Homemade Samoas Cookies

 

Samoas Girl Scout cookies have always been my favorite. I only bought one box this year and they are already gone. So over the weekend I decided to make my own Samoas cookies. The apartment smelled like caramel all weekend.

Homemade Samoas Cookies
Toasted Coconut
1 bag sweetened coconut, toasted
 • place coconut on a baking sheet and bake at 325degrees until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Be sure to stir the coconut half way through. 
     
Scottish Shortbread Cookies
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter
1 tablespoons vanilla
2 cups flour
• Place butter and powdered sugar in a bowl and beat until it is light and creamy. Add vanilla and beat until well combined. Add flour and beat until combined. Place dough in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes or overnight.
• Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Using a round cookie cutter stamp out your cookies. You can even stamp out the centers if you wish. Place your cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Bake 10-12 minutes and cool on a wire rack.

Great Grandma's Homemade Caramel 
4 tablespoons salted butter, more for greasing your pan
1.5 cups heavy cream
2 cups sugar
1/2 cups corn syrup
pinch of salt
1.5 teaspoonsvanilla extract

• Grease a 9 inch square glass baking pan with butter.
• Combine all ingredients except vanilla in a LARGE saucepan over medium low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves.
• Continue to mix until the candy thermometer reads 235 degrees.
• When it reaches 235 degrees stir in the vanilla and pour into prepared pan.

Assembly
• Spread some caramel on the tops of each of your cookies. This helps the caramel coconut mixture adhere quickly to the cookie.
• Mix the rest of your caramel as well as your coconut together. Spread this onto each of your cookies.
• Let cool for 30 minutes, before you dip the bottoms in chocolate (I didn't do this because I do not like chocolate) and strip the top.

Shortcuts
•Instead of making your own shortbread cookies, buy your favorite shortbread cookies such a Lorna Doones.
• Instead of making your own caramel buy caramel apple dip.