On a chilly and rainy day atypical of early June here in New England, I tackled one hell of a baking recipe.  A seemingly benign recipe entitled Mars Pies (they really are Moon Pies) lay ahead of me but little did I know (because why would I read a recipe in advance of when I plan to make it?), Rebecca Rather recommends making the recipe in stages over the course of two days.  Pssshaw.  With a forecast full of showers, what else is there to do on a Saturday with a silent house all to myself?  Bake the day away, of course!

A rack full of graham cookies, a mixing bowl brimming with mocha caramel ganache, and a stand mixer whirring around my first batch of homemade marshmallow later, my kitchen was full of life.  All pulled together, these three components could be likened to a batch of grown-up s’mores but instead, when coated with a final glaze of rich bittersweet chocolate, the end result was a decadent sandwich cookie that tugs at your memory and begs for a glass of cold milk.  These Moon Pies will pull you back to those long summer days, chocolate melting onto your fingers, the sprinkler in the front yard as your only savior from the insipid humidity.  They are a meal unto themselves but at the same time, satisfy every ounce of chocolaty-ooey-gooey-marshmallow cravings you could ever have.

As Shawnda chose this recipe for this week’s Project Pastry Queen, I can only imagine what her summer days are like in Texas.  I don’t envy her as we plunge deeper into the belly of the summer oven (even though I was insanely jealous in February when she was planting her seedlings!), but we have one thing in common: these Moon Pies.  They are the ties that bind.  For a few great tips and to see everyone’s takes on these Moon Pies, be sure to check out this post – I especially loved Shawnda’s tip to whip the marshmallow filling for 2-3x longer than the recipe says and then pour the remaining filling into a pan to set for marshmallows.  Homemade marshmallows = heaven!