Moon Pie facts for kids
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| Alternative names | MoonPie |
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| Type | Confectionery |
| Place of origin | United States of America |
| Region or state | Tennessee |
| Invented | April 29, 1917 |
| Main ingredients | Graham cracker cookies, marshmallow, flavored coating |
A Moon Pie, also called MoonPie, is a yummy American snack. It has two round graham cookies with a soft marshmallow filling in the middle. The whole thing is then dipped in a tasty flavored coating. People in the American South especially love MoonPies. They often eat them with an RC Cola. Today, MoonPies are still made by Chattanooga Bakery, Inc. in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
A regular Moon Pie is about 4 inches (10 cm) wide. There's also a smaller one called a Mini Moon Pie, which is half the size. A double-decker Moon Pie is bigger and has three cookies with two layers of marshmallow. You can find MoonPies in five main flavors: chocolate, vanilla, banana, strawberry, and salted caramel. Sometimes, orange and coconut flavors appear during the Mardi Gras celebration season.
Contents
The Story of Moon Pies
MoonPies have been made every day at the Chattanooga Bakery since April 29, 1917. The idea for Moon Pies came from Mitchell Poe Shauf. He asked a coal miner in Kentucky what kind of snack he would like. The miner asked for something with graham cracker and marshmallow.
A popular story says the miner then asked for the snack to be "as big as the moon." This is how the name "Moon Pie" supposedly came to be!
Moon Pies and RC Cola
People often eat Moon Pies with RC Cola. No one is quite sure how this tradition started. It's likely because both were cheap and filling snacks. This made them a popular "working person's lunch." This tasty combo even became famous in songs! In the 1950s, Big Bill Lister sang "Gimme an RC Cola and a Moon Pie." Later, in 1973, the band NRBQ had a hit song called "An RC Cola and a Moon Pie."
Moon Pie Celebrations
Since 2008, the city of Mobile, Alabama has had a special way to celebrate New Year's Eve. They lower a 12-foot (3.7 m) tall lighted Moon Pie! This giant Moon Pie comes down from the 34-story RSA BankTrust building at midnight. Every New Year's Eve, the world's largest Moon Pie is also cut and shared with everyone. It weighs 55 pounds (25 kg)!
There's an annual RC Cola and Moon Pie Festival in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. Also, Bessemer, Alabama holds a Moon Pie eating contest. In 2017, a famous competitive eater named Matt Stonie ate 73 single-decker Moon Pies in just eight minutes! The town of Newport, Tennessee also started its own Moon Pie Festival in 2012.
In 2017, Moon Pie celebrated its 100th birthday! They held a contest called "My Favorite MoonPie Memory." The winner received a 100-year supply of Moon Pies! As part of their celebration, Moon Pie also went back to its original recipe. They started using sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. They also removed preservatives and artificial colors and flavors.
In 2020, the company released new pumpkin spice Moon Pies.
Mardi Gras Fun
Moon Pies became a fun tradition at Mardi Gras in 1956. During parades, people on the floats, called "krewes," throw items into the crowd. These thrown items are called "throws." Moon Pies became a popular "throw" in Mobile and other towns along the Northwest Florida and Mississippi Gulf Coast.
There's even a parade in Slidell, Louisiana, by "The Krewe of Mona Lisa and MoonPie." In Oneonta, Alabama, there's a Moon Pie eating contest that started by accident! A Wal-Mart employee ordered too many Moon Pies, and the contest began.
What's Inside a Moon Pie?
Moon Pies are made with wheat flour, corn syrup, and sugar. They also contain marshmallow and a flavored coating. The coating often includes cocoa for chocolate Moon Pies.
Other ingredients include vegetable shortening, soy flour, gelatin, baking soda, lecithin, and salt. They also have some artificial flavoring. Different flavors like banana or vanilla might have slightly different ingredients.
Moon Pie Flavors
Moon Pies come in many delicious flavors and sizes!
Single-decker
- Salted Caramel
- Banana
- Vanilla
- Chocolate
- Strawberry
- Butterscotch
Double-decker
- Salted Caramel
- Banana
- Chocolate
- Vanilla
- Pumpkin Spice
Minis
- Salted Caramel
- Strawberry
- Banana
- Vanilla
- Chocolate
- Coconut
- Pumpkin Spice
Moon Pie Crunch
- Peanut Butter
- Mint
Other Similar Snacks
Moon Pies are not the only snack of their kind! In some northern parts of the U.S., a similar treat is called a "Scooter Pie." There's also a single-cracker marshmallow cookie called "Mallomars." Little Debbie also makes "Marshmallow Pies," which are very much like Moon Pies.
In the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, a similar snack is called "Wagon Wheels." In South Korea, you can find "Choco Pies" made by different companies. Japan has smaller "Angel Pies" and their own "Choco pie" brand. In Mexico, there are "Mamut" and "Rocko" snacks. "Halley" and "Bimbo" pies are sold in Turkey and Egypt. In South America, a popular treat called "Alfajor" is also similar.
