FOOD FUN: May The Fourth Be With You

[1] Turn milk and cookies into Princess Leia for Star Wars Day (photo courtesy Bourbon House | NOLA).

[2] The current and original Mallomars packages (photo courtesy NPR.org).

[3] Bake your own Mallomars with this recipe from Saveur.

Star Wars Day, May 4th, celebrates George Lucas’ Star Wars films. (“May the forth be with you”—get it?)

Treat yourself to milk and cookies, Princess Leia-style.

You’ll need soft cookies to adhere to the rim of the glass. We used Mallomars (photo #2). They’re probably sold out by now (the season ends in April), but like all Mallomars fans, we keep extra boxes on hand until they reappear in stores in the fall.

Or, bake your own with the recipe below.

Or, bake any chocolate cookie (to evoke Princess Leia’s brunette hair buns) and notch them while they’re still warm.
 
 
MALLOMARS HISTORY

Nabisco’s Mallomars are a very popular cookie in Metropolitan New York City, the original home of Nabisco.

A graham cracker circle is topped with marshmallow, then coated with a dark chocolate. The result is a puffy, sink-your-teeth-in delight.

The cookies were introduced in 1913, the same year as the southern Moon Pie—a cookie which has similar ingredients, but a different flavor. According to Wikipedia, the first box of Mallomars was sold in West Hoboken, New Jersey (now Union City).

They are sold only from October through through April, following a tradition that began of necessity, before refrigerated trucks.

 
The concept spread. In the U.K., chef Boyd Tunnock created Tunnock’s Teacakes in 1956, using Italian meringue on a biscuit (cookie) base, covered with milk chocolate.
They look like Mallomars’ fraternal twin.

See the chocolate-marshmallow cookie variations in different countries.
 
 
HOMEMADE MALLOMARS RECIPE

Want to make your own? Here’s a recipe from Saveur (photo #3).