Samoa Bars

By LKovac

Ingredients

• Cookie Base:
• ½ cup sugar ¾ cup butter, softened
• 1 large egg ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour ¼ teaspoon salt
• Topping:
• 3 cups shredded coconut 12-oz chewy caramels
• ¼ teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons milk
• 10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 9x13- inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.

2. 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.

3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping


4. Preheat oven to 300°F. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

5. Place caramels in microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with spatula.

6. Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled then cut into bars.

7. Melt chocolate in small bowl. Heat on high in microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring each time. Dip base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a piece of parchment or wax paper. Put remaining chocolate in Ziploc with a corner snipped to drizzle top of the bars.