Midnight Moon Pies Food

MINI MOON PIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• To make the Dough: In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until soft and smooth. Add the sugar and continue mixing until well blended. Add the vanilla and mix until light and fluffy.
• In a separate bowl, stir together the cocoa powder, cornstarch and flour. With the mixer running at low speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and blend just until combined. Form the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours or overnight.
• On a floured work surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/8-inch thick, or as thin as you can possibly get it. Use flour-dipped cookie cutters to cut out 1 1/2 inch diameter circles and place them on an ungreased sheet pan, leaving 1-inch between the cookies. You can re-roll the scraps. To make them look more like store bought, prick the disks with a fork a little. Bake until crisp, 12 to 14 minutes, then let cool on the pan
• To make the Marshmallows: Combine the 1/4 cup water, the corn syrup, and the sugar in a saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer. Bring to a boil and cook to "soft-ball" stage, or about 235 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, in a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Sprinkle the gelatin over the 2 tablespoons water and let dissolve. When the syrup reaches 235 degrees F, remove it from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix. Pour the syrup into the whipped egg whites. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.
• Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe a "kiss" of marshmallow onto half of the cookies, and top with the rest to make sandwiches. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.
• To make the Chocolate Coating: Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-filled cookies into the hot chocolate. Lift out with a fork and let the excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Place on the cookie sheet and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

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.