Chocolate Oatmeal Moon Pies
These babies have been on my “To Make” list for a long time, but they are the kind of cookie that you absolutely cannot make unless you have people to share them with (or have better will power than myself ). So when our friend planned a dinner party, , I immediately knew that I wanted to bring these. Everyone enjoyed them, but I think they are a new personal favorite of mine. The cookie itself is to die for. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making the whole sandwich, just make the cookies- you won’t be sorry. They have chocolate chunks, pecans, dried cherries, oatmeal and brown sugar.
Then sandwiched between that goodness is a marshmallow frosting. If you really want to get fancy, you could try toasted marshmallow frosting instead. And if you aren’t drooling yet, on top of all that is a dark chocolate ganache. The only problem I had with these was that they are very messy if you try to eat them right after making them. For a more refined dessert, just place them in a fridge for at least an hour before serving. And since these taste so good cold, I think chocolate oatmeal ice cream sandwiches are in store for later this summer. Perhaps I will make some toasted marshmallow ice cream to go with them – because a cookie as fabulous as this can’t settle for plain old vanilla.
Chocolate Cherry Pecan Oatmeal Moon Pies
Makes about 20 large sandwich cookies
For the cookies:
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. coarse salt
- 2¼ cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup dried tart cherries, chopped
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
- 4 oz. chocolate chunks
- 12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1½ cups packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
For the filling:
- 12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 6 oz. marshmallow fluff
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
For the drizzle:
- 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
Preheat the oven to 325˚ F. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend, and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the oats, cherries, pecans, and chocolate. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. Fold in the oat mixture with a spatula until incorporated.
Use a scant ice cream scoop or a 1 oz cookie scoop to shape dough balls. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing each 2-3 inches apart. Bake for 14-18 minutes, until cookies are light brown in color. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
To make the filling, place the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Blend in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated. Beat in the marshmallow fluff and vanilla until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
Match the cookies up in pairs by size. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip with the marshmallow filling. Pipe a dollop of filling onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair, and sandwich the cookies together, pushing the filling to the edges.
To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, remove from the heat and immediately pour over the chocolate. Let stand 1-2 minutes. Whisk in small circular motions until a smooth ganache has formed. Whisk in the butter until completely incorporated. Let the mixture stand at room temperature until slightly thickened, about 10 -20 minutes. Drizzle over the assembled cookies. Chill to set the ganache and stabilize the filling.
Adapted from Annie’s Eats
S’more Nachos
When John and I took a trip out to New Mexico over spring break, in addition to skiing, hiking and visiting with my in-laws, we got to try this great restaurant called Graham’s Grill. (Side Note: it’s pretty nice to have parents-in-law that both happen to live in vacation spots :-)). The restaurant combines the traditional flavors of the southwest but puts it’s own unique spin on them. The chef, Lesley B. Fay recently came out with a cookbook called Straight From the Heart, and my mother-in-law was nice enough to surprise me at the end of the meal with my very own copy. I have looked through the cookbook so many times trying to decide what to make but I finally decided that I couldn’t pass up a recipe combining 2 of America’s greatest inventions – S’mores and Nachos. (Another side note: I used to think nachos were from Mexico – then I went there in college and searched every restaurant menu for them only to find out that they don’t actually serve nachos in Mexico… definitely an American creation.)
The original recipe called for deep frying tortillas, but after my recent frying disaster, I chose to make them in the oven instead . It was actually a good reinforcement that never again do I need to fry anything, because the “chips” still came out crisp and delicious without having to mess with hot oil. In fact, I think cinnamon-sugar chips would be a pretty great snack on their own – so next time I will likely make a double batch. The recipe itself is pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll have to say Lesley must be some kind of genius for thinking up the idea of “S’more nachos” in the first place! If you really want to go crazy, you could try using ice cream as a dip for these nachos. I’m sure this would be fabulous – warm cinnamon chips against cool ice cream – but you might have to skip dinner all together if you want to try that. So if you don’t have the pleasure of a campfire this Fourth of July, make this instead….It’s definitely easier than building a fire ;-).
S’more Nachos
Serves 3-4
For the chips:
- 6-8 small (6 inch) flour tortillas
- 3 T. melted butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 T. cinnamon
For the Topping:
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
- chocolate syrup for drizzling (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°. Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a dish. Using a pastry brush, spread melted butter onto both sides of the tortillas. Sprinkle 1 side of each tortilla with a covering of cinnamon-sugar mixture. Using a kitchen scissors (or knife), cut each tortilla into 8-10 triangles. Without overlapping, place triangles sugar side up on a large baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the edges turn up.
Remove chips from oven and combine into a pile on a small baking sheet or oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and marshmallows. Turn the oven on broil, and place the baking sheet on the middle rack (too close to the heat will catch your marshmallows on fire). Watch carefully until the marshmallows are browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer to a serving dish and drizzle chocolate syrup over the chips. Serve warm.
Before:
And the Aftermath:
– Nachos Adapted from from Straight From the Heart by Lesley B. Fay.
– Cinnamon Chips adapted from Our Best Bites
Spice Is Nice 