Moon Pie Pie

Say hello to Moon Pie Pie.

No, that’s not a typo, and no, I didn’t keyboard-stutter. Moon Pie Pie is the name of the new dessert I came up with last week, a crazy cookie-candy-pie hybrid. See, it’s a pie…with all the ingredients of classic moon pies. Ya dig?  Silly name, serious taste. Get on board!

It all started with a dream. Yes, much like the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I too had a dream for the future. But unlike his inspiring, world-changing dream, mine was decidedly more banal. I dreamed about making a chocolate chip cookie dough pie crust. I could fill this pie crust with ice cream, or whipped cream, or pudding…the possibilities were endless, and the future was bright! After all, how hard could it be to press a little cookie dough into a pie tin?

…yeah. It turns out that turning cookie dough into a pie crust is really difficult! I wanted it to be thick and soft on the bottom, like the best chocolate chip cookies, but it also needed to be sturdy enough to hold its shape along the edges without collapsing during the baking process. Finding the right balance between these two elements was difficult, and I’m sorry to say we had to eat a few failed attempts before I hit on the right combination of ingredients.

The second challenge came after the crust was baked. I had originally planned to make an ice cream pie with the crust, but then I put on my thinking cap and had this series of epiphanies:

Ice cream is cold, and needs to be kept frozen –>
If it is in a cookie dough shell, the shell will also need to be frozen –>
Frozen cookies are way less tasty than soft cookies –>
Plus, the chocolate chips will get super hard –>
This is a bad plan –>
Abort, abort! –>
How about some cookie dough while you think of a new plan? –>
Don’t mind if I do!

It took multiple cookie dough eating/thinking sessions, but Jason & I finally brainstormed the perfect dessert. Moon Pie Pie takes its cues from old-fashioned moon pies. If you’re not familiar with them, moon pies are cookie sandwiches that have a marshmallow filling and are dipped in chocolate. They’re fun and retro and super sweet, aka all of my favorite things.

So how do moon pies turn into Moon Pie Pie? Well, I’ve already mentioned the chocolate chip cookie crust. This soft and tender crust is topped with a thick layer of chocolate ganache. Finally, the whole thing is finished with thick, fluffy vanilla meringue that’s torched until golden brown, so it has a toasty marshmallow flavor. And of course, I couldn’t resist drizzling on a little more chocolate sauce. It wouldn’t be Moon Pie Pie if it wasn’t over the top!

I was going for a celestial theme, so my Moon Pie Pie was finished with some gold leaf, which is completely unnecessary and impractical, but hey, look—sparkly!

We absolutely loved the combination of cookie base, rich truffle filling, and light and fluffy meringue. With its unique taste and great looks, I think this dessert will make regular appearances at our dinner parties. It is definitely sweet, but I used a pretty dark chocolate in the ganache, which helped balance things out. You could also cut the meringue in half and have a much thinner layer to reduce the sweetness.

Like most meringue desserts, this one doesn’t have a lot of staying power. It should be enjoyed the same day it’s made, ideally within 3-4 hours of adding the meringue. We definitely still ate it several days later, but the meringue becomes spongy over time, and weeps down into the cookie layer, making for a less appetizing look and texture. If you need to work ahead, you can make the cookie/ganache portion several days in advance, and then add the meringue shortly before serving.

Click here to view and print the recipe!

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