Samoas Girl Scout Cookies
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 60 minutes plus resting time
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients Needed
For Shortcrust base
- 100g/3.5ozs. butter, cold, cubed
- 125g/4ozs. plain all purpose flour (plus extra for rolling)
- 28ml/1floz. ice water
- Pinch of salt
For Caramel Coconut Filling and Chocolate Dip
- 140g/5ozs. shredded coconut
- 220g/7.8ozs. Werther's chewy toffees
- 1.5 tablespoons cream or milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- 240g/8.5ozs. dark chocolate
Step-By-Step Cooking Instructions
Making the Cookie Base
Step 1 - Place the butter and flour in a food processor and process until it resembles fine sand. Then Add the water and salt and pulse quickly until it starts to come together. Roll out onto a floured surface and knead until it becomes a cohesive dough. You may need to add a little more flour or water. Rest for 1 hour.
Step 2 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F and line 2 baking trays with parchment. Flour a board and roll out dough. I find it easier to divide the dough in half and do it in two lots. Cut with a small round cutter around 5cms/2inches and cut out a small hole in the centre (I used a bubble or boba tea metal straw). Gently lift onto the parchment and then refrigerate for 45 minutes. Then bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden. Cool completely.
Making the Coconut Caramel Filling
Step 3 - Make the coconut filling. Preheat oven to 180C/350F and spread the coconut out on a large parchment lined tray. Bake for 8-9 minutes tossing the coconut gently halfway so that it is evenly baked. Cool for 5 minutes and then crumble into small pieces with your hands.
Step 4 - Remove the caramels from the wrappers and place in a large microwave proof bowl. Add the cream or milk and heat for 1 minute on high power. Stir to combine and then microwave again in 30 second bursts until the caramels have completely melted and you can stir it to make a smooth caramel. Add the coconut, vanilla and salt and stir to combine.
Assembly and Chocolate Coating
Step 5 - Use a small spoon or palette knife and place the coconut caramel on top of each cookie. I used a chopstick to poke a hole in the coconut for the centre hole. Refrigerate until firm.
Step 6 - Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave and stir until smooth. Using a chopstick in the hole fish a cookie and dip the bottom into the chocolate and place on a parchment lined tray. Place the remaining chocolate in a small piping bag and pipe stripes of chocolate on top of the cookies. Allow the chocolate to set. Store in an airtight container in the fridge (these are shelf stable for a week if they last that long!).
Personal Note
Speaking of mysteries, my true crime listenership has gone up exponentially during the last few months. A lot of my friends and I love reading and listening to true crime books and podcasts. Women in particular are said to be big fans of true crime.
I like reading about people that survive crimes because I like to learn tips on how to survive. They're also like puzzles, that you try and solve, perhaps with trying to understand human nature which is something that many women are particularly skilled at.
That got me to thinking about my favourite true crime mysteries. One day I'd love to know about what happened to Elisa Lam. She is the woman who was found drowned in the water tower at The Cecil hotel in Los Angeles. There is some eerie footage of her taken in the elevator where she looks like she is being chased or is scared of someone.
I'd also love confirmation on Jon Benet's murderer and who murdered Abby Williams and Libby German, the two girls who posted some grainy footage on Snapchat of a man walking towards them on the railway tracks just before their bodies were found. And of course I'd love to know the classics like Jack the Ripper and Zodiac killer. So many mysteries to solve but I promise this Samoas cookie is one less mystery to solve!
So tell me Dear Reader, are you obsessed with true crime? What mysteries would you love solved? Have you ever tried a Samoa cookie?