Samoas Bars

Hubby loves girl scout cookies. Specifically Samoas. I grew up in the Midwest, and we always called them Caramel Delights. Whatever you call them, everyone loves them. I saw this recipe come up and I knew I had to make these.

These bars do take a little bit of time because each step requires some wait time before you can move on to the next step. In the end, they’re definitely worth the effort. Hubby did comment that the cookie part tasted a bit off. I think there’s just a higher ratio of the cookie part than in the girl scout version.

Homemade Samoas Bars – from Baking Bites – makes 30 barsCookie 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) – I used sweetened
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels – I used the Kraft caramel bits
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.

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 – I used a spoon to spread some melted chocolate on the bottom of each bar. I then laid them chocolate side up to set the chocolate.

Transfer all remaining chocolate 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.

    Pin It

8 Responses to “My Top 10 List!”

  1. #
    1
    Michelle — June 30, 2009 at 11:54 pm

    How awesome that you were on Leno! Are we allowed to ask what you were on for? I love your list and am raising two hands to vote for the Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake. I made it last fall (http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2008/10/11/brownie-mosaic-cheesecake/) and it is simply to die for. You won’t be sorry!!

  2. #
    2
    Michelle — June 30, 2009 at 11:54 pm

    Um yeah, totally meant Letterman. ::slaps forehead:: I’m sleepy 😉

  3. #
    3
    annieseats — July 1, 2009 at 1:47 am

    What a cool blog event! I wish I had known about it before today, so I could participate. Is it a monthly thing? If so, I’m definitely in next time!

  4. #
    4
    Jen — July 1, 2009 at 3:13 am

    Michelle – I was the co-captain of a Rube Goldberg team (think of the game mouse trap but on a HUGE scale) in college. In 2003, Purdue won the national competition and they got us on the Letterman show. I was the “spokesperson” for the team and we had our machine on stage. It was an awesome experience. I’ve been trying to find pictures, but that was pre-digital camera for me so I can’t find any…

    Annie – I believe it is a monthly event. I think she started it in May…

  5. #
    5
    Ali — July 8, 2009 at 5:39 pm

    Thanks for the link to my site! I hope you try out the Chocolate Goat Cheese Truffles if you are a goat cheese fan. They were so delish.

  6. #
    6
    Sweetie — July 9, 2009 at 11:44 am

    yay for the best bookmarks ever! we have similar taste i guess bc i got some great ideas from this post and i’ve done some on your list. two quick notes on these bookmarks:

    1) do the bagels at smitten kitchen. the cinna. raisin rock and it’s so rewarding to spend that much time and yield awesome results. i’m a new baker and it wasn’t very hard to do. definitely add the maple syrup or molasses to the water when you boil the bagels. dole makes plump raisins and they rock.
    2) billy’s cupcakes will be your answer to vanilla cupcakes forever! i had issues with overflow so i’d reduce the baking powder from 3t (=1T) to 2.5 tsp.

  7. #
    7
    Jen — July 9, 2009 at 12:12 pm

    Thanks for the tips Sweetie

  8. #
    8
    McWalker — July 12, 2009 at 9:08 pm

    OMG thanks for the shout-out!!! 🙂 where the HECK have i been!?? i’ve seen your facebook status updates and i never realized they were from YOUR blog!!! they are awesome! i’m SO proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! talk soon!!! love, WALKER
    ps: i have some pics, i’ll get them scanned. 🙂

Leave a Comment