MoonPie

A **moon pie**, stylized as **MoonPie**, is an American confection, popular across much of the United States, which consists of two round graham cookies, with marshmallow filling in the center, dipped in a flavored coating. The snack is often associated with the cuisine of the American South, where they are traditionally accompanied by an RC Cola. Today, MoonPies are made by Chattanooga Bakery, Inc. in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The traditional pie is approximately 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter. A smaller version exists (mini moon pie) that is approximately half the size, and a double-decker moon pie of the traditional diameter features a third cookie and attendant layer of marshmallow. The five main flavors are chocolate, vanilla, banana, strawberry, and salted caramel. Orange and coconut make seasonal appearances during the Mardi Gras parading season.

## History

Moon pies have been made daily at the Chattanooga Bakery since the brand's inception on April 29, 1917. Earl Mitchell Junior said his father came up with the idea for moon pies when he asked a Kentucky coal miner what kind of snack he would like to eat, and the miner requested something with graham cracker and marshmallow. Popular folklore, repeated and encouraged by Chattanooga Bakery itself, states the miner then asked the snack be "as big as the moon", which inspired the name "moon pie".

There is a custom for eating moon pies with RC Cola, although the origin of this is unknown. It is likely that their inexpensive prices, combined with their larger serving sizes, contributed to establishing this combination as the "working man's lunch". The popularity of this combination was celebrated in a popular song of the 1950s by Big Bill Lister titled "Gimmee an RC Cola and a Moon Pie". In 1973, NRBQ had a minor hit with the song "An RC Cola and a Moon Pie".

Since New Year's Eve 2008, the city of Mobile, Alabama has been lowering a 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) lighted mechanical moon pie to celebrate the coming of the new year. The giant moon pie descends the 34 story RSA BankTrust building at the stroke of midnight. Every NYE, the world's largest moon pie is cut and served to the public as part of the festivities. It weighs 55 pounds (25 kg) and contains 45,000 calories (190 kJ).

An annual RC Cola and Moon Pie Festival is celebrated in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, and a moon pie eating contest is held in Bessemer, Alabama.

On October 14, 2017, Matt Stonie, a competitive eater famous in national eating contests, ate 73 single-decker moon pies in eight minutes at the Bass Pro Shops store in Memphis, TN.

Newport, Tennessee held its first annual Moon Pie Festival in May 2012.

The company celebrated its centennial with a "My Favorite MoonPie Memory" contest. The grand prize was a 100-year supply of moon pies. A military veteran, Christopher Priest from Rockford, Michigan, won the contest. The company also took a wrapped Winnebago across the country in the fall, thanking its top customers and attending various sporting events and festivals.

In September 2017, as part of its centennial, Moon Pie returned to the original recipe, replacing high-fructose corn syrup with sugar and removing preservatives and artificial colors and flavors.

### Mardi Gras tradition

The moon pie became a traditional "throw" (an item thrown from a parade float into the crowd) of Mardi Gras "krewes" (parade participants) in Mobile, Alabama during 1956, followed by other communities along the Northwest Florida and Mississippi Gulf Coast. The westernmost outpost of the MoonPie as an important Carnival throw is Slidell, Louisiana, which has a parade by "The Krewe of Mona Lisa and MoonPie". Also, in the town of Oneonta, Alabama, there is a MoonPie eating contest started by Wal-Mart employee John Love when he inadvertently ordered too many. This anecdote was featured in Sam Walton's autobiography, *Made in America*.