Ask for a Moon Pie in the American South and nobody needs it explained. Ask for one in the UK and you'll get a blank look, which is a shame, because the origin story is one of the better ones in snack food.
Coal miners ordered it into existence
The Chattanooga Bakery in Tennessee created the Moon Pie in 1917. According to the bakery's own account, a salesman asked coal miners what they wanted from a snack, and they said something filling enough to keep them going underground, as big as the moon, with one miner reportedly gesturing at the moon itself to demonstrate. The bakery took it literally: two round graham-style cookies, a thick marshmallow filling, the whole thing dipped in chocolate.
What's actually in one
- Cookie — a graham-style biscuit, baked in a large round shape rather than the small crackers sold separately.
- Filling — marshmallow, whipped and set thick enough to hold the two halves apart.
- Coating — traditionally chocolate, though banana, vanilla and other coatings have been added over the decades.
Why RC Cola specifically
The pairing dates back to Southern country stores in the early-to-mid 20th century, where both products were cheap and filling, a nickel drink and a nickel snack that together made a full lunch for workers who couldn't stop for a proper meal. It was popularised further by a country song asking for an RC Cola and a Moon Pie, and it's still referenced constantly in Southern culture. In Mobile, Alabama, Moon Pies are thrown from Mardi Gras floats in the same way other US parades throw beads.
We stock the marshmallow and chocolate side of that combination in our marshmallows and American snacks ranges, even if the specific RC Cola pairing is one you'll have to source separately.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Moon Pie made of?
Two round graham-style cookies with a marshmallow filling, dipped in a chocolate coating.
Why do Moon Pies come with RC Cola?
A historic Southern US pairing of two cheap, filling products, cemented by a folk song and decades of local tradition.
Where did Moon Pies come from?
Chattanooga Bakery in Tennessee, created in 1917 after coal miners asked for a snack as big as the moon.