Well Fed Network

Posted by Jamie L. on Just Baking

Well, the Girl Scout cookie season seems to have officially come and gone. Being that I was a Brownie in my wee little years, I feel compelled to support the troops by purchasing cookies from the daughters of my co-workers. This ordering can present a problem because I have a thing for Girl Scout Cookies; often stockpiling them away in the freezer for some mid-summer noshing. I also tend to over buy them and get really sick of the sugar goodness before they are all consumed or covered in freezer burn. Due to this wastefulness, I only ordered 5 boxes this year. Two of those boxes were Caramel deLites aka Samoas and much to my surprise, they were almost gone within a few days. This presented a problem since they are a family favorite!

When I saw a recipe for Somoas Bars, I knew I had to give them a try in an attempt to rectify the scant supply of Caramel deLites in my fridge. This recipe seemed easy enough and had all the yummy cookie flavors that I have grown to love over the years. This recipe is not hard to make and requires pretty basic ingredients. The result is a good cookie bar reminiscent of Caramel deLites; however, I think the “crust” needs to be tweaked a bit. It seemed a tad thick and chewy as opposed to thin and crisp, but they were still gobbled up!

Homemade Samoas Bars
Cookie Base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

First, make the crust. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula. Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.
When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping). Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container. Makes 30 bar cookies.

Note: You can simply drizzle chocolate on top of the bars before slicing them up if you’re looking for yet an easier way to finish these off. You won’t need quite as much chocolate as noted above, and you won’t quite get the Samoas look, but the results will still be tasty.

Recipe by: Baking Bites