HOMEMADE ''MINI-MOON PIES & HO-HOS''

Homemade Mini Moon Pies

Homemade marshmallow is one of my favorite things to make. People are amazed when you whip it up from egg whites, corn syrup, and gelatin - those pillowy, snow-white puffs seem so impossibly perfect. The flavor is bright and fresh and the texture lush, ideal for these dark chocolate-coated mouthfuls of crisp cookie and marshmallow. Smaller than Moon Pies or Mallomars, they make a cute, pop-able bite that is especially appealing to kids. Leftover marshmallow can be molded or piped into any shape you like (including little chicks) and decorated with colored sugar, or piped into tiny cones for hot cocoa. If making marshmallow isn't in your plans, you can use supermarket marshmallows. Cut them in half horizontally, place them on the baked cookie bases, and warm them in a 300 degree F oven until puffed and sticky, about 5 minutes.
Dough:
12 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup all-purpose flour
Marshmallows:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon confectioners' gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Coating:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces cocoa butter, or 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Equipment: 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

To make the Dough: In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until soft and smooth. Add the sugar and continue mixing until well blended. Add the vanilla and mix until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, stir together the cocoa powder, cornstarch and flour. With the mixer running at low speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and blend just until combined. Form the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours or overnight. On a floured work surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/8-inch thick, or as thin as you can possibly get it. Use flour-dipped cookie cutters to cut out 1 1/2 inch diameter circles and place them on an ungreased sheet pan, leaving 1-inch between the cookies. You can re-roll the scraps. To make them look more like store bought, prick the disks with a fork a little. Bake until crisp, 12 to 14 minutes, then let cool on the pan.

To make the Marshmallows: Combine the 1/4 cup water, the corn syrup, and the sugar in a saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer. Bring to a boil and cook to "soft-ball" stage, or about 235 degrees F. Meanwhile, in a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Sprinkle the gelatin over the 2 tablespoons water and let dissolve. When the syrup reaches 235 degrees F, remove it from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix. Pour the syrup into the whipped egg whites. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe a "kiss" of marshmallow onto half of the cookies, and top with the rest to make sandwiches. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.

To make the Chocolate Coating: Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-filled cookies into the hot chocolate. Lift out with a fork and let the excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Place on the cookie sheet and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.
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Homemade Ho-Hos

The cake is a classic French Biscuit au Beurre made with "Dutched" cocoa powder, drizzling in the clarified butter at the end for a unique delicious flavor. The filling used in the commercial version of this is probably made with whipped shortening rather than butter but I just can't bring myself to write a recipe with that ingredient as a filling. I did eat these for a year straight when I was about 12 and hung out at my friend Jenny Marshall's house. Her mom bought them but mine didn't. So I had to get my fill while playing at her house.
Cake:
5 eggs
2 yolks
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup clarified butter, warm
Filling:
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Glaze:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces cocoa butter or 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Equipment: 2 half sheet pans with sides Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the Cake: Butter the jelly roll pan and line it with parchment paper; then butter the paper to assure release. Bring a saucepan of water to a simmer. In the bowl from a standing mixer, combine the eggs, yolks, sugar, vanilla in a bowl and whisk briefly. Set the bowl over the simmering water and stir until warm and the sugar looks dissolved. Attach the bowl to the standing mixer fitted with a whisk, and whip until light and fluffy, about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, cocoa, and baking powder 3 times. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, while folding the egg mixture, sift in the flour mixture, little by little, until incorporated. Drizzle in the clarified butter, while folding the batter. Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pans dividing equally and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake until lightly browned and it starts to pull away from the edges of the pan, about 14 to 16 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and let sit in the pan for 1 minute. Run a knife along the edge to release the cake then flip it out onto parchment paper. Brush the paper (the one you lined the pan with) with water and let soak for 2 minutes. Peel it off the cake. Trim dry edges from the cake. Let cool covered with plastic wrap.

To make the Filling: In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the sugar and butter and mix on low speed until well blended; then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream for spreading consistency, if needed. Spread the sponge cakes with a thin layer of the filling, leaving a 1/4-inch space at the far edge. Roll the cake tightly on the long side until you have rolled a 1 1/2-inch thick log. Cut the log off from the remaining sheet of cake and place seam side-down. Repeat with remaining cake. Chill the logs for 30 minutes; then cut into 2 1/2-inch sections.

To make the Glaze: Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. One at a time, gently drop the cake rolls into the hot chocolate. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. Place on the cookie sheet and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Cin(\0/) I journeyed to The Rainbow's End,
and found not gold, but You , my friend!!

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Cin(\0/)