Caramel Delights (a.k.a Samoas)

Girl Scout cookies. Mmmm Mmmm Good. Its one of my many guilty pleasures! Who can resist! Girl Scout cookies are only sold once a year. So I try to indulge and wait until the following year to indulge again! My favorites are the Thin Mints and Samoas, it use to be called Caramel Delights. I purchased the knock off Thin Mints at my local grocery store but it did not measure up to the original Girl Scout Thin Mints.

I found a recipe that is similar to Samoas. Of course, its NOT going to be EXACTLY the same. But it sure does look pretty. After I made it I came to the conclusion that in my next batch, I will have to make the shortbread base thinner. It was a little to thick for my taste. Maybe reduce the amount of ingredients for the shortbread or use a bigger pan. I used a 13.25 in x 9.25 in jelly roll pan. A 15.25 in x 10.25 jelly roll pan will probably give me the results (thinner shortbread) I want.
This recipe calls for 3/4 cup of butter. Unfortunately I did not have enough butter so I used both butter and margarine. I also added a pinch or two of nutmeg. And a dash of ground ginger, just to put a twist in it and make it different. Try pressing the shortbread base in an even layer by using a rolling pin, after you pressed most of the base in the pan with your fingers.
12 oz of caramel is needed. I purchased a 14 oz bag of Krafts caramels (individual wrapped). 12 oz will be approximately 43 cubes of individually wrapped caramels. It is important that when you toast the coconut flakes, you don't burn them. The flakes can easily burn when it is not being watched. Spread the coconut mixture on the shortbread and quickly as possible. Once the caramel cools, it'll become hard to spread and it don't adhere as well to the shortbread. You can cut them in square, like brownies, or just a round cookie cutter. Dip the bottom of the cookie in melt chocolate, let cool. And drizzle with left over chocolate for the Girl Scout effect. and Voilà!
Shortbread:
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

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.

2. Sift together the flour and salt in a separate bowl.

3. Cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand, on low.

4. Pour crumbly dough into pan and press into an even layer.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned.

6. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.
Coconut & Caramel Topping:
3 cups shredded coconut
12-oz chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 300F. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

2. Melt caramel, milk, and salt in a large microwave-safe bowl for about 3 minutes. Stir every 1 minute.

3. When caramel is completely melted and smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.

4. Using a spatula, spread the topping on the shortbread. Set aside to cool.

5. Cut into bars (or shapes) after it has cooled.

6. Melt chocolate and dip the base (bottom) of each cookie into the chocolate. Let chocolate set. Transfer remaining chocolate into a piping bag (or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off) and drizzle the chocolate on the top.

7. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.


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