d.i.y.: samoas

girl scout samoa cookies

Oh yes I did.

Samoas were tops on my “D.I.Y.” list – I freaking LOVE Samoas.

I always associate this time of year with Girl Scout cookies, so it seemed fitting to make them now.

Are you a Samoas fan? I always feel like I’m in the minority, totally outnumbered by team “Thin Mints”. But – eww – chocolate and mint? No thank you. I’m a Samoas girl through and through, and I was so excited to try these bad boys for myself!

And all I have to say is – Oh. My. God. What a royal pain they were to make.

girl scout samoa cookies

girl scout samoa cookies

Were they worth it? Totally.

Would I make them again?

Probably not.

Good thing that this recipe yielded plenty – so I’ve got a nice stash in the freezer.

girl scout samoa cookies

girl scout samoa cookies

And no end of Girl Scouts in my hood.

girl scout samoa cookies

Have you ever made your own Samoas?

baking tips and tricks
on weighing ingredients

Homemade Samoas
adapted from Instructables

Shortbread Cookies:
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. (100 g.) sugar
2 c. (10 oz.) all-purpose flour
1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 T. milk
1/2 t. vanilla extract

Topping:
3 c. (8 0z.) shredded unsweetened coconut (see Notes)
(2) 14-15 oz. bags soft caramels (see Notes)
6 T. milk
1/2 t. salt
12 oz. dark or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (or chips)

Make the cookies:
Pre-heat oven to 350. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper. Cream butter and sugar in mixer till light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides. Add flour, baking powder and salt and beat just till combined; scrape down the sides. Add milk and vanilla and beat just till dough comes together.

Divide the dough into two equal pieces; roll each half between two pieces of parchment paper to 1/8″ thick. Cut dough into 2″ circles (dipping your cutter in flour between cuts), following with a 1″ cutter to make holes in the centers. Freeze for at least 30 minutes.

Place one sheet of dough onto a cutting board – remove parchment paper. Using a thin spatula, carefully transfer cookies to your prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, till lightly browned around the edges. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Re-roll scraps until you’ve used up all of the dough. (see Notes)

Keep oven set to 350; line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Make the topping:
Spread the coconut onto your prepared baking sheet, and bake till golden brown, stirring occasionally once it begins to color. This can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, so it pays to watch carefully as coconut burns very quickly. Pour toasted coconut into a large bowl and set aside.

Place caramels, milk and salt in the top half of a double boiler set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir till caramels are smooth and melted. Pour one cup of caramel into a small bowl and add the remaining caramel to the coconut – stir till well combined.

Using an offset spatula, spread reserved caramel onto the tops of each cookie, then follow with a portion of the coconut-caramel mixture (see Notes). Let sit for 30 minutes. Clean and dry the bowl from your double boiler and fill with chopped chocolate.

Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Prepare a parchment cone and snip a small opening in the bottom.

Melt the chocolate over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring till smooth and melted. Dip the bottoms of the cookies in the chocolate and place on your prepared sheets. Pour the remaining chocolate into your parchment cone and drizzle over the tops of the cookies (see Notes). Refrigerate till chocolate is set.

Notes:
If you can’t find unsweetened coconut, don’t sweat it – sweetened is fine.

I know – you’re saying, “Sheri – didn’t you JUST make your own homemade caramels?” Why, yes I did. And they were a LOT of work. And I had no intention of melting them, mixing them with coconut and topping them with chocolate. These cookies were enough work as it is and the packaged caramels were perfect, thank you very much.

I got almost five dozen cookies from this recipe – as the topping only covers about 48, you will have leftover “naked” cookies – which you can use as you see fit. They freeze beautifully if you want to save them for another time. They’re delicious.

The extra step of spreading the plain melted caramel on the cookies prior to adding the coconut is an important one. The coconut topping will not – I repeat, WILL NOT – adhere to the cookie otherwise. Props to Just a Taste for this genius tip.

If you don’t want to make a parchment cone, you can use a spoon or fork to drizzle the chocolate. Alternatively, you can transfer the chocolate to a heavy duty ziploc bag and snip a tiny opening in the corner.

(print this recipe)


This delicious recipe brought to you by Sheri Silver
https://sherisilver.com/2013/04/29/d-i-y-samoas/

20 Comments

  1. Jennifer Cullen on April 29, 2013 at 7:40 am

    Insanity! These look amazing. Even though I’m a thin mint girl.

    • sherisilver on April 29, 2013 at 8:22 am

      Thin Mints? Is this the great divide for us? 😉

      • Jennifer Cullen on April 29, 2013 at 11:07 am

        Definitely not! If you made some Samoas for me, I would happily indulge. XO.

        • sherisilver on April 29, 2013 at 1:33 pm

          A true friend indeed….xo

  2. Melanie on April 29, 2013 at 7:43 am

    I love Samoas and Tagalongs. I’m so with you on chocolate and mint-would only eat in a chocolate emergency. These look amazing.

    • sherisilver on April 29, 2013 at 8:21 am

      A chocolate emergency – love that! Thank you! xo

  3. Marcie Cuff on April 29, 2013 at 8:29 am

    No. Way.
    You totally rock!

    • sherisilver on April 29, 2013 at 8:56 am

      Blushing; thank you! xo

  4. Anne on April 29, 2013 at 10:02 am

    Impressive. Go team Samoas.

    • sherisilver on April 29, 2013 at 1:33 pm

      Yes! 🙂

  5. Drew on April 29, 2013 at 2:19 pm

    Can’t we all just get along?!

    These look awesome, Sheri. And thank you for confirming my suspicion: they seem like they’d be more trouble to make than I’m willing to tolerate. You did a fantastic job and I envy your family’s access to your larder.

    • sherisilver on April 29, 2013 at 2:48 pm

      🙂 Thanks Drew – from what Melanie tells us it seems like you do your fair share too!

  6. Rebecca on April 29, 2013 at 4:59 pm

    THESE look fabulous. So very yummy {and I chuckled to myself (because I always make myself laugh) that perhaps you were the girl scouts were sponsoring you haha re: your post last week about sponsorship}.

    have a great monday

    xo

    • sherisilver on April 29, 2013 at 5:08 pm

      Ha! Could you imagine? 🙂 Thanks so much Rebecca! xo

      • Rebecca on April 29, 2013 at 5:23 pm

        Ha! I guess I should proofread my comments. Oh my! that was totally readable so I am glad you at least got the jist of it! xo

        • sherisilver on April 29, 2013 at 7:31 pm

          Loud and clear! 😉

  7. Bon @ A Golden Afternoon on April 30, 2013 at 7:16 pm

    YUUUUM!! I’ve been wanting to make these for so long! Love your pictures!

    • sherisilver on April 30, 2013 at 7:38 pm

      Wow! Thanks so much! 🙂

  8. Lauren on July 14, 2017 at 1:04 pm

    Tried it and the cookie came up super dry. Tried it again and it was the same. dry.
    Anything i can do to prevent that?

    • sherisilver on July 14, 2017 at 3:22 pm

      I’m surprised – that’s my tried-and-true shortbread recipe which – at 2 sticks of butter – is always very tender! Did you make any changes to the ingredients?

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