Samoa Cookie Knockoff

How is your Girl Scout Cookie stash holding up?

Ours is gone and has been for a while. In fact due to participation in a biggest loser competition with my sisters and some recent dietary restrictions, I asked Boy if he would please, under NO circumstance, bring ANY Girl Scout Cookies home this year. He obliged. (Although, I have found a ½ eaten box in the pantry every now and then. Is there a Girl Scout Cookie fairy?)

I’ve had Samoa Cookies on my “to bake” list for a while and when I finally decided on the dessert I would serve after our Easter feast, I knew now was the time. Samoa’s were going to play the major roll in the dessert presentation.

And so it began. I used the recipe from BakingBites.com because it looked the most like the cookies I was used to and I didn’t have to make my own caramel. (I don’t have a problem making my own caramel its just that I have a 5 POUND brick of caramel in my pantry that I’d like to put a dent in.)

I didn’t need to use the milk to bring the dough together but I kept in on the recipe just in case someone else needed it. I used milk chocolate instead of semisweet for the bottom and drizzle because I had some leftover melting wafers from a chocolate fountain that I wanted to use up. Next time I’ll NOT use chocolate fountain chocolate as it was a little softer that what I would have liked it to be.

I also had to make up another 1/3 batch of coconut topping (recipe below reflects the larger batch) because, I guess I’m more liberal when it comes to my coconut, caramel, cookie topping.

If you are using a pre-made caramel, take care not to cook it when you melt it. Cooked caramel = hard caramel, hard caramel = a topping that is difficult to spread. With that said, although I did over cook my caramel and the chocolate was a little soft, no one seemed to notice or complain. In fact I heard a few people say, these were better than the real thing….MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Samoa Cookie Knockoffs

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Makes 5 dozen 2 ½ “ cookies

Ingredients:

COOKIES

1 cup butter, soft

½ cup sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla extract

up to 2 tbsp milk

TOPPING

4 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

16 oz. quality chewy caramel

¼ tsp salt

4 tbsp milk

8 oz chocolate (recipe suggests dark or semisweet and states chocolate chips are ok. I used milk chocolate)

Directions:

COOKIES

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla.  Add in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (it’s possible you might not need to add milk at all). The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.
3. Roll the dough (working in two or three batches) out between pieces of wax paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and use a 2-inch cookie cutter to make the rounds. Place dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set. Cool cookies for 2 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

TOPPING:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spread coconut evenly on a baking sheet and toast for 7 - 13 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet then transfer to a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high in 30-second intervals, stopping to stir the caramel to help it melt. When smooth, drizzle the caramel over the toasted coconut with a spatula. Using a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it gets too firm to work with.
4. 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. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Source: Adapted from BakingBites.com

Gwenevere