Looking for no-bake moon cookie recipe

September 16, 2010 6:20 PM

Long ago when I was a kid Cricket Magazine ran a recipe for "moon cookies" attributed to astronaut Michael Collins. These were no-bake spherical cookies that I seem to recall involved peanut butter, not the "phase of the moon" sugar cookies that my Googling is turning up. If anyone has a recipe that sounds like this, please help me find it in time for a "moon festival" party this Saturday!
posted by LadyOscar to Food & Drink (19 answers total)

When I was a kid we made a no-bake peanut butter substance that we rolled into logs -- but we could just as easily have rolled it into spheres. I remember calling it "Lincoln Logs" but could be remembering wrong.

Looking around online, similar recipes call for: equal parts peanut butter and powdered milk, and 1/2 that amount of honey. Mix the three ingredients, roll into shape, chill. You can also roll them in coatings like powdered sugar if you like.
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:25 PM on September 16, 2010

Were they a combo of peanut butter, oats, cocoa, butter, sugar? Get it all melty in a pot on the stove, then add vanilla, splat it onto wax paper by the spoonful, and let them cool.

We called them raggedy robins but now that I live down south they call them preacher cookies (because you can make them really fast when you see the preacher coming up the road).
posted by headnsouth at 6:31 PM on September 16, 2010

My co-worker makes Buckeyes every Christmas, a no-bake spherical peanut butter cookie. It may be the same recipe.
posted by iconomy at 6:34 PM on September 16, 2010

Oh! And these are the best cookies ever made. Light, airy, flirty, perfection. And they're called Crescents. Which would be perfect for a moon party.
posted by iconomy at 6:38 PM on September 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

He's my great-uncle/godfather. Let me see if I can hunt this down for you. brb.
posted by Alt F4 at 7:06 PM on September 16, 2010 [19 favorites]

We used to make potato candy. It's incredibly sweet, but the peanut butter helps mellow it a little bit.

Oh that recipe says to use smooth style PB, but we always only ever had the crunchy kind, and it works fine too.
posted by eldiem at 7:20 PM on September 16, 2010

Oh - a key step for the ones I mention is to use wax paper to roll them and set them on in the fridge; they're really sticky/gooey.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:35 PM on September 16, 2010

I remember those! This recipe seems like the same one we used to make when I was a kid.
posted by amyms at 7:38 PM on September 16, 2010

No Bake Cookies on allrecipes.com - most of the results are versions of the cocoa/oat/peanut butter cookie. However, there are some other things listed.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 7:58 PM on September 16, 2010

Response by poster: I don't remember them being lumpy-looking as from whole oats, but instead totally spherical like the moon.
posted by LadyOscar at 9:52 PM on September 16, 2010

I'm just making a wild guess here. Peanut butter and powdered milk?
posted by Good Brain at 10:19 PM on September 16, 2010

My mom makes these:

Peanut Butter Balls

1 cup peanut butter
6 teaspoons softened butter
2 cups confectioner's sugar

Soften 6 teaspoons of butter by placing in microwave (approximately 20 seconds). Mix 1 cup peanut butter, 2 cups confectioners sugar, and the softened butter in a bowl until a nice texture is formed. Spoon out mixture and roll into balls, place on wax-paper. Let stand about 10 minutes

posted by Marky at 10:30 PM on September 16, 2010

I don't remember them being lumpy-looking as from whole oats, but instead totally spherical like the moon.

In that case, here's another recipe for No Bake Peanut Butter Balls.
posted by amyms at 10:36 PM on September 16, 2010

Best answer: I was obsessed with Cricket Magazine as a child. Consequently, my parents kept every one that came, long after I left home. When they moved a couple years ago, they handed me a box full of Crickets. I can't sleep, so I flipped through them. My insomnia is your gain!

From the January 1978 issue:

Moon Cookies

This recipe makes enough cookies for your whole club or class - about 5 dozen moons. Be sure to wash your hands before you begin because you'll be working the dough like modeling clay.
1/2 c wheat germ
1 1/2 c peanut butter
1 1/2 c honey
3 c dried milk
3/4 c graham cracker crumbs

Mix everything together first with a wooden spoon. Now use your hands to shape the dough into small round balls or moons. Roll each moon in powdered sugar, and they are ready to eat.


Michael Collins isn't associated with the recipe, but he did write a story about flying to the moon in the same issue. Enjoy your festival!
posted by donnagirl at 11:06 PM on September 16, 2010 [54 favorites]

Were they a combo of peanut butter, oats, cocoa, butter, sugar? Get it all melty in a pot on the stove, then add vanilla, splat it onto wax paper by the spoonful, and let them cool.

We called them raggedy robins but now that I live down south they call them preacher cookies (because you can make them really fast when you see the preacher coming up the road).

They can also be rolled into surprisingly realistic-looking but irresistably tasty turds.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 1:50 AM on September 17, 2010

Well-played, donnagirl!
posted by Alt F4 at 3:05 AM on September 17, 2010

Response by poster: Thank you so much, donnagirl, for reuniting me with a piece of my childhood! I think because of the Michael Collins article I've always remembered these. I'd totally forgotten about wheat germ--we used to have it for breakfast with milk sometimes.

I'll have to try some of these other recipes, too!
posted by LadyOscar at 11:33 AM on September 17, 2010

Loves me some Cricket magazine, I do.
posted by donnagirl at 3:34 PM on September 17, 2010

Can I just say, only in the 70s would a magazine be able to list a cookie recipe with the primary ingredient of wheat germ, while keeping a straight face.

If you wanted to dress these up, you could add carob and serve them inside a macrame owl.
posted by ErikaB at 10:23 PM on September 17, 2010 [9 favorites]