Here’s How To Make Homemade Samoas

Here’s How To Make Homemade Samoas – Recipe Better than the real thing, this recipe for Girl Scout Samoas (-style cookie) will win the hearts of all who partake. These cookies take a little time, but if you have it, you’ll find the process blissful and rewarding. The best part […]

Here’s How To Make Homemade Samoas – Recipe

Better than the real thing, this recipe for Girl Scout Samoas (-style cookie) will win the hearts of all who partake. These cookies take a little time, but if you have it, you’ll find the process blissful and rewarding. The best part is that this recipe is a riff on the traditional Trefoils recipe – so make up a double batch of shortbread and you’re good to go!

While it’s good to support your local scouts, sometimes you just need a cookie, even when it’s not in season!

First, you’ll need the basic shortbread recipe, which you can find here.
Just to have it handy, here’s a repeat of those ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
115g (1/2 cup) sugar
250g (2 cups) all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
For the topping, you’ll need:
225g (3 cups) shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted
15-oz soft caramels (I recommend making your own if you have the time!)
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
8 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate

Ask and ye shall receive, my fellow coconut cookie lovers. Remember the Homemade Samoas Girl Scout Cookies from February? Remember their buttery shortbread base, caramel-coconut topping and dark chocolate drizzle? Well, they’re back, and in bar form, all thanks to your requests!

Over the past three months, I’ve received countless emails, Facebook messages, Tweets and Instagram pleas for an abridged version of the iconic cookie recipe. Long story short: While the homemade Samoas cookies are spot-on for taste and texture when compared to the real deal, I wouldn’t exactly put them in the “quick and easy” dessert category.

I’ve spent the past few weeks transforming the original recipe into a cookie bar recipe, eliminating the need to refrigerate and roll out the dough, as well as cut it into shapes. I’ve whipped up a basic shortbread base for a 13-by 9-inch baking pan, reworked the coconut-to-caramel ratio and upped the amount of dark chocolate. I dip the bottom of each cookie bar in chocolate, but you could just as easily skip this step and shave off even more time in your quest for homemade Samoas success.

Homemade Samoas Cookie Bars

Yield: About 30 cookie bars Prep Time: 1 hour Cook Time: 20 min
Ingredients:

For the shortbread cookie base:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
For the coconut topping:
4 cups shredded sweetened coconut
20 ounces store-bought or homemade soft caramels
3 Tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 ounces dark chocolate (See Kelly’s Notes)
Directions:

Make the shortbread cookie base:
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line a 13-by 9-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Turn the mixer to low, and then carefully add the flour mixture to the bowl, beating just until combined and scraping down the sides as needed. (Do not overmix the shortbread dough or it’ll be too crumbly to cut once baked.) Transfer the dough into the prepared baking pan and press it into an even, flat layer.
Bake the shortbread until barely golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let it cool completely while you make the topping.
Make the coconut topping:
Turn the oven up to 350ºF. Spread the coconut flakes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the coconut for about 10 minutes until it’s toasted, stirring frequently to ensure even browning and so that it does not burn. (See Kelly’s Notes.) Remove the toasted coconut from the oven and set it aside.
Melt the caramels, milk and salt in a double-boiler by placing the ingredients in a medium saucepot set over a large saucepot of simmering water. Cook, stirring, until the caramels are fully melted. Remove the saucepot from the heat and combine the caramel mixture with the toasted coconut in a large bowl. Immediately spread the coconut mixture over the cooled shortbread, pressing it to adhere to the shortbread base. Work quickly, as the caramel mixture will begin to firm up and won’t adhere if it cools too much. Let the bars sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

C

RobinDee

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Next Post

Gooey Baked Brie In Phyllo Dough Recipe

Sun Oct 30 , 2016
Gooey baked brie… who doesn’t love it? This recipe wraps it in phyllo dough for a quick, delicious party pleaser. It doesn’t get much easier than this – and your guests will love it. Serving Size: 4-6 – 10 Sheets Thawed Phyllo Dough – 1 Wheel of Brie Cheese – […]
Gooey Baked Brie In Phyllo Dough

You May Like