Make Your Own Girl Scout Cookies (Samoas/Caramel deLites)!

So, here's the problem.

I work out. I run. I want to be reasonably thin.

...then I make things like these cookies. Yeah. Uh huh.

It's ok. I want to eat these cookies more than I want to be thin.

Do you see what I mean?

Here's what you need:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups flour
• 3 cups coconut
• 12 oz caramels (I just used the whole bag, 14 oz)
• 3 Tb milk
• 1/4 tsp salt (again, for the caramel)
• 1 pkg semi sweet chocolate chips

First, you're going to toast the coconut. Spread it out on a foil covered, lightly sprayed with Pam, baking sheet. Stick it in the oven at 300 for about 25 minutes, stirring every 5 until it's slightly golden. While you're waiting for the coconut, unwrap all of the caramels and put them in a large microwave safe bowl. (You want the bowl large enough to accommodate the coconut too, you're going to mix them in that bowl later)

You're kids are going to sneak a caramel. Let them take one, but then get all outraged when they go for a second.

Ok, now the coconut's done! Set it aside to cool. Now you're going to make up the shortbread. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan. Then, beat the 3/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup sugar together until fluffy. Then add the egg, and the 1/2 tsp vanilla and beat up again until fluffy:

Then mix the flour and salt in, just until blended.

Then pat this into a 9x13 pan

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until the edges are light gold and the middle is set:

Now the crust thingy has to cool. Then once it's cool, you need to add the 3 Tb milk and 1/4 tsp salt to the caramels and microwave them to melt.

It takes about 3 minutes, so heat for 1.5 minutes, stir, then another 1.5. It should be smooth.

Then, stir in the coconut:

Then, glob it over the crust, then spread it out so it's smooth. This takes a little while, you have to work to get it spread evenly, it is thick:

Then cut it into bars. I did 24 bars.

Now, take 3/4 or so of the bag of chips and put them in another microwavable bowl. Melt them, heating for 30 seconds at  a time and stirring to make sure they don't scorch:

Then, let your kid lick the beater, because he finished his spelling lesson:

Now, you're going to lay out some wax paper to set the cookies on when you're done dipping them. I didn't put the wax paper on a cookie sheet, so I had to sort of slide a cookie sheet under the wax paper to set the cookies in the fridge. The chocolate was taking too long to set and we wanted to sample.....

Then, dip the bottom of the cookies in the melted chocolate. This is a messy, but fun job. Plop them down onto the wax paper:

Then stick the rest of the chocolate chips in a Ziploc baggie and microwave them for like 30 or 45 seconds and goosh them around to make sure they're melted. Then, snip a tiny corner off the Ziploc and drizzle chocolate stripes over the tops of each cookie:

Note the obligatory appearance of the toe thumb:

I popped them in the fridge for like half an hour:

Then to store them, put them in Tupperware with wax paper between the layers.

These would make an awesome gift, in a nicely decorated candy box or Tupperware. Or they would made a good midnight snack. Or a good breakfast.

See?? They're really so versatile! And they REALLY taste just like the girl scout cookies that you can buy! Only better, because you can cut the bars really big and say you just had one!! ;)

I got this recipe from Baking Bites . She had directions on how to shape actual cookies, instead of bars, but it was waaaaay too labor-intensive for me, and these taste the same, so I went with the bars.

Happy baking! (Happy eating!) 

DINNER TONIGHT:

(Rock Band Party with friends!!!)

Spaghetti and French Bread (me)

Various sides and desserts (the friends)