In honor of Girl Scout Cookie month....

I must tell you that I have found this wonderful new website called Pinterest. I love this site! It allows me to dream, express myself, and encourages my creative side. A little secret...I am addicted. As I was "pinning" as they call it, I came across this recipe for Homemade Samoas recipe from www.bakingbites.com. I have always been a fan of the Girl Scout cookies, especially the thin mints. They are awesome frozen and summer time is the best time to eat them. Oh, I should get back to the Samoas. These are another favorite of mine. So I decided to try the recipe. They were very easy to make and even better to eat!

Homemade Samoas Bars

Cookie Base:

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

First, make the crust.Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line 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 mixture is crumbly. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer.Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping

3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz chewy caramels (1 1/2 cup melted)
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. semisweet chocolate chips (1 1/4 cup)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place 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 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 bars are cut, melt 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 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 chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 30 bar cookies.

So Yummy, everyone enjoyed them! One more thing Pinterest is a bakers dream. It has a ton of recipes and this is only the beginning. Happy baking!