“Little Debbie’s chocolate marshmallow pies were my favorite packaged treat as a kid,” says Sohla El-Waylly. “I’d carefully separate the layers with a butter knife, toast the marshmallow on a fork over the gas burner, then sandwich it all back together. Even as a kid I knew that desserts are better with a bit of extra-toasty flavor. That’s why I’m obsessed with these all-grown-up moon pies. The shortbread cookies are loaded with blitzed-up pretzels (for that extra toastiness) and salty potato chips—the perfect contrast to the sticky-sweet marshmallows and half-dip of bitter dark chocolate.” The dough will look dry at first, but it will come together with a bit of kneading. Don’t worry about overworking it—with all that butter and the fat from the potato chips, there isn’t much opportunity for gluten to develop.
Ingredients
1
1
1
½
½
1¾
18
4
2
Special equipment
Preparation
Step 1
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Pulse butter, pretzels, potato chips, sugar, salt, and 1¾ cups (219 g) flour in a food processor until clumps form. Turn dough out onto a surface and knead gently to bring together.
Step 2
Roll out dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment to just under ¼" thick. (If it feels very soft, cover and chill 20 minutes before proceeding.) Punch out rounds with lightly floured cutter. Transfer rounds to a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing 1" apart. Gather dough scraps and repeat rolling and cutting process until no dough remains (you should get 36 rounds). Divide remaining cookies between 2 more parchment-lined baking sheets.
Step 3
Working in batches, bake cookies, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until golden brown, 10–12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer half of the cookies to a wire rack. Let cool completely.
Step 4
Meanwhile, turn over cookies remaining on baking sheets and top each with a marshmallow, flat side down (make sure marshmallows stand up evenly or sandwiches will be crooked). If your oven has a convection fan, turn it off and bake cookies until marshmallows are softened and beginning to puff but not brown, about 4 minutes. Remove from oven and top with cooled cookies, letting weight of cookies gently push marshmallows to the edges. Let cool at least 1 hour.
Step 5
Melt chocolate and oil in a small heatproof bowl set over a small saucepan of barely simmering water (do not let bowl touch water), stirring occasionally, or melt in a small microwave-safe bowl in a microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring between bursts. Dip half of each sandwich cookie in chocolate, then sprinkle top of chocolate sides with pretzel salt. Chill cookies 15 minutes to harden chocolate before serving.
Do ahead: Cookies can be made 2 weeks ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
How would you rate Pretzel and Potato Chip Moon Pies?
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Reviews (78)
Back to TopThis recipe does not work. The marshmallows did not melt when the cookies were put on top. I removed the Top cookies and put the bottom cookies with the marshmallows back in the oven. They softened but certainly did not melt enough to cover the cookie . The top cookie is not fused to the marshmallow so there is not one unified whole to dip into the chocolate. Linda Giffin
LINDA Giffin
Toronto , Canada
12/2/2020
Made these tonight! I followed the recipe almost exactly, but I think I had a bigger cutter, since I ended up with about 11 sandwiches instead of 18. Regardless, they were amazing! The marshmallows spread out easily on their own, and I applied a little extra gentle pressure to the more stubborn ones. I will add, my dog is obsessed with the cookie dough and the cookies sans chocolate. She was literally pushing me away from the counter to get crumbs of dough off the ground, so definitely a use if you have extra scraps!
Michaela
Washington, DC
12/4/2020
These cookies taste great and are easy to make. I had no issue with the marshmallows melting like another reviewer. These are going to be a welcome addition to my holiday cookie gift boxes.
Anonymous
Nyack, NY
12/4/2020
Made these today. Lovely, but the the cookies were a bit crumbly and light in color... not sure what I did wrong there, but overall, super tasty!
Meredith
New York
12/6/2020
These were delicious, I wasn't sure about this recipe but the blend of salty and savory from the chips and pretzels was perfect with the marshmallow filling and chocolate semi-coating. Sohla's done it yet again
Anonymous
Houston, Texas
12/6/2020
These are really fun and delicious! I just wonder if the 2 Tbsp of coconut oil in the chocolate coating is a mistake? The chocolate coating firmed up nicely in the fridge but it becomes slightly tacky/liquidy again at room temp, making it impossible to store these at room temp as written. I’d definitely make them again but I’d reduce the amount of oil!
Anonymous
New York, NY
12/6/2020
First of all, these are delicious. And the dough is seriously addictive! But... they are a pain to make. The dough is very crumbly and difficult to work with (if you have a challenging relationship with pie crust, as I do, this is similar). Then the top cookies kept sliding off the marshmallows, so I just had to sit there and keep adjusting them all until they cooled enough not to slide off. All in all a very tasty treat that I won’t be making again.
Vera
12/6/2020