Moon Pies: have you ever had the experience?

[Gifted Gourmet]

A Moon Pie is a miniature full-moon-shaped, edible, sticky, somewhat crunchy concoction of graham cracker cookie dough and marshmellows which is covered with chocolate.

the history of moonpies and the legend

Moon Pies originated in Tennessee back in the early nineteen hundreds and were supposed to have been made for the coal miners there to make their times under ground more bearable.

They are still sold and eaten in the South and have a loyal following even today ...

My questions: have you ever had the experience of eating Moon Pies and, if you live outside the South, is there something comparable?

[BrentKulman]

Gotta have an RC Cola to go with a moon pie.

Since I haven't had that combo for quite a while and generally don't drink colas, I hadn't realized that RC Cola had become an endangered species.

[hillvalley]

I love moonpies. They are hard to find up here so when I do come across them I stock up. One of my favorite books is Jimmy Zangwow's Out of This World Moon Pie Adventure.

It's a great story about a little boy who travels to the Moon and Milky Way to enjoy a moon pie and glass of milk. Along the way he learns about sharing and getting to know different kinds of people.

Every year I do a lesson with the book and then we have a snack of Moon Pies.

[fierydrunk]

I never enjoyed Moon Pies. They always seemed like the "cheap" treat...even though I was known to eat Little Debbies (I even dubbed the Little Debbie Brownie the "Pseudo Brownie")!

I think I am too young--I grew up in the 70's which was the era of Reese's and Nestles.

[FL Heat]

They're kinda my snack o' choice when travelling. I prefer Peach Nehi to RC Cola, though. . . I hope that doesn't get me shot! My boyfriend thinks they're weird. Dad likes the banana one. Some friends from NY think they're disgusting (but then they made me try an egg cream, which I couldn't even swallow).

Diana

[soupkitchen]

I like to eat them warm, try putting them in the microwave(yes the microwave) for 25 seconds. Or you can go state fair style and deep fry them. JK

soup

[Mayhaw Man]

I started eating them when I was a regular at the Mobile Mardi Gras when I was a little boy, as they are a traditional throw there (along with serpentine-which has never caught on in New Orleans but is a very cool throw).

In the last couple of years Moon Pies have become popular with some krewes in New Orleans (particularly Tucks) and I still like them quite a bit, but banana is my favorite.

[Varmint]

Moon Pies are a staple in the Varmint household. We were going to deep fry some at the Pig Pickin', but we just never got around to it.

I've thought of making some form of Moon Pie bread pudding before. It might be time to follow through on the idea.

[tryska]

you know it's strange - i first came across a moon pie in Upstate New York. it was basically a big chocolate cookie sandwich with lots of soft fluffy crisco vanilla frosting in the middle. we had them in the school cafeteria homemade by the cafeteria ladies. they were huge too (both the cafeteria ladies and the cookies) but the cookies were the size of pie-plates.

i didn't come across the mallomar-type rendition til i got down south.

so is moonpie a specific cookie from a specific company or a style of cookie?

Edited August 17, 2004 by tryska (log)

[joiei]

My Granny always had either the chocolate or the banana flavored moon pies in her pantry. I never remember a time without them.

And my favorite Mobile Mardi Gras parade was the Order of Myths, as a kid. Now, it is probably the Order of Polka Dots or the Mystics of Time and always the Joe Cain parade which goes to the graveyard in order to raise Cain as Joe Cains Grave. And Moonpies, with Coca Colas.

When I went to help my friend Johnny Earles of Criollas in Grayton Beach, Fl do a Mardi Gras celebration dinner at the James Beard House, I had homemade Moon Pies as a gift to everyone there as they were leaving. It was great fun and not hard to do.

[BetsyinKY]

My sister (who now lives in Indianapolis and had a large Indy contingent at her wedding) used Moon Pies and RC's at each place setting as wedding favors, along with a little tag outlining the history of this southern delicacy. Her friends seemed to enjoy them and there were quite a few of them who had never sampled the Moon Pie before. Around here you can find the traditional chocolate Moon Pie in all the grocery stores and mini-marts, along with other more exotic flavors, such as the banana Moon Pie.

[Holly Moore]

[Gifted Gourmet]

Many thanks for this picture, Holly!! Just part of the education of truly southern cuisine!!

[joiei]

Holly, you do realize that I have a feeling that I will not be able to locate a Moon Pie anywhere in Tulsa, I may have to make a run over to Arkansas this weekend.

[FistFullaRoux]

I do love me a moon pie. That and the Goo Goo Cluster are the pantheons of Southern pre-packaged sweets.

I had one with lunch today. They are even better when slightly warmed. I had a burger and fries, which were served in a styrofoam clamshell type thing. Once I had paid for the meal, I popped the moon pie into the clamshell (still in the wrapper) and hoofed it back to the office. By the time I got there, the fries had gotten a bit soggy, but the moon pie was nicely warmed. By the time I finished the burger, the pie had cooled just enough to re-solidify the outer coating.

And all was right with the world. I like the banana ones best, vanilla being a very close second. Don't care for the chocolate, though.

Has anyone seen the Double Moon Pies lately? Basically an extra graham and mashmallow layer, smothered in the velvety goodness that is the moon pie coating.

One odd thing about the coating, though. It tends to stick to the back of my front teeth. Anyone else get that?

[artisanbaker]

i'm from chattanooga and moon pies just don't appeal to me at all. i think i may have tasted one a long long time ago, but i've definately never eaten a whole one.

i like little debbies though.

[Mayhaw Man]

Holly, you do realize that I have a feeling that I will not be able to locate a Moon Pie anywhere in Tulsa, I may have to make a run over to Arkansas this weekend.

Maybe they only sell them warm at the Moonpie Store to keep you from eating them on your way home.

[joiei]

[bleachboy]

I'll be honest. I detest Moon Pies. I detest Goo-Goo Clusters.

My wife used to eat lots of the "reject" Goo-Goos that they sold for cheap at some sort of outlet stores when she was a kid.

But to me, they are ridiculous sugar bombs. If I remember correctly, they both contain marshmallow, right? Ewww. I can't stand marshmallow.

[wilewil]

Both Moon Pie and Little Debbie are from the Chattanooga area. Moon Pies are much older. The double version seems to be most common outside the south.

Goo Goos are from Nashville and are somewhat less widely available than Moon Pies in my experience. Little Debbie gets the award for broadest coverage, I think.

[Lan4Dawg]

I do believe that one of my mother's favorite things in the world is a moon pie and a cup of hot cocoa. She gets boxes of moon pies for her birth day and in her stocking at Christmas and has been addicted to the things seemingly for ever. The Rev used to court her w/ moon pies when they were dating some 50 years ago. I think she married him b/c he lived in NW Georgia and that was close to the source for the marsh mallow creations. I do remember when they were twice the size they are now.

It is pretty incredible that the state of Tennessee is responsible for Moon Pies, Little Debbie Cakes, Goo-Goo Clusters (here is some trivia for you--do you know why they are named "Goo-Goo"?), Krystal, and Jack Daniel's.

[Gifted Gourmet]

here is some trivia for you--do you know why they are named "Goo-Goo

One day Mr. Campbell was discussing his dilemma with a fellow passenger on the way to work. The lady passenger, a school teacher, remarked that the candy bar is "So Good, People Will Ask For It From Birth!" Thinking about what the woman said, Mr. Campbell recalled the first sounds his newborn son made; Goo Goo!

website here with more information

[Chantilly Bob]

My questions: have you ever had the experience of eating Moon Pies and, if you live outside the South, is there something comparable?

Hello! I signed up just so I could reply to your query. I'm happy to see no one has stolen my thunder.

Anyway, I grew up in Rhode Island, where we loved (and maybe still do -- I haven't lived there in years) Scooter Pies, which, IIRC, were pretty much identical to Moon Pies.

Funny memory: Back in first or second grade, there was a kid in the class -- one of those older kids who had been kept back a few times -- who used to bring us boxes of Scooter Pies. It didn't dawn on me until years later than he had obviously heisted them from the local Almac's supermarket.

The packs of baseball cards he also used to hand out should have been a tip-off, but what did we know?

[Mayhaw Man]

Welcome to eGullet.

While Moonpies are certainly an important and weighty topic, you will most likely find lots more here to hold your interest.

[Foodie_Penguin]

A Moon Pie is a miniature full-moon-shaped, edible, sticky, somewhat crunchy concoction of graham cracker cookie dough and marshmellows which is covered with chocolate.

the history of moonpies and the legend

Moon Pies originated in Tennessee back in the early nineteen hundreds and were supposed to have been made for the coal miners there to make their times under ground more bearable.

They are still sold and eaten in the South and have a loyal following even today ...

My questions: have you ever had the experience of eating Moon Pies and, if you live outside the South, is there something comparable?

I've eaten the regular flavored Moon Pies and I didn't like them (didn't like them enough to want to eat them again. If I didn't eat another in my life, it wouldn't be a big deal to me). They reminded me of a British snack called a Wagon Wheel (made by Burtons if I recall correctly) except these only come in one flavor. I prefer the taste of the Wagon Wheel over a Moon Pie any time.

Foodie Penguin