These homemade girl scout cookies samoas bars are the perfect cookie substitute. So simple to make and packed full of coconut, caramel and chocolate flavor.
I love love love love girl scout cookies. I swear. I could eat a box at a time. I probably shouldn’t admit to that….
Anyway, now that we have established that I love girl scout cookies I’m also betting that there are others out there who love them as much as I do. My favorite one of their cookies is hands down the Samoas. They have such a delicious crunchy bottom topped with a chewy coconut topping. Plus not to mention the addition of chocolate…yum!
I have been eying Baking Bites homemade samoas bars recipe for over a year. I’m not sure why it took me so long to make these gems but I finally got around to it yesterday. Amazing. Horribly amazing. The reason I say “horribly” is because all I wanted to do was eat them last night. I had to stop myself at two and boxed the rest up for Mr.NN to take to work. I was not going to be left home with all those bars today….it would not have been good….
Homemade Samoas Bars
Ingredients
For Cookie Base:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For Topping:
- 3 cups shredded sweetened coconut
- 12 ounces chewy caramels unwrapped
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- 10 ounces dark chocolate chips
Instructions
For cookie crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan or line it with parchment paper.
- 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 the mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together.
- Pour crumbly dough into the prepared pan and press into an even layer.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the base, is set and the edges are lightly browned.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.
For topping:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the coconut is golden.
- Cool on the baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
- Unwrap the caramels and place them in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt.
- Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt.
- When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
- Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base.
- Using the spatula, spread the topping into an even layer. 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 the bars are cut, melt the 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 bar into the chocolate and place it 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 Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.
- Let the chocolate set completely before storing it in an airtight container.