HOMEMADE SAMOAS

yes, i did it. i made my own batch of homemade samoas - you know the girl scout cookies you can only get when the girl scouts are out scouting for people to buy their delicious cookies? i remember when i used to be a girlscout. i never sold as many cookies as all the other girls in my troop . i think i was the only one who didn't cheat and send my parents to their work with the sign up sheet. i did all the heavy work myself. little girl scout sneaky cheaters... just kidding. im getting sidetracked.

so yeah, i made samoas and i took pictures of the steps. not all the steps cause that would have been messy. but here we go , and i'm even including my recipe for you all to try at home. ENJOY!

COOKIES:

1 cup butter, soft

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

up to tbsp of milk

** preheat over to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter & sugar. mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk - adding the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky; you might not even need to add milk .... oh also add more flour if the dough is too sticky.

roll the dough out on parchment paper to about 1/4 inch thickness or less and use a cookie cutter to make rounds (i had to use a wine glass because we dont even have a cookie cutter haha) use something smaller to make a hole in the middle (i used a tiny measuring spoon to scrape the hole out.. it doesnt need to be big at all)

once thats done, put the cookies on a cookie sheet with parchment paper and cook for 10-12 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly browned. cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

TOPPING:

3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

12 oz good quality chewy caramels

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp milk

8 oz dark or semi sweet chocolate chips

** preheat over to 300F. spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (one with sides) and toast 20 minutes or so (eye-ball it) , stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. cool on baking sheet & set aside. --- this makes your oven smell so awesome.

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 it all melt. when its smooth and creamy fold in the toasted coconut with a spatula or spoon.

now the messy part..... spread the caramel mixture over the tops of the cookies. i placed the cookies on the counter top on a piece of parchment paper to avoid a lot of messiness. try to distribute the caramel evenly on all the cookies because its a pain to re-heat more caramel and coconut. if the caramel gets to firm just put it in the microwave for a few seconds.

while that topping is setting, melt the chocolate in a small bowl on high in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper - or pick the cookie up and flip it over and spread the chocolate on the bottom like butter . transfer all remaining chocolate into a ziplock bag and snip off the corner and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.

let chocolate set completely before string in an airtight container. .... eat !