Well I love the samoa girl scout cookies. I could, in fact eat the whole box in one sitting if it weren't for the fact of feeling so guilty afterwards. So I decided to try a copy cat recipe that I found.
My finished product
Well, they took me a couple hours to make but I think they came out tasting great. Would I make them again? I think I would if I had the time. Baking is a passion of mine but sometimes its so hard to find time for it.
Here is the recipe with notes added :)
(in the future I will have recipes with pictures added along the way of the steps, but I wasn't sure if I was going to follow through with this blog at the time of making them)
Samoa Girl Scout Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen
Prep Time: 2 hours (including chilling)
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the coconut topping:
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
8 ounces store-bought caramels (the ones found in a bag individually wrapped)
1 1/2 Tablespoons milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 ounces dark chocolate (I used dark chocolate chips)
Directions:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the coconut topping:
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
8 ounces store-bought caramels (the ones found in a bag individually wrapped)
1 1/2 Tablespoons milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 ounces dark chocolate (I used dark chocolate chips)
Directions:
* Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
* In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
* In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In three increments, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter, mixing between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the milk and vanilla extract, blending until combined and the dough begins to come together in large pieces.
* Use your hands to press the dough together into a compact disk. Wrap the disk securely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (I threw mine in the freezer for 20 minutes and it works the same)
* Once the dough has chilled, roll the disk out onto a lightly floured surface until it is 1/8-inch thick. Cut out as many cookies as possible with a doughnut-shaped cookie cutter. (I didn't have one so I used a circle cookie cutter and then used the screw top of a heavy cream container as the inside cutter. worked perfectly!) Place the cut-out cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
* Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half-way through, until the cookies are pale golden brown. Transfer the cookies to a wire wrack to cool completely.
Make the coconut topping:
* Spread the coconut flakes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the coconut for about 10 minutes in a 350ºF oven until toasted, stirring frequently (I did every 3 minutes) to ensure even browning and so that it does not burn. Remove the toasted coconut from the oven and set it aside.
*Melt the caramels, milk and salt in a double-boiler by placing the caramels in a medium saucepan set over a large saucepan of simmering water. Cook, stirring, until the caramels are fully melted. Remove the saucepan from the heat and combine 3/4 of the caramel with the toasted coconut in a large bowl.
*Carefully spread the remaining 1/4 cup of caramel atop the cooled cookies then press on a portion of the coconut mixture. (this part was a PAIN. I used a spoon and left the remaining caramel over a low heat to prevent it from hardening. Let the cookies cool for 30 minutes.
* Melt the dark chocolate in a double-boiler or in the microwave. Dip the bottoms of the cookies in the chocolate and place them on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Use a fork to drizzle the tops with chocolate. Let the cookies sit until the chocolate hardens fully. (it also helps to put them in the fridge to harden)
So my overall review of them is they tasted amazing, but they do take quite a long time to make!
* In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
* In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In three increments, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter, mixing between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the milk and vanilla extract, blending until combined and the dough begins to come together in large pieces.
* Use your hands to press the dough together into a compact disk. Wrap the disk securely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (I threw mine in the freezer for 20 minutes and it works the same)
* Once the dough has chilled, roll the disk out onto a lightly floured surface until it is 1/8-inch thick. Cut out as many cookies as possible with a doughnut-shaped cookie cutter. (I didn't have one so I used a circle cookie cutter and then used the screw top of a heavy cream container as the inside cutter. worked perfectly!) Place the cut-out cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
* Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half-way through, until the cookies are pale golden brown. Transfer the cookies to a wire wrack to cool completely.
Make the coconut topping:
* Spread the coconut flakes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the coconut for about 10 minutes in a 350ºF oven until toasted, stirring frequently (I did every 3 minutes) to ensure even browning and so that it does not burn. Remove the toasted coconut from the oven and set it aside.
*Melt the caramels, milk and salt in a double-boiler by placing the caramels in a medium saucepan set over a large saucepan of simmering water. Cook, stirring, until the caramels are fully melted. Remove the saucepan from the heat and combine 3/4 of the caramel with the toasted coconut in a large bowl.
*Carefully spread the remaining 1/4 cup of caramel atop the cooled cookies then press on a portion of the coconut mixture. (this part was a PAIN. I used a spoon and left the remaining caramel over a low heat to prevent it from hardening. Let the cookies cool for 30 minutes.
* Melt the dark chocolate in a double-boiler or in the microwave. Dip the bottoms of the cookies in the chocolate and place them on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Use a fork to drizzle the tops with chocolate. Let the cookies sit until the chocolate hardens fully. (it also helps to put them in the fridge to harden)
So my overall review of them is they tasted amazing, but they do take quite a long time to make!
do you think if you used salted butter there would be a difference? i HATE unsalted butter lol.
ReplyDeletep.s. you should tag this post with "recipe" "cookies" "copy cat samoas" etc... you can get hits via search engines (if you want that)
I find no real difference between using salted or unsalted. :)
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