Homemade Samoa Cookies

Ah yes, Spring is here and that means it is time to start stocking up on some of your favorite Girl Scout Cookies! In my family there has always been a steady supply of Girl Scout Cookies during this time of year. The majority of the cookies found in our house were the Thin Mints, Tagalongs, and Samoas. Every so often a new cookie box would get thrown into the mix, but it was usually those three boxes that would be devoured first. If my parents were lucky enough, they would be able to stash a box somewhere in the kitchen that wouldn't get noticed too early, but with 5 kids in the house trying hide sweets was like trying to hide bacon from a dog; it just wasn't going to work out!

Well this year my dad came and visited me and with him he brought us a delicious box of Thin Mints (I still have the box with a few cookies left in the freezer). After he left, I really had an itch for some Samoas but couldn't find any Girl Scouts selling them anywhere, so I decided to make my own!

Using both a shortbread and vanilla cookie recipes I have made, I found a way to combine them both into a "melt in your mouth" cookie that retained its shape yet didn't crumble when you picked it up. I ended up making these for Easter weekend to give out as gifts, and so far the cookies never made it past the 2 hour mark after being opened and left up on a table for consumption. Hope you enjoy these as much as my friends and family did! Enjoy!

• 4 cups Flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 cups Butter, softened
• 1 tsp Milk
• 1 cup Sugar (white sugar, not powdered)
• 1 large Egg, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp Vanilla
• 22 oz Caramel Candies (I used Kraft Caramel Bits, worked perfectly)
• 4 cups Sweetened Coconut Shavings
• 1 lb Chocolate (I used CandiQuik Chocolate that can be heated and reheated in the microwave, it was perfect)

Special Utensils:

• Donut Cutter or 2 Round Cookie Cutters in two different sizes, one for the cookie and one for the hole. You don't need to make a hole in the cookies if you don't want to.
• A Hair Dye Applicator (one of these bottles: http://www.partwell.com/images/pictures/photos/products/bu2/6-adhesive-systems/empty-applicator-bottle-partwell.jpg, this is for the chocolate drizzle on top. If you don't have one of these, then you can use a fork)
• Rolling Pin
• Parchment Paper

Step 1: Combine salt, butter, and sugar together. Add in 2 cups of flour and stir. Once mixed, add in 1 more cup of flour and continue to mix. Dough should still be sticky and not really malleable yet. 

Step 2: Beat egg in a bowl lightly and then add in the milk and vanilla extract. Combine to the dough mixture and add in the last cup of flour. Cover and place in the fridge for 1/2 hour.

Step 3: Once you are ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and then break off a section of the dough and roll it with the rolling pin until it is 1/4 inch in thickness. You will want to keep extra flour on hand to prevent the cookies from sticking and use the flour as needed on the rolling pin, rolling surface, and the dough itself. Take a cookie sheet and place parchment paper on it and line the cookies on it. Thankfully these cookies won't spread out too much so you should be able to fit 12-15 cookies on the sheet at a time (I just did batches of 12 cookies). Place cookies in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cookies should be white still or slightly golden, you want them to be soft. Place cookies on a cooling rack (you can lift the parchment paper and place that on the rack so you don't have to touch the cookies just yet so they can set) and continue to make cookies until you finished using all the dough. I ended us with 6 dozen cookies by the time I was finished.

Step 4: After all the cookies are made, take out the coconut and lightly toast it on the stove top in a big pan. Coconut will brown quickly so you will not need to cook them long. Cook until most of the flakes are golden brown to brown and then set aside.

Step 5: Melt the caramels how the bag instructs you too. Once the caramel is melted, add the coconut to it and mix together. Take a small clump of the coconut mixture and press into the top of the cookie. You will want to rinse your fingers from time to time to prevent the caramel from sticking. Do this until all of the cookies have the coconut mixture on top.

Step 6: Melt the chocolate how the package instructs you to, and then take your cookies and dip the bottoms of them in the chocolate. Set on parchment paper to set. Do this for all of the cookies. Once you are finished, place the rest of the chocolate in the hair applicator and draw lines on the tops of the cookies. If you don't have an applicator, then use a fork to drizzle the chocolate on top. Let set for a bit (cookies will taste just as good for a few days after you make them, so you can definitely make these in advance). Enjoy!


Yield: Makes 5-7 dozens, depending on your cookie size.