CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — There isn’t a time that Rob Gentry, a lifelong Chattanooga, Tennessee resident and restaurateur, can remember when MoonPies weren’t a part of his life.
The snack cakes — which see a layer of marshmallow sandwiched between two round graham crackers and covered in chocolate — were always well-stocked in the home that he and his brother, Clay, grew up in on the north side of the Tennessee River in the 1970s, and the pair would often have them as a treat with a 6.5-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola.
“I just thought it was so cool that they were made here,” said Gentry. “That was part of the fun of it all. We weren’t known for too many things, so it was really neat to have that.”
When Gentry was tasked with developing a dessert for a catering client while operating his now-defunct downtown Chattanooga diner Blue Plate in 2012, he decided to create a cheesecake that incorporated the iconic treat from his childhood. Using a local favorite was in keeping with the spirit of Blue Plate, which sourced many of its menu items, including coffee and bread, from local purveyors. “I’m a big believer in supporting local,” Gentry said.
While developing the cheesecake recipe, he quickly realized the MoonPies melted into goo in the high heat of the oven.
A chef suggested a no-bake cheesecake in which smooth cream cheese would complement the slight crunch of the MoonPie. The dessert was such a hit at the catering event that Gentry added it to the Blue Plate menu.
“It took off and never stopped,” Gentry said. “Any dish you make is influenced by the story and history behind it. Clearly, that story resonated. And also, who doesn’t like cream cheese?”
Credit: Courtesy of Chattanooga Bakery
Credit: Courtesy of Chattanooga Bakery
Though Tennesseans might say the MoonPie has always been baked into the fabric of Chattanooga, the MoonPie story begins with a bakery founded in 1902 and a traveling salesman.
The MoonPie origin story goes that in 1917, traveling salesman Earl Mitchell was on a sales call trying to sell Chattanooga Bakery’s cookies, crackers and other snacks to coal miners in Kentucky.
Credit: Courtesy of Chattanooga Bakery
Credit: Courtesy of Chattanooga Bakery
Mitchell asked them what types of new items they’d be interested in buying, and one miner asked for something that would fit in a lunch box but would still be big enough to satisfy during hours spent in the mines. The miner framed the rising autumn moon with his hands and said, “Make it that big,” and the MoonPie was born.
Selling for 5 cents at the time, the MoonPie quickly became the bakery’s top-selling item. While the business continued selling other items for a few decades under the Lookout brand, a nod to Chattanooga’s Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga Bakery made the MoonPie its sole focus in the 1960s.
Credit: Courtesy of Chattanooga Bakery
Credit: Courtesy of Chattanooga Bakery
“We’re continuing to thrive and compete with everybody from Hostess and Oreo to everyone in between,” said Tory Johnston, the vice president of marketing for Chattanooga Bakery. “We have this wonderfully unique brand that’s kind of like a s’more and it’s nostalgic and delicious.”
Today, the fifth-generation family-owned business sells MoonPies in all 50 states and exports a version known as the Mello to Puerto Rico and Central and South America. The brand’s five base offerings are the traditional chocolate-covered version, as well as iterations coated in banana, chocolate mint, vanilla and blueberry icing. There are also seasonal offerings like lemon, pumpkin spice and strawberry.
Though the 2-ounce size (which was originally produced as a 4-ounce cake) has been the mainstay of the MoonPie line, the bakery introduced the mini in 1998, as well as a double-decker in the 1960s.
The recipe has stayed largely the same over the years, though sugar replaced high-fructose corn syrup several years ago.
“We just try not to screw it up and just stay out of its way,” Johnston said. “We let the little brown pie do its thing.”
Credit: Courtesy of Chattanooga Bakery
Credit: Courtesy of Chattanooga Bakery
The impact of MoonPie has gone beyond the food itself. It’s been referenced in songs, including “Cold Spot” by country star Kane Brown, and in the movie “The Green Mile.” The owners of Chattanooga-based Naked River Brewing Co. have turned their love of MoonPies into the top-selling Chocolate MoonPie Stout beer, and in 1950, singer Big Bill Lister referenced the MoonPie’s then-iconic pairing with RC Cola known as “the working man’s lunch” in the song, “Gimme an RC Cola and a MoonPie.”
For Gentry — who has been in the food and beverage industry for more than 30 years and currently owns Hello Monty in Chattanooga’s Southside neighborhood with his brother — the MoonPie cheesecake story has come full circle.
Credit: Mark Gilliland
Credit: Mark Gilliland
He realized the recipe he served at Blue Plate was in a corrupted file when he went to find it recently. Discouraged but not defeated, he collaborated with Hello Monty chef Alva Najera, who also worked in the kitchen at Blue Plate, to recreate the recipe.
Gentry plans to serve the dessert at the Chattanooga Bakery holiday party later this year, and is thinking of adding it to the menu at Hello Monty, a restaurant with a focus on dishes prepared on a wood-fired grill.
Read about other Southern classic dishes and the chefs who are reimagining them at ajc.com/food-and-recipes/southern-classics-reimagined.
Credit: Mark Gilliland
Credit: Mark Gilliland
Blue Plate’s MoonPie Cheesecake
The key to a successful no-bake cheesecake, Gentry said, is to give yourself enough time to whip the cream cheese and other ingredients in the mixer to achieve a desirable height. Also, while any cream cheese can be used, Gentry is partial to Philadelphia brand. “I wanted to be really narrow on the flavor profile so the MoonPie could shine,” he said. “We use a strawberry compote on the top to boost the flavor a little bit and get that nice chocolate strawberry combination.” In lieu of the strawberry compote, the recipe below calls for fresh strawberries. The cheesecake should be chilled for 24 to 36 hours before serving, and graham cracker crumbs can be bought pre-crushed at grocery stores.
2 1/2 cups pre-crushed graham cracker crumbs, or 35 square (or 17 1/2 rectangular) crushed graham crackers
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
36 ounces (4 boxes plus 2 ounces) cream cheese
3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
Pinch of Kosher salt
1 tablespoon plus two teaspoons (2 packets) unflavored gelatin
6 MoonPies, crumbled
1 cup chopped strawberries, for garnish
In a large bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press the mixture into the bottom of a greased or lined 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.
Remove the cream cheese from the refrigerator and let it soften at room temperature for 15 minutes. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese on low for 15 minutes.
While the cream cheese is mixing, combine heavy cream, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, salt and gelatin in a small pot over medium heat. Warm and stir until the gelatin dissolves.
With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour the heavy cream mixture into the whipped cream cheese. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed until the ingredients are well combined. Remove the mixing bowl from the stand.
Using a rubber scraper, gently fold the MoonPie crumbles into the cream cheese mixture. Pour the filling into the prepared graham cracker crust. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate cheesecake for 24 to 36 hours.
To serve, remove the sides of the springform pan. Garnish with chopped strawberries. Serve chilled.
Makes 1 9-inch cake, about 9 servings.
Per serving: 1,231 calories (percent of calories from fat, 67), 14 grams protein, 89 grams carbohydrates, 61 grams total sugars, 2 grams fiber, 95 grams total fat (57 grams saturated), 258 milligrams cholesterol, 562 milligrams sodium.
Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter
Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on X and @ajcdining on Instagram.
About the Author
