Darn you, Girl Scouts

Just when you thought the holiday binge eating was over, and you could get back to a healthy diet, bam....the Girl Scouts strike.  Being a sweets lover (and that is definitely an understatement) I just can not resist those Samoas (aka- Caramel Delights). 

I stumbled upon this recipe, immediately added the ingredients I didn't have to my shopping list, and made these Thursday.  Amaze-balls.  I haven't had time to blog about them because I've been too busy stuffing my face with them.  They were a little time consuming but SOOO worth it.

Cream together the sugar and butter.  I am convinced all great recipes start with this step!!

 Then add the egg and vanilla.

After you mix the flour and salt, you will get a doughy substance like this.  Put it on a parchment lined 9x13 baking pan...

...and squash it down with your fingers until it spreads out evenly over the pan.  Bake for 25 mins.

 While the cookie base is baking, take the coconut...

 ...and toast it.  I'm drooling :-)

 When the cookie base is done, let it cool.

Then, melt the caramel and milk in the microwave.  Make sure not to over cook and only zap it for 30 seconds at a time then stir.  Otherwise, you'll have a disaster.

Mix the caramel with the coconut

Then spread the mixture on top of the cookie base.  I put mine in the fridge at this point to harden.

Once firm, cut up into bars.  The parchment paper make it so much easier to get the bars out.

Next you melt the chocolate.  Again, zap for 30 seconds then stir.  Repeat.  You don't want burnt chocolate...trust me!

Take your bars and dip the bottom into the chocolate so the bottom is covered.  Put on a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment.

Once all the bases are done, put the remaining chocolate in a plastic bag.  I find if you put the bag in a glass and then pull the top of the bag down the edges, it makes it much easier to fill the bag.

Then snip off a corner (not too much or you will have thick, globby, albeit delicious chocolate like below).  If you want pretty piped chocolate, just snip a tiny bit off.  Then pipe away.  Put back in the fridge to harden.  Then eat your masterpiece!!!

I love you Girl Scouts!!!

Samoas Bars

from Crepes of Wrath

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
3 cups shredded coconut
12-oz chewy caramels
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
20 oz. chocolate chips

Make cookie base. Preheat oven to 350F. Cream together butter and sugar. Next beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in flour and salt until just combined. The mixture will be pretty crumble. That’s okay! Press it into a baking dish (I used a jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper and pressed it into about half the pan, but you can probably just use a 9×13). Bake about 20-25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Allow to cool.

Next make the topping. Start by toasting your coconut. Turn the oven on to 300F and lay coconut on a baking sheet. Turning occasionally toast about 10 minutes, once golden, remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Next melt the caramels in the microwave. First unwrap the caramels and put them in a large bowl with the milk and 1/4 tsp salt, microwave about 3-4 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until evenly melted. Add the coconut to the melted caramel and stir to combine. Once combined, spread coconut/caramel topping onto shortbread base. This is easier if you spray your spatula with pam or grease it. Allow to cool completely (I refrigerated it a bit).

Remove bars from pan (this is easy to do if you used parchment paper). On a cutting board, using a large chef knife, carefully cut the bars into the desired shape. Melt chocolate in the microwave (remember to stir every 30 seconds). Dip cookie base into chocolate (or spread on with a spoon if your bottom is too crumbly), place on fresh wax/parchment paper. Put the remaining melted chocolate in a ziploc bag and cut off a tip so you get a tiny piping bag. Pipe lines of chocolate on each one. Refrigerate a little bit so chocolate hardens then serve!