food: Samoa Girls Scout Cookies

It's Girls Scout season and I was so upset when ehh hemmm my sister did not order these cookies for me from her daughter this year. They are my favorite....I LOVE EM!!! When I saw this recipe I just had to try it. They are simply delicious and even better than the ones you order.....don't tell the Scouts I said that don;t want any angry girls at my door step.

They are a bit of a fuss to make or maybe it's just that I'm 9 months pregnant and my back hurts and my belly is in the way either way they are worth the effort.

Samoa Girls Scout Cookies, adapted from A Bicycle Built for Two

Ingredients for the cookie:

1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, next, the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk only as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky. The dough should come together into a soft, pliable ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough seems sticky.

It's easiest to roll the dough out in 2 or 3 batches (between pieces of wax (or parchment) paper to about 1/4-inch thickness using a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to make rounds. Place on a parchment lined or on silicone mat baking sheet and make a hole in the center. I used a bottle cap. Nicole comments that you can use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat until the dough is used up (it's okay to re-roll, this dough is shortbread-like and very forgiving.)

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are very lightly golden brown around the edges.

Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, to allow them to firm up slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ingredients for topping:

3 cups shredded coconut
12 ounces of caramels
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
8 ounces chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees (F)

Spread coconut evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Watch carefully, especially near the end of toasting time; the coconut toasts very quickly once it begins to become 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.
Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 teaspoons per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it begins to firm up, to make it soft and spreadable once again.

While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. (I melted mine stovetop using double boiler method.) Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper (I used silicone baking mats instead). Transfer all remaining chocolate into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate. (Melt a bit of additional chocolate, if there is not quite enough for each cookie.)