Solar Eclipse Moon Pies

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

For over the past year, we’ve been reporting on the Great American Solar Eclipse. Yes, you read that correctly—YEAR! So it’s hard to believe the moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here.

You all know I love themes, so naturally the eclipse is the perfect chance for me to break out my favorite celestial treats. The number one item on that list is moon pies! A moon pie consists of two graham cracker cookies with marshmallow filling dunked in chocolate. They’re most common in the south seeing as they’re made in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

There are quite a few recipes for homemade versions online, but I didn’t like any of them because they seemed much too complex. I’m very particular about what I put on my blog. I only like to share recipes that I know I would want to make again and again. If I’m already bored while reading the ingredient, that’s a problem.

So I tested a recipe out, and then changed it, and then changed it again and again, and finally it was exactly what I wanted. The cookie is very similar to the shortbread cookie recipe I shared in 2016, but I replaced some of the flour with graham cracker crumbs.



Since there aren't many ingredients in the cookie, it's important that each ingredient is good quality. That's why I only use Challenge butter. Challenge butter is made with fresh milk and cream and is in the dairy case just 24 hours after leaving the farm.

Also, just recently, Challenge made the switch so all of their butter is wrapped in foil. This best preserves the taste of the butter, and it's less likely to pick up unwanted refrigerator odors.

As you can see in this picture, I added a few other items to my eclipse segment to make it more complete. I used a cookie cutter on Cosmic Brownies to make brownie stars. I also bought Sunkist, Sun Chips, Milky Way candy, and Eclipse gum.



Solar Eclipse Moon Pies
Ingredients

• 1 cup Challenge salted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 and 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 12 ounces marshmallow creme
• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 Tablespoons all-vegetable shortening

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Cream the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together until light and fluffy
3. Slowly add in the flour and graham cracker crumbs and mix until just combined
4. Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes; allow to cool
5. Spread 1 Tablespoon of marshmallow creme on cookie and sandwich with a second cookie
6. Freeze cookie sandwiches for 10 minutes
7. Melt chocolate chips and all-vegetable shortening in microwave in 30-second intervals until smooth
8. Dip each cookie sandwich into chocolate until coated; place on wax paper and allow chocolate to set