Childhood memories in cookie form!

  

Do you remember??? They have a very soft, rich, cakey chocolate cookie filled with marshmallow creme. YUM! 
Well, one of my students asked us if we would make some cookies for his niece and nephew to sell at a bake sale to help Haitian children and well... of course I'm going to help out! I wanted to make something I loved as a kid. I then remembered this recipe that I had made last year with peanut butter cream filling. My brain then sent me to Moon Pie land and with that others had memories of them with different names. So here they are in all their glory; Moon, Whoopie, or Scooter Pies! Whatever you call them they are a kids delight.
Oh, and I did include the original idea I had with the peanut butter filling so you can choose the old fashioned pie or the updated version with peanut butter. Why they are called "pie" I don't know but both are very tasty and ought to send you to a very happy place. 

Eat with glee!

CHOCOLATE Whoopie, Moon, Scooter pie

Makes about 24, 2”  cookies 

Cookie batter

FLOUR                                1 ¾ CUPS

COCOA POWDER             ¾ CUPS

BAKING SODA                   1 ½ TSP

SALT                                     ½ SALT

BUTTER                               3 OZ.

SUGAR                                  ½ CUP

BROWN SUGAR                 ½ CUP

EGG                                       1

MILK                                     1 CUP

VANILLA                              1 TSP

Marshmallow filling

1 1/2 Tablespoons granulated gelatin

1/3 cup cold water

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons corn syrup

1/3 cup water

2 egg whites

½ teaspoon vanilla

              <<< OR>>>

Peanut butter filling

PEANUT BUTTER                      1 CUP

UNSALTED BUTTER  (SOFT ) 4 OZ.

POWDERED SUGAR                  1 CUP    

SALT  (OPTIONAL )                   PINCH

CHOCOLATE COOKIES

SIFT TOGETHER THE FLOUR, COCOA, BAKING SODA, AND SALT.

CREAM THE SOFTENED BUTTER WITH BOTH SUGARS UNTIL LIGHT AND FLUFFY ADD THE EGG AND CONTINUE MIXING UNTIL LIGHT.

MIX TOGETHER THE VANILLA AND MILK.

ADD HALF THE FLOUR AND ALL THE MILK TO THE BUTTER MIXTURE AND MIX UNTIL JUST INCORPORATED. THEN ADD THE OTHER HALF OF THE FLOUR AND MIX ON SLOW UNTIL SMOOTH.

PIPE OUT ROUND DISKS ONTO PARCHMENT PAPER APROXIMATELY

1 ½” IN DIAMETER.  BAKE AT 375˚ FOR ABOUT 10-12 MINUTES. LET COOL.

THEN SANDWICH WITH THE FILLING BELOW.

Marshmallow filling

Bloom the gelatin in the first measurement of water, when it has soaked up all the water then gently melt it until liquid and keep warm.

Place the sugar, cornsyrup and water in a small saucepan.

Wash the sides down with a pastry brush and water to eliminate any sugar crystals on the side of the pan.

Place a candy thermometer in the stirred sugar mixture and cook on medium heat until soft ball stage 240F.

When the sugar reaches 230F then put the whites on a stand mixer with the whip and begin whipping on high speed.

Take the syrup off the stove when it reaches soft ball and very slowly pour it into the egg whites. Now do the same with the warm gelatin. Then add the vanilla.

Whip until very light, has strong peaks and sticky.

Immediately pipe onto one side of the cooled chocolate cookies and place a matching side on top. If you wait too long the marshmallow will set up and the top won’t stick as well so top them right away.

If you have left over marshmallow then pipe it into a small square pan that you have lined with a good amount of powdersugar. Refrigerate to set and then cut into squares with a hot knife. Pull them apart and roll in powdered sugar.

They will last for days but enjoy them on your hot chocolate or just eat and enjoy!

P-NUT BUTTER FILLING

CREAM TOGETHER THE BUTTER, PEANUT BUTTER AND SALT. ADD THE POWDERED SUGAR AND BEAT UNTIL CREAMY AND SMOOTH.

Lightly SIFT POWDERED SUGAR OVER IF DESIRED.