slowly stir in the oil.
Using two forks, gently place the sandwich cookies into the warm chocolate mixture. Turn until completely coated. Next, remove the cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Let the cookies stand until the chocolate shells are completely hardened.
milky way bar cake
What to make: Approximately 20 0.5 inch slices/ Preparation time: 25 minutes / total time: 1 hour 25 minutes
cake:
1-2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts
15 bite-sized Milky Way bars (0.7 oz each)
1 cup divided low-fat buttermilk, plain yogurt, or sour cream
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
glaze:
5 bite-sized Milky Way bars (0.7 oz each)
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If using dark-colored bread, lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees. Generously grease a 12-cup bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan with shortening. Sprinkle coated bread with nuts. Set aside.
In a heavy medium saucepan over low heat, melt candy bars with 1/4 cup buttermilk, stirring frequently until mixture is smooth.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Alternately add flour mixture and remaining 3/4 cup buttermilk, mixing until dry ingredients are moistened. Next, mix in the melted candy bar mixture until completely combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, to prepare the glaze, melt candy bars in butter and water until mixture is smooth. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake.
Adapted from M&M/MARS and tested by Susan Selasky for the Free Press Test Kitchen.
