Brown Butter Moon Pie Ice Cream is the best way to honor the South’s most favorite convenience store treat. It’s creamy and studded with the chocolate marshmallow cookies of your dreams.
A few weeks back, I joined a group of friends for a Saturday excursion to a nearby small town. We visited a dense thrift shop, an antique store straight out of an episode of American Pickers, a greasy (and delicious) burger shop, picturesque botanical gardens, and a bottle shop.
It was a busy day, and halfway through we needed to stop for an afternoon treat. My friend took us to the town’s creamery.
There was every flavor of ice cream imaginable: rum raisin, banana pudding, pear sorbet… and Moon Pie. I hadn’t planned on getting any, but I did sample the Moon Pie ice cream, because I just had to. An ice cream dotted with bits of my favorite childhood treat? It sounded heavenly.
Those not from the South might be unfamiliar with Moon Pies. They’re a soft, cake-like cookie sandwich filled with marshmallow cream, then the whole thing is dipped in chocolate.
You often find them at convenience stores and vending machines. I’m not sure if you can find them outside of the Southern states, but if you can, I hope you’ll try them in this Brown Butter Moon Pie Ice Cream.
Yes, that’s right. I set out to try to mimic that creamery’s genius. The resulting ice cream is treat upon treat upon treat.
In addition to the creamy custard base and the soft texture of the Moon Pies themselves, I added brown butter into the mix. The nutty flavor complements the cookies so well.
This ice cream makes me nostalgic for my childhood. If it doesn’t do that for you, perhaps it’s time to try Moon Pies and then put them into ice cream.
Click through to see the Brown Butter Moon Pie Ice Cream recipe!

Brown Butter Moon Pie Ice Cream
ingredients
- 2 sticks butter
- ½ cup milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 6 egg yolks
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 regular size chocolate Moon Pies cut into 1-inch pieces
instructions
- Brown the butter. In a medium pan, melt the 2 sticks butter on medium heat. Increase to medium-high heat. Stirring constantly, simmer the butter until browned and dark brown flecks remain. It should smell fragrant, like hazelnuts. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, heat milk and cream on medium-high heat until just boiling, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
- While milk cooks, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and salt. Slowly, whisk in half of the milk mixture until smooth. Return saucepan to heat, then whisk in the egg mixture. Stir until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
- Prepare an ice bath. Add ice to a large mixing bowl, then set a medium mixing bowl on top of the ice. Through a fine mesh sieve, pour ice cream mix the smaller bowl in the ice bath. Stir in the browned butter. (Pour the butter through a sieve if you prefer a smoother ice cream.) Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Prepare ice cream according to your ice cream maker's instructions. Near the end, add moon pie cookie pieces. Freeze in a freezer-safe container several hours or overnight before serving.
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Amy | Club Narwhal says
Be still my beating heart! This is one GORGEOUS looking ice cream–sign me up!
Susannah says
Thanks so much, Amy! It is as delicious as it looks. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Richard says
I want some for Father’s Day!!!!!