Midnight Moon Recipes

MIDNIGHT MOON COOKIES

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray, line with parchment, and coat parchment. Sift flours, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.
• Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then add vanilla. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk, starting and ending with flour.
• Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip. Pipe batter into ten 1/2-inch-thick, 3 1/2-inch-wide rounds, spacing them 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake cookies until firm but not browned on bottoms, 9 to 10 minutes. Transfer parchment with cookies to wire racks, and let cool.
• Make the cats and icing: Place melted chocolate in a pastry bag fitted with the smallest round tip. Tape 10 cat templates onto a baking sheet, then tape waxed paper over templates to baking sheet. Pipe chocolate on center and legs of 1 cat. Using a toothpick, spread chocolate to edges for fur. Repeat with remaining cats and chocolate. Freeze until hard, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, sift confectioners' sugar into a large bowl. Add boiling water in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until mixture is smooth. Add butter, and whisk until smooth, adding more water if needed to thin.
• Remove cats from freezer, and cut waxed paper around each cat. Return to freezer. Spread a thin layer of icing on flat side of 1 cookie. Peel waxed paper from 1 cat. Using a small offset spatula, flip a cat, smooth side up, then center on icing. Repeat with remaining cookies, icing, and cats.

MIDNIGHT MOON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cut Brie cheese horizontally into halves.
• Combine blue cheese and walnuts.
• Spread 4 1/2 teaspoons apricot preserves on cut side of one half of Brie cheese; sprinkle with half of blue cheese-walnut mixture.
• Place remaining half of Brie cheese on top; spread with remaining 4 1/2 teaspoons apricot preserves.
• Wrap 3-inch-high strip of foil tightly around Brie; secure with piece of tape.
• Sprinkle remaining blue cheese-walnut mixture over half of apricot preserves to form crescent moon shape.
• Bake cheese in 8X8-inch baking pan 7 to 9 minutes or until soft and beginning to melt.
• Serve immediately with assorted crackers.

MIDNIGHT MOON CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and line with parchment paper one 9 inch round cake pan.
• Cream shortening, add white sugar gradually and cream until fluffy. Blend in the well beaten eggs.
• In a separate bowl, slowly add hot water to cocoa and mix until smooth, dissolving cocoa completely.
• In a third bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Blend in vanilla. Pour batter into one 9 inch round pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Let cake cool then ice with Lemon Icing.
• To Make Icing: Combine confectioner's sugar with enough lemon juice to make the icing spreadable without being runny or stiff (about 1/4 cup). Stir in the grated zest. Pour icing over top of cake. See the full moon.

MIDNIGHT MOON PIES

Steps:

• In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and butter; stir until smooth. Cool., In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Combine the egg, buttermilk, extracts and cooled chocolate mixture; add to dry ingredients and beat just until moistened (batter will be very thick)., Drop by tablespoonfuls or with small scoop 2 in. apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. , Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges are set. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For filling, melt chocolate chips and butter; stir until smooth. Cool. In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, marshmallow creme and almond extract until smooth. Beat in cooled chocolate mixture. Spread 1 heaping teaspoon of filling on the bottoms of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies., Roll sides of cookies in miniature chocolate chips. Store in the refrigerator.

MIDNIGHT MOON CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F Prepare the baking pan. Line the bottom of an 8-inch round spring form pan with heavy-duty foil. Grease the pan's sides and bottom. Wrap foil around the outside of the pan; set aside.
• Process 20 chocolate wafers, 2 tablespoons of sugar and TWIX® Cookie Bars in a food processor fitted with a metal blade until finely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse until combined. Press the mixture evenly around the bottom of the prepared pan. Place that pan into a larger pan, such as a shallow roasting pan. Set aside.
• Prepare the batter by heating MILKY WAY® Bars and milk in a microwave until melted, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition
• Divide the batter between two mixing bowls. In one bowl, add cocoa powder and the chocolate mixture; stir until blended. Pour chocolate batter into the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Tint the remaining bowl of batter yellow. Gently spoon this yellow batter on top of the chocolate layer, covering it completely.
• Before baking, create a water bath to keep the top of the cheesecake from badly cracking. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the cheesecake sets with a 2-inch jiggly circle in the center. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake remain inside for 30 minutes with the door ajar. At this time, remove the roasting pan to a wire rack, and allow the cheesecake to cool in the water bath until it lowers to room temperature. Remove the cheesecake pan from the water bath and loosely cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before cutting into wedges.
• To unmold the cake, gently run a small knife around the pan's edges; loosen the hinge, and remove the cake. Place on a serving platter.
• To make the bats, cut the 3 reserved cookie wafers in half. Either leave the edges jagged or, using a small cookie cutter, press out a scalloped edge. Arrange pairs of the cookie halves close together to resemble bat wings, pressing the inside tips slightly into the top of the cake. Place black M&M'S® Brand Peanut Butter Chocolate Candies in between for the bats' bodies.