Egg-free dairy-free Moon Cakes

No recipe can be 100% allergy-free, but the most common ones have been removed from this. For a recipe that is closer to the traditional, be can still be done on one afternoon, see Jennifer's adaptation.

Egg-free dairy-free mooncakes:

You will need: mixing bowl, mixing spoon, measuring cups & spoons, aluminum foil, cookie sheets, pot holders, flour, margarine, sugar, jam.

1. Combine ½ cup margarine (make sure it is not the “light kind where water is the first ingredient, that does not work for baking) and ¼ cup sugar with ONE of:

§ 1 Tablespoon cornstarch (or arrowroot), 1 Tablespoon soy flour, 1 ½ - 2 Tablespoons water OR

§ 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 Tablespoon liquid, 1 Tablespoon vinegar OR

§ 1 1/2 Tablespoons water, 1 1/2 Tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon baking powder

Stir until creamy and combine completely.

2. Add 1 cup all-purpose flour and mix thoroughly. Form the dough into one large ball and wrap it in aluminum foil. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes (30 or more is better.)

3. Preheat oven to 375F. Cover cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Unwrap chilled dough and with clean hands form small balls in the palms of your hand. (You may want to cut it into 24 pieces first to see the approximate size…?)

4. Make a hole with your thumb gently in the center of each mooncake and fill with a little jam, jelly, or all-fruit spread (If this is for school, remember that raspberry and strawberry are most likely to have someone allergic to them. Grape or blueberry are probably safest.)

5. Bake for about 20 minutes or until just the outside edges are slightly brown.

Notes for Parents

Some years the Mid-Autumn Festival falls very early in the school year in the USA, and not all teachers are receptive to having someone come in and do anything special before their routines are set, especially at preschools. Bringing in a treat (as if it were someone's birthday) might be all that some can support, perhaps with a handout that the children can take home. If you really want to do something, contact the teacher as soon as possible - even before school starts. You may want to coordinate with any other parents of Asians in the class. If the classlist is not yet available, you may need to ask the teacher if there are other families who might want to be involved.

For the youngest saying, "the moon is full, (it's a harvest festival,) this is a lantern, have some new food" is almost enough. Leave a handout – at least for the teacher. Remember that what you leave may be copied and given to each child.

If you discuss time before electricity, and mention Harvest Festivals, Festival of Lights, that gives the teacher, school, other parents, lead-ins to talk about the days lengthening, looking at the sky, constellations, lunar phases, and other holidays. Many cultures have Festivals of Light, including Diwali (the Hindu Festival of Lights) and Chanukah. Thanksgiving is a Harvest Festival. Harvest Moon Festivals include Ch’usok (Korea) and the Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.

Additional Activities and Props:

Every class I have been in has really enjoyed seeing lunar calendars that showed the phases of the moon for each day of the year. A good size is one year on two 8.5 x 11 inch pages taped together. The pattern, and how it does not match the Gregorian calendar month showed up very well. Sometimes you see calendar as a poster. (email me at mus-mandarin@wubison.com if you need a lunar calendar, I can send a pdf file.)

You may want a simple timeline to show how some of the events compare to those they already know. Montessori teachers generally support this for younger students than other style teachers.

A flashlight and 2 balls can illustrate the phases of the moon. A 6 – 9 year old class can understand it and help act it out. I might not try this with a 3-6 year old class. Practice first. Have you or another adult hold the flashlight so it will be steady and can be adjusted as needed, since the children acting may not move exactly ‘right’. Do not let the earth-child get too dizzy. Being able to make the room *dark* really makes a difference; some classrooms have a lot of light coming in even with the blinds down. (Brownie Girl Scouts should be able to use this as an alternate requirement in the Earth and Sky Try-it or maybe for Space Explorer.)

It is nice to loan things to the class to use after you are gone. Suggestions include:

• A chop, chop ink, rice paper
  
  
• Chinese themed stamps, inkpad, paper (there are stamps for the moon character)
• Chinese clothing (a hat, vest with frog closures, etc.)
  
  
• (training chopsticks?), chopsticks and something to pick up. Larger objects like pompoms or cotton balls for the youngest, perhaps beads with Chinese characters on them for older children to try if they wanted to. Try the actual combination before taking it in. This is especially good at a Montessori-style school, but many teachers will use it.

The Mid-Autumn Moon by Li Qiao

A full moon hangs high in the chilly sky,
All say it's the same everywhere, round and bright.
But how can one be sure thousands of li away
Wind and perhaps rain may not be marring the night?

You can find more on poetry here. Childbook created a lesson plan for K - 4 in 2007.

Mooncakes

Mooncakes have a long history of their own. They started as honey cakes in the 3^rd century BC. Now there are many kinds, and their shapes and fillings are seemingly endless. However, there are two or three main types of mooncakes. The classic mooncake is made in a mold, contains egg, and has a golden or dark crust. (Some now call them Cantonese style.) Based on ancient literary works, they evolved into their current form between the 6^th and 11^th centuries. There is a character or design on the top. The inside can be a paste, fruit-cakey or even have meat in it. Perhaps lotus-seed paste was the original but now, due to cost, red bean paste seems to be more common. Shanghai-style mooncakes have a flaky crust (that can still be hard to bite) and usually fewer ingredients. Traditionally the yolk was duck, but now it may be chicken or duck. Vegan mooncakes, even vegan, peanut and nut-free mooncakes, are available. Most Shanghai-style mooncakes fit in this category. Mooncakes are often packed 4 or 8 to a box and each should fit in the palm of your hand. The ~4 inch diameter ones can be cut into 8 pieces for distribution at school. They are very rich and not everyone will like them.

If you want to make a moon-ish cookie, here is an egg-free and dairy-free cookie recipe that should satisfy any schools anti-allergy policies. It is similar to German “thumbprint” cookies. For something closer to the original that can be done in one afternoon, see Jennifer's adaptation.

Handout

Zhōng qīu jié 中秋節
Mid-Autumn Festival

The Chinese calendar is based on the lunar cycle and the moon is important to the Chinese. Autumn Moon Festival, literally ‘Mid-Autumn Festival’, or the Birthday of the Moon is on 8/15 of the lunar calendar, a full moon night. It is a time to have the family together, eat a festive meal including moon cakes, and enjoy the moonlight. Children & adults carry paper lanterns and climb hills to get a good view of the full moon. They give thanks to the bright, silvery moon of the eighth lunar month. Some call it a “Chinese Thanksgiving”. (In Taiwan this is also Teacher’s Day.)

When the moon is round, families unite. Yuè yuán, rén yuán. (月圓, 人圓)

The next Mid-Autumn Festivals (lunar 8/15) are: Sept. 25, 2007; Sept. 14, 2008; Oct. 3, 2009; Sept. 22, 2010, Sept. 12, 2011; Sept 30, 2012, Sept. 19, 2013; Sept. 8, 2014; Sept. 27, 2015; Sept 15, 2016; Oct. 4, 2017; and Sept. 24, 2018. There are also converters on the web to determine Western dates from Chinese lunar dates and vice versa.

Not that long ago, most people in the world were farmers. They grew their own vegetables and fruit and they raised their own pigs, cows, and chickens for milk, eggs, and meat. Sometimes they had a lot of food and sometimes not enough. But after the fall harvest families and friends would gather together to give thanks for all they had to eat, for the rain, the sunlight and the earth that made all life possible. In America this holiday is called Thanksgiving. In China, the people celebrate the Autumn Moon Festival. If we lived in North China, wheat is important; in South China, rice is more important.

Mooncakes are round like the moon. The round shape is a symbol for togetherness and harmony. Made of flaked pastry, they often have egg yolks in the center, to represent the moon, and sweet fillings of red bean paste, lotus seed paste, coconut or nuts. The sweetness of them represents good fortune or good harvest. Traditional red bean paste filling takes days to make. Special molds are used which press special designs in the top. Now “everyone” buys mooncakes instead of making them at home.

On the evening of the Autumn Moon Festival, people carrying paper lanterns climb hills and mountains to get a good view of the full moon. They give thanks to the bright, silvery moon of the eighth lunar month. The Mid-Autumn Festival is also partially a Festival of Lights. The lanterns they carry all have candles in them. Before electricity, people were more aware of the length of the days and the stars, and what happened in the night sky.

Days in China, as days here, get shorter in the fall as there are more hours of darkness each day, but the moon triumphs. They say that the moon is its roundest on 8/15 (lunar).

The later one stays up, the longer one’s parents live. (Although the family “should” be together for Autumn Moon festival and it is always good to remember and worship one’s ancestors, this is not the special day to remember the dead. That is Qing Ming, celebrated on April 4th, one of the few holidays using the Gregorian calendar.)

There are many legends about the moon that people remember at the Mid-Autumn Festival. The most popular are about how long ago Chang Èr, lady moon, flew to the moon and how, not quite so long ago, mooncakes saved the day. Chang Èr is also known as Lady Moon and still lives on the moon with a rabbit and a cassia tree. Many mooncakes are stamped with designs of the Moon Lady, the Jade Rabbit, or groves of cassia trees. (Most ground cinnamon sold in the USA is actually cassia.) When you look at the full moon, who or what do you see?

Longer version: According to one legend, 10 suns blazed in the sky in ancient times. The heat burned the earth, fields could no longer produce crops, and people were going to die. The emperor asked for archers to shoot all the suns. Brave Hou Yi was the best archer in the land. He shot down nine of the suns and stopped before shooting the last one. For saving the people, Hou Yi became King and was given an immortality pill or elixir (perhaps from Queen of Wang Mu on the Kun Lun Mountain).

Unfortunately, Hou Yi became a tyrant indulging in debauchery and random killing. His subjects were afraid and hated him. His wife, Chang Èr, was heart-broken by her husband’s change and what was happening to the country. She knew that if he took the immortality pill, the country would never recover. So, to save her countrymen, Chang Èr stole the immortality pill and swallowed it herself. Her body became so light that she flew into the air. Chang Er escaped to the bright, full moon on 8/15 of the lunar calendar. She became the Moon Goddess. She still lives there alone except for the Jade Rabbit and cassia trees.

At this special time of year, the Moon Lady will grant your secret wish. If you have a special wish? Don't tell anyone; don't say it out loud! Tell your secret wish to Chang Èr.

Another Mooncake Story:

During the 14th century, China was under the harsh rule of the Mongols. A great number of Chinese secretly met and decided to revolt against the Mongols. Secret messages about the time and place of the revolt had to be sent to the Chinese people in the cities and villages. The Chinese were unable to come up with a plan to deliver the messages without the Mongols discovering until they thought of embedding them in mooncakes. They were made, the secret messages inserted, and distributed by the Chinese to all their friends and relatives.

When the Chinese cut the mooncakes to eat, they found the secret message about the revolt. On 8/15 of the lunar calendar, the Chinese revolted against the Mongols and drove them out of China. Today some bakers put square printed pieces of paper on mooncakes so you may find may find one on the bottom of a cake or pasted on top of the cake box. This folktale is not necessarily supported by historical records.

For a PDF copy of a (two-sided) one-page handout, or an 8 page illustrated story, just send email to mus-mandarin@wubison.com . For more festival information, read Wikipedia's festival entry.

Picture Books:

• I did not care for Moon Festival by Ching Yeung Russell as a read to a group book. I'd recommend using the pictures and your own words.
  
  
• Although it does not mention Mid-Autumn Festival, I have enjoyed using Round is A Moon Cake by Roseanne Thong with groups at this time of year. While reading, I passed around many of the objects she mentions (round paper lantern, round handleless Chinese teacup, rectangular hong bao envelope, square chop, etc.) I filled the square box that the ink for my chop came in with plastic toy cats (and tigers and lions) for the square cat basket mentioned in the book.

Updated: September 2007

Books

Fiction

Moon Lady * by Amy Tan MAF.

Moon Festival by Ching Yeung Russell/Z.Y. Zhang MAF

Round is A Mooncake ** by Rosemary Thong

How The Rooster Got His Crown * Retold by Amy Lowry Poole (398.2 POO in some libraries)
A Miao tale. Their Haoyi sounds like the Hou Yi of others' Mid-Autumn Festival fame.

Paper Lanterns Stefan Czernecki

The Magic Paintbrush Refers to the Moon Lady but does not explain Mid-Autumn Festival. MAF

"Reference Books"

Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes by Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz CNY, MAF
Background, crafts, recipes, and legends for 5 Chinese holidays: Chinese New Year, Lantern Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Qing Ming and Dragon Boat Festival.

Mooncakes & Hungry Ghosts Carol Stepanchuk & C. Wong CNY, MAF

Good Luck Life: The Essential Guide To Chinese American Celebrations and Culture by Rosemary Gong CNY, MAF

updated: 9/2007

Resources

There is plenty more about Mid-Autumn Festival, Harvest Festivals, Chinese festivals and China. Here’s more information about the festival, folktales, making mooncakes (although 'no one' does it anymore) and the lady in the moon. The main subjects under Mid-Autumn Festival are: mooncakes, their role in rebellions against the Mongols, the Moon Goddess, and the Jade Rabbit. You may also want to learn more about the Jade Emperor or less common tales such as one of Wu Kang Chopping Down the Cassia Tree. These links were good as of September 2004.

Note: Not all versions of Chang Er’s tale may be appropriate for your child(ren). It is a tale of love and infidelity with a bit of drunkenness, in addition to a tale of love and faith, the birth of agriculture and animal domestication in China.

http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/augustmoonfest.htm includes links to books and other sites, and lists other “thanksgiving”/harvest festivals.
http://www.montreal.com/events/1999/09/24moon.html includes how to make mooncakes, original moon festival folktale & Chang Er, the moon goddess
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/references.htm

Books on Mid-Autumn Festival and China are available from a number of sources or can be ordered from your local bookseller. I assume that these good folks will be around for many more years: www.childbook.com, www.fccny.org. www.pearlriver.com and www.chinasprout.com also sell China objects, mooncakes, chopsticks, decorative objects, and arts and crafts supplies.

Picture Books on China include:

• Moon Lady by Amy Tan
  
• The Empress and the Silkworm by Lily Toy Hong
  
• Moon Festival by Ching Yeung Russell
  
• Round is A Mooncake by Rosemary Thong. (also Red is a dragon, One is a Drummer)
  
• The Seven Chinese Sisters By Kathy Tucker
  
• The Five Chinese Brothers (Paperstar) by Claire Huchet Bishop, Kurt Wiese
  
• The Seven Chinese Brothers(Blue Ribbon Book) by Margaret Mahy, Jean Mou-Sier Tsang

Moon Information

http://www.thenazareneway.com/current_moon_phase.htm

Why is the Harvest Moon the brightest?

Why is the moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox called the “Harvest Moon”? http://earthsky.com/scienceqs/browsefaq.php?f=106

Mooncake Websites

http://kevdesign.com/midautumnfestival/mooncake-variety.htm

Recipes

(first Link broken)

http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/famtrad/foodfolkart/mooncakeofferings/mooncake.htm

http://kevdesign.com/midautumnfestival/recipes.htm

http://adoptshoppe.com/images/artfulgifts/MoonCookiesRecipe.pdf

http://adoptshoppe.com/images/artfulgifts/MoonCakeRecipe.pdf

http://thestar.com.my/kuali/recipes/lunar.html

Mooncake Filling Recipes

http://www.kitchenlink.com/msgbrd/board_3/2000/JUL/4383.html

Easy Chinese Moon Cakes: similar to German jam thumbprint cookies.

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/china/easy_chinese_mooncakes.htm  

http://www.newton.mec.edu/Angier/DimSum/china__dim_sum__moon_festi.html 

Molds

Hand-carved, wooden mooncake molds are not always easy to find. Mooncake molds are custom-made usually with the baker’s insignia. The mold is used to shape each mooncake and some have used them off-season to shape butter. The following places have had them in the past but may not always: www.chinasprout.com, www.adoptshoppe.com, www.wokshop.com, and www.pearlriver.com.

Last reviewed: August 2007

Links still being updated.