Recent Recipe Review - Samoa Bark

It's no secret that I ADORE pinterest (see?!), even more than those Samoa Girl Scout cookies that I've loved since my super-chunk childhood. Judging by the number of Samoa cookie (or the PC term, eh-hem "Coconut De-lites" - if I were Samoan, I wouldn't care that such a delicious cookie was named after me!!) re-makes and adaptations on Pinterest, I'm not alone in my love of caramel-coconut love.

I pinned this recipe for Samoa Bark a couple weeks ago (originally from here). I tweaked it a bit to fit my budget and 8x8 pan size - my mods are in parenthesis.

SAMOA BARK

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate + 2 oz for drizzle {3/4 of a bag of chocolate chips total, which was way too much chocolate for my liking, though Vic went crazy for it!}

35-40 shortbread cookies {Half a bag of Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookies}

14 oz bag of caramels {1/2-3/4 bag of Kraft's caramel bits}

3 cups sweetened flaked coconut {1.5c}

3 Tbsp water {1.5tbsp}

1. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set aside.
2. Melt 12 oz of semi-sweet chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. {I microwaved}.
3. Spread the melted chocolate to your desired thickness. {I wish I had gone thin-ish}.
4. Top your warm chocolate evenly with your shortbread cookies.
5. Place baking sheet in freezer while you do the next steps. {I let it sit overnight}
6. In a non-stick skillet on medium-low heat, toast your coconut, stirring occasionally. This will take about 10 minutes or so, but be watchful because once it starts to brown it happens quickly and you do not want to burn the coconut! When the coconut is toasted, set aside.
7. Meanwhile unwrap all your caramels and place them in a medium saucepan along with 2 Tbsp of water over medium-low heat. {I microwaved the caramel bits 30 seconds at a time}
8. Stir continuously until the caramel has JUST melted. You don’t want to over heat the caramel, as it will make it hard. Immediately fold in your toasted coconut.
9. Remove your chocolate from the freezer and spread the caramel/coconut evenly on top.
10. Melt your remaining 2 oz of chocolate using whatever melting process you prefer and drizzle over the top of the caramel/coconut.
11. Put back in the freezer for 5 minutes to set the chocolate.
12. Cut and enjoy!

I thought this was a great recipe, and not time consuming at all. However, I made the chocolate base way to thick and therefore the semi-sweet chocolate taste was overwhelming to me (I couldn't really taste the coconut/caramel).

I recommend storing these in the fridge until you are ready to serve them - the chocolate is very, very melt-y (you will get chocolatey hands while eating). Vic had chocolate on the side of his thumb - I warned him of it, and as he went to lick it off, I said "Is it chocolate or poop?" Name that movie ;-)