I know I say this a lot, but this oatmeal coconut moon pie may be the best dessert I’ve ever made. Is it a dairy-free oatmeal coconut moon pie or dessert crack? Jury is still out, but I’m going with crack. This cookie sandwich is A-D-D-I-C-T-I-V-E, and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t even like moon pies.

I know what you’re thinking. What kind of crazy person sets about making a dessert she doesn’t even like? Well, friends, let me explain. Alasdair and I have a tradition – every year, we watch the Oscars, and, every year, we realize we have not seen one movie nominated for best picture. Not one. Then, we spend the next month or two racking up our cable bill by ordering all the Oscar movies we can from On Demand. This year, we continued that tradition – with a twist. Foodiecrush posted what may now be my favorite food blog post of all time: “30 Oscar Worthy Recipes and an Academy Awards Party Hosting Guide.” The post includes full menus for each movie nominated for best picture.

I was on board immediately. Alasdair took a little more convincing. He was all, “do you really have time to do this? You’re already so overbooked. Won’t this just be more stress?” And I was all, “OSCAR MOVIE-THEMED MENUS.” He hesitatingly relented before I went into a full-on foodie temper tantrum. But all it took was one bite of the Texas T-Bone Steak (Dallas Buyer’s Club), and he was all “this was such a good idea. I’m glad I thought of it.” Men, amiright?

Anyways, back to my point. After months of planning catering menus, blog menus, dinner party menus, etc, I was jazzed to have Foodiecrush-certified menus and recipes at my disposal, and I was determined to stick to those menus and recipes as much as possible to keep my thought process to a minimum. In addition to the low-stress factor, I figured it would be a great way to check out some of my fellow food bloggers’ recipes (all amazing so far). However, some of the desserts are just a little too much for me and my hubby. I mean, we don’t really need an entire Texas Sheet Cake or a huge plate of Moon Pie Pie (Gravity). So, I made a deal with myself. I would swap out recipes or make healthy adaptations only when absolutely necessary.

That’s how Moon Pie Pie became dairy-free Oatmeal Coconut Moon Pie with Dark Chocolate Drizzle (inspired by Bon Appetit’s Chocolate-Oatmeal Moon Pies). It had to be done, and it might just be one of the best culinary decisions I’ve ever made because this moon pie, my friends, is to die for. Not only is it head and shoulders above a regular moon pie in terms of health but it tastes SO MUCH BETTER. Adding applesauce and dates to the oatmeal cookie negate the need for butter AND make a cookie that is so sweet and moist it makes me want to swoon – much better than a dry graham cracker. The coconut cream is so much more flavorful than regular marshmallow, and it has the added benefit of being dairy-free and vegan. And the dark chocolate drizzle speaks for itself. Just make sure you use a high percent dark chocolate that does not contain milkfat or other dairy ingredients. Oh and feel free to delicately drizzle that chocolate over the cookies or just heaping spoon it over them. I did a little of both. 🙂

Even Alasdair, who is not really a dessert person, was diving headfirst into the plate of moon pies. You know that saying, “everything in moderation including moderation?” Well, I think I might invoke moderating my moderation right now so that I can have another 5 moon pies…! I mean, I’ve been sipping on smoothies and eating almond butter tortillas all week. I think I deserve a treat. And, I think you guys deserve a treat as well. So, go on now. You know you can’t resist. 🙂