Girl Scout Cookies: Homemade Samoas

It’s that wonderful time of year when the Girl Scouts are on every corner selling those delicious Girl Scout Cookies that we all know and love. I promised myself that i wouldn’t buy a box this year because I’m trying to be “good”…and because I have no restraint and can eat a box of Thin Mints in a day. Gosh.

So, basically I decided to go around the fact that I wasn’t going to buy a box and decided to make my own! 🙂

I decided to make some Samoas and holy cow, they came out even better than the ones I’d buy from the Girl Scouts (sorry, girlies). My Samoas were practically on steroids because they were so big but hey, they were SO good.

Here’s the recipe:

For the shortbread cookies:
2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the coconut topping:
3 cups shredded sweetened coconut
15 ounces caramels (I just bought 2 packages of Werther’s Soft Caramels and it was the perfect amount)
3 Tablespoons milk
1/2 package of chocolate almond bark

The How-To: To make the cookies, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract. Finally, add all of the dry ingredients until the dough forms in the bowl. It will be very sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and then place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. After the dough has chilled, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch and cut the dough using two circle cookie cutters, one smaller than the first to make a “donut” shape. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. The cookies will be lightly golden brown. Let cool and off to make to coconut caramel topping!

In a large pan, toast the coconut for 5-7 minutes over medium heat until the coconut becomes *lightly* browned. This step will make your house smell so good but make sure the coconut doesn’t burn! While toasting the coconut, melt the caramels with 3 tablespoons of milk. Once melted, pour over the coconut and mix together until combined.

Okay, now for assembly. Using a spoon, get the coconut/caramel topping and spread it over the top of the cookie. The mixture is quite sticky and will adhere to the cooled cookie easily. Do this for all the cookies. Then, melt the chocolate bark in the microwave. Spread the cookies out on parchment paper and then dip the bottom of each cookie into the melted chocolate. Then, place the chocolate-covered cookies on the parchment paper and let sit until the chocolate hardens. With the excess chocolate, place it in a plastic bag and then snip the tip of the bag so the chocolate can come out. Drizzle the cookies with the chocolate and voila! Homemade Samoas that everyone will LOVE.

I was never a Girl Scout when I was younger but I’d say I deserve some type of badge for this right???

Brinkles Sprinkles

Hello Dolly Pie

You’re probably thinking, “Brinkley, Thanksgiving was this past week, I can’t even think about food and desserts anymore! I’m still so full!” Ha! Well I am somewhat thinking that too but oh well, this recipe is too good not to post!

I call it the Hello Dolly Pie because it has all the ingredients of a Hello Dolly Bar (who would’ve thought!). Some of you might shy away from this because it has coconut on it…let me tell you something, a little disclaimer of sorts: I don’t like coconut but for some reason, on this pie, it just adds the best finishing touch! So, don’t be scared if you don’t like coconut! It’s so yummy!

Selfie with my uncooked pie from Snapchat, hope it made you laugh!

It starts with a simple pecan pie filling:

Filling:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Topping:

2 cups chopped pecans
1 1/2 cup shaved coconut
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Pie Crust:

I used a ready made pie crust from the frozen department at the grocery store because I didn’t have time to make one myself!

The How-To:

In bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Stir until fully combined and then add the vanilla. Set the mixture aside to cool slightly. Whisk the beaten eggs into the filling until smooth after the filling has cooled a bit (If you don’t let the batter cool and you add the eggs to soon, you might have a case of scrambled eggs…I don’t think you want that). Pour the batter into a cooked pie crust. Top the batter with the chopped pecans, coconut, and chocolate chips! Bake at 375 degrees for 75 minutes or until the batter doesn’t “wiggle” in the middle. The filling and toppings should be firm. (I’m sorry, I know this isn’t very technical…). If the crust begins to brown too much, just cover the pie in foil so it won’t burn! After fully baked, let the pie cool for an hour and then cut and serve! It’s a crowd pleaser, I promise.

Brinkles Sprinkles