Samoa Bars

 Every year, my husband's work does secret santa with the co-workers.  They do 3 different gifts, the first two are $5 each and the last one is $25.  We decided to do a treat for the first one.  One of the things he said he liked was Chocolate, so I went on a quest to find a delicious chocolate treat that would store well.  I found one that would be perfect at my friend Kadie's blog.  They did not disappoint.  I was glad I had to give them away!  Being pregnant does not bode well with eating extra holiday treats...you can't get rid of it!  I kept sneaking in little pieces that would break off, so I probably ate more than I thought.  Oh well.

I didn't change the recipe, except for the caramel layer.  I didn't have caramels, so I used good quality bottled caramel.  I think this made for a stickier bar, but did not affect the taste.  You could probably use either. 

Homemade Samoas Bars-barefoot and baking

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. 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, like wet sand. 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)
14-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 1/2 T milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a baking sheet and toast, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden and fragrant. Watch them closely so they do not burn. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and melt with milk and salt either in a sauce pan over low heat or in the microwave. I still used the milk and salt, even though I used the caramel sauce from the bottle. This may have added to the stickiness and slightly more runny texture.  It did not set or harden like I thought it would.  If I used bottled caramel next time, I would not add in the milk or salt, mostly for texture reasons. 

When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula. Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Spread into an even layer. I found that greasing my hands and pressing it down was the easiest. 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 or saucepan stirring often to avoid scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on 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.