Samoas Bars

I am a huge fan of Samoas Girl Scout Cookies so when I saw this recipe at Baking Bites I just couldn't resist trying them. They are yummy and so fun to make. Spreading the coconut and carmel can be tricky, use your hands, greased, it is the only way.

Homemade Samoas Bars

Cookie Base:

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

First, make the crust. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping

3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
14-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 1/2 T milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a baking sheet and toast, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside. Unwrap the caramels and melt with milk and salt either in a sauce pan over low heat or in the microwave. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula. Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Spread into an even layer. I found that greasing my hands and pressing it down was the easiest. Let topping set until cooled. When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping). Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl or saucepan stirring often to avoid scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.
Makes 30 bar cookies.