Samoa Bars
This is another treat that I found on Pinterest. I combined a couple of recipes to get this one… it tasted like a grown-up Samoa to me, which was delicious. However, after doing some research I found out that Samoas and Caramel deLites are actually two slightly different cookies. The latter is made with less caramel and milk chocolate… I think I’m just going to have to whip up a batch to do a little taste-test.
INGREDIENTS
THE COOKIE
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Up to 2 tbsp milk (I didn’t need to use any)
TOPPING
- 3 cups shredded coconut
- 12 ounces good-quality chewy caramels
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp milk
- 10 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate- plus more for drizzling (I used a whole bag of chocolate chips)
HOW TO MAKE IT
COOKIE
- Cream the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer
- In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and lastly add in the vanilla; and milk if you feel as though the mixture is too dry
- Once the dough is mixed, press it onto a parchment paper lined or greased baking sheet – you should have an even layer about 1/4″ thick
- Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned – cool completely on a wire rack
TOPPING
- Preheat oven to 300°F and spread the coconut evenly on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (you should use one with sides)
- Toast for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until golden – cool on the baking sheet
- Unwrap the caramels and place them in a microwave safe bowl with the milk and salt
- Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stirring the caramel every minute or so to make sure it’s evenly melting
- When the caramel is smooth, stir in the toasted coconut
- Place spoonfuls of the carmel mixture on top of the cooled shortbread and spread it into an even layer using a spatula and your fingertips
- Let the topping set until cooled and then cut it into bars of desired size using a very sharp knife or a pizza cutter
- Once the bars are cut, melt the chocolate in a small bowl (you can either do this in a glass bowl over a small pot of boiling water, or in the microwave by heating on high for 30 second intervals until the chocolate is just melted – be careful not to burn the chocolate!)
- Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place onto a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet
- Once all of the bars have been dipped, transfer the remaining chocolate (if you don’t have enough, melt some more) into a small Ziploc bag – cut a tiny corner off the bag and use it to pipe the chocolate drizzle on top of the bars
- Allow the chocolate to totally set before storing in an airtight container
