Got Any Girl Scouts?

Well, I don't have any in my house, thank god, because I would be really fat from all those cookies!

Favorites anyone? 

Mine are the Shortbread (I know so plain!) but I do like the Samoas too. Along with everyone else I know.

My friend, Jessica, discovered a homemade Samoa recipe and made them for our cookie exchange this past Christmas. 

They were ridiculous!

Like so super duper delicious. However, she had been leaving frantic messages on my voice mail for the two days it took her to make them and when I arrived at her place to head to the cookie exchange she was sweating, cursing, and burned (from the chocolate I think, I was too afraid of her to ask).

Then she produced a recipe as long as my arm (with really small print)

and I decided I would NOT be making these cookies no matter how good they were.

Fast forward 3 months and I am having a milk and cookies party for my daughter, and what do you know...I am making them!

I learned from Jessica and took some shortcuts. The cookies rock, they were a bit of work, but I am not injured, sweating, or cursing and they are quietly cooling on my counter right now.

Here is the abbreviated recipe, which worked just fine for me!

And you might as well go ahead and double it right away because it doesn't

make enough to satisfy ...well anyone really, unless you live alone and get to eat them all yourself, in which case I am really jealous!

Cookie Ingredients

1 cup butter-room temp

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Up to 2 Tbsp of milk

Preheat oven to 350.  Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt. Add milk as needed to form a ball of dough. Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut out circles. Bake on parchment lined baking sheets for 10-12 minutes. Let cool

Topping Ingredients

3 cups shredded coconut- sweetened or unsweetened

12 oz chewy caramels (I used the candy apple caramel sheets)

1/4 tsp salt

3 Tbsp milk

8 oz semisweet chocolate chips

Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl at 45 second intervals until melted. Spread a layer of chocolate on the bottom of each cookie and let cool. Reserve extra chocolate for drizzling on top.

Toast the coconut at 300 for about 15 minutes. Stir frequently.

Melt the caramel, milk, and salt in a microwave safe bowl at 1 minute intervals until combined and melted. Stir in the coconut. Spread this mixture on top of the cookies. You will have plenty, so don't skimp!

Get your chocolate somewhat melty again and put in a piping bag to drizzle on top of the coconut mixture. 

(Now, I tried to just use a knife to drizzle, but the chocolate got all blobby. I ALMOST burned myself with the hot chocolate in the piping bag, so be careful! We don't want any cursing!)

See, not so hard! Really the hardest part was tracking down the dumb caramel. "Seasonal item" is what I was repeatedly told at numerous grocery stores. Don't people use caramel for things other than caramel apples? UGH. Which is why I ended up using the caramel sheets. It was with the apples in the produce section and the closest I could come to the caramel squares. And worked like a dream.

I can't wait for tomorrow to share these scrumptious bites with our friends. I am predicting they will be the hit of the party. Thanks, Jess! xo


P.S. UGH, my daughter is SICK. Party is postponed till next weekend. Are these guys going to last? I have layered them between parchment paper and sealed them airtight. I will let you know how they hold up!