Copycat Moon Pies Food

COPYCAT MOON PIES

Steps:

• Prepare the graham cracker cookies: whisk together whole wheat and all-purpose flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl until well combined. Whisk together honey, oil, eggs, and milk in a medium bowl until well combined. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, and gently stir together until a coarse dough begins to develop.
• Pour dough out onto a work surface lightly dusted with all-purpose flour and knead until dough becomes smooth, shiny, and slightly tacky, about 2 minutes. Divide dough into 2 even balls and shape into disks. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Position racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Line 2 rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper.
• Working with one dough disk at a time on a surface lightly dusted with all-purpose flour, roll each disk into a 16x12-inch rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick. Cut twelve 3 1/2-inch circles out of each dough rectangle. Transfer circles to the prepared sheet pans spaced 1 inch apart from each other.
• Bake cookies in the preheated oven until fragrant and slightly firm, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheet pans for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Prepare the marshmallow: Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Allow gelatin to bloom, undisturbed, until thickened, about 15 minutes.
• While the gelatin is blooming, combine remaining 1/2 cup water with sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, without stirring, over medium heat. Boil sugar mixture, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 240 degrees F (116 degrees C), about 10 minutes.
• Add vanilla to bloomed gelatin; beat on medium speed until completely incorporated, about 1 minute. Leave mixer on medium and carefully add hot sugar mixture until combined, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to high and beat until mixture is thick, sticky, and quadrupled in volume, about 10 minutes. Immediately transfer 1/2 of marshmallow mixture to a piping bag; reserve remaining marshmallow for another use.
• Arrange 12 cooled cookies upside down on a clean work surface. Cut a tip off the piping bag, leaving a 1/2-inch hole, and quickly and carefully pipe a 2 tablespoon circular mound of marshmallow in the center of each cookie. Top with remaining cookies and gently press down until marshmallow is spread about 1/4 inch from the edges. Allow cookie sandwiches to sit out at room temperature, uncovered, until marshmallow filling is set and slightly firm, at least 1 hour or up to (but not exceeding) 4 hours.
• Prepare the glaze: fill a medium pot with 1 inch water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low. Place 28 ounces chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl and place on top of the pot with steaming water. Stir chocolate slowly until completely melted and smooth, about 5 minutes. Continue stirring until a thermometer registers 115 degrees F (46 degrees C), about 5 minutes. Remove bowl from the pot and set on a lightly damp kitchen towel to prevent the bowl from sliding. Allow chocolate to cool, stirring constantly, until a thermometer registers 90 degrees F (32 degrees C), about 5 minutes.
• Add remaining chocolate to the melted chocolate. Stir until completely melted and smooth, placing it back over steaming water briefly, if necessary, about 5 minutes.
• Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Working quickly, cleanly, and with one at a time, dip each cookie sandwich into the melted chocolate until completely coated, allowing excess chocolate to drain back into the bowl. Scrape the bottom of each along rim of bowl to remove any excess glaze. Place on the prepared sheet pan and smooth the top with a small offset spatula. Repeat to coat remaining cookies. Transfer to the refrigerator to cool until chocolate is set and firm, about 10 minutes. Allow cookies to rest at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, until completely set, about 30 minutes.

HOMEMADE MOON PIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Stir together flours, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl until well combined. Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers until butter pieces are pea-sized and fully coated in flour. Fold in honey, water, and vanilla until dough just comes together.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Pat dough together until a cohesive ball is formed, and no dry bits of flour remain. Roll half of dough 1/4-inch thick. Using a 21/2-inch round cutter, cut 8 rounds of dough, rerolling scraps as necessary. Place dough rounds on 1 prepared baking sheet; repeat with remaining half of dough and baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven 10-12 minutes or until tops are just set, rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cool on pans 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Once cookies are cooled, spread about 11/2-2 tablespoons marshmallow creme on the flat sides of 8 of the cookies. Place remaining 8 cookies on top of marshmallow creme, creating 8 sandwiches. Place sandwich cookies on a baking sheet and freeze 30 minutes or until marshmallow creme is set.
• Meanwhile, place chocolate and canola oil in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on 50% power until melted, stirring at 30 second intervals, about 11/2 minutes. Once sandwich cookies are chilled, dip 1 sandwich cookie at a time in melted chocolate. Transfer dipped moonpie to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining moonies. Let chocolate fully set before serving, about 30 minutes.

MOON PIES

Steps:

• For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Whisk together the graham crumbs, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In another large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and egg and beat to combine. Add the graham mixture and beat to incorporate. Knead with your hands to bring the dough together into a ball.
• Flatten the dough into a disk, place it on a piece of parchment paper and roll with a rolling pin into an 11-inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick. Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out 8 cookies. Reroll the scraps to 1/4 inch and cut out 2 more cookies. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet. Discard the dough scraps.
• Bake the cookies until the undersides are golden brown and the tops are just set, 9 to 10 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.
• Put about 2 tablespoons of marshmallow creme in the center of a cookie (do not spread) and top with a second cookie to make a sandwich. The creme will ooze to fill the sandwich as it sits. Repeat with the remaining cookies, then freeze until the creme is firm, about 20 minutes.
• For the glaze: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place a cooling rack on top. Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil the paper.
• Put the chocolate candy coating in a heatsafe bowl (the smallest, deepest bowl it can fit in without surpassing the rim). Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until melted and smooth, about 2 minutes.
• Submerge a cookie sandwich in the melted chocolate and pull it out using 2 forks, letting the excess drip off. Transfer to the prepared cooling rack and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Transfer to the oiled parchment on the second baking sheet to set. Repeat with the remaining cookie sandwiches.

SIMPLE MOON PIES RECIPE (AKA WHOOPIE PIES)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix cake mix, oil, water, eggs, vanilla, and pudding mix until smooth - about 2 minutes.
• Spoon rounded scoops of dough onto parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Cook for 10-11 minutes. You should get about 36 cookies which will yield about 18 whoopie or moon pies.
• Let set on baking sheet for about 1-2 minutes before removing from cookie sheet. Let cool completely.