Moonpie Kingdom

Geoff's birthday was last week- happy birthday, honey!  We've both been swamped since the beginning of the year and so he wanted to spend his birthday relaxing at home, watching movies.  Quite a few people had recommended Moonrise Kingdom to us so that was up first.  Like most Wes Anderson films, Moonrise Kingdom is self-contained to the point of existing in an entirely different universe, unlike some of the others, it seems a bit like the characters know they are in a Wes Anderson film.  Regardless, it's worth checking out for the beautiful scenery and the charming young characters.

For Geoff's birthday treat, I decided to make "Moonpie Kingdom" peanut-butter moonpies.  For my birthday, I always want chocolate-filled chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, but Geoff likes his chocolate in moderation.  I never had a particular affection for prepackaged moonpies, but the idea - two cookies, filling, and chocolate can't go wrong. Geoff loves peanut butter so I decided to make cake mix peanut butter cookies like my grandfather used to make and fill them with a peanut butter and marshmallow filling.  I had thought of making my own marshmallows  but it was a weeknight and even I have my limits.  The sweetness of the filling needed some contrast so I used a 60% cacoa chip to coat everything.  I think these would be adorable in a mini-size as well.  And, if you are looking to make these even quicker Nilla wafers or mini Nilla wafers would be probably do nicely in place of the cookies.  Just give them some time to let the marshmallow soften then up.

Peanut Butter Moonpie Kingdoms
serves 8

16 New-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies
7 oz. Marshmallow Fluff
1/2 cup peanut butter
8 oz dark chocolate
1 tbsp. vegetable oil

1. Make up a half-batch of peanut butter cookies and cool completely.
2. Melt peanut butter in the microwave until flows easily.  Mix with marshmallow fluff.
3. Place a heaping spoonfuls of peanut butter fluff mixture on the bottoms of half of the cookies.  Top with a second cookie and refrigerate at least two hours to over night.
4. Melt dark chocolate with oil in a microwave-safe bowl.  Dip sandwiched cookies to coat.
5. Return moonpies to the refrigerator to allow the chocolate to set up.