When All Else Fails... Make Up A New Recipe

 EPIC FAIL =(

Not gonna lie... I'm pretty bummed right now. I was SUPER excited for my first Sweet Saturday and found an AMAZING recipe that I couldn't wait to try out! I came across this awesome website, Stumble Upon and I LOVE it! I have already printed of a few recipes that I cant wait to try out! This was one of them...

The plan was to make Samoas, you know, the girl scout cookie that everyone loves! I was so excited when I found the recipe! If you dont know about StumbleUpon.com you need to check it out, it basically goes off of your interests and directs you to different websites and blogs.
 The Recipe is from Once Upon A Plate: This is the actual recipe in whole from the blog-

Please NOTE:  

I don't want you to be disappointed.

If you are of the 'slice and bake' cookie mind, making these cookies might not be for you.   

This type of cookie does take time and a bit of effort.  Some may call them tedious to make ... I call them WORTH it. 

But that's just me.   :)  

You decide.

Cookies ~ Homemade Samoas

(also known as Caramel de-Lites)

Makes about 3 1/2 to 4 dozen

The cookies involve four steps: 

1. Make the cookie Base

2. Top with Caramel-Coconut mixture

3. Dip bottom of cookies in melted chocolate

4. Drizzle tops with melted chocolate

The Cookie (base):

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

up to 2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, next, the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk only as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (you may not need any at all). The dough should come together into a soft, pliable ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough seems sticky.

It's easiest to roll the dough out in 2 or 3 batches (between pieces of wax (or parchment) paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or a little thinner) using a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to make rounds. Place on a parchment lined (or on silicone mat) baking sheet and make a hole in the center. I used the small end of a large round piping tip. Nicole comments that you can use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat until the dough is used up (it's okay to re-roll, this dough is shortbread-like and very forgiving.)

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are very lightly golden brown around the edges.

Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, to allow them to firm up slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Topping:

3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

12-ounces good-quality chewy caramels

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons milk

8 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips will do)

(If you prefer milk chocolate, by all means use that.)

My notes: The caramel-coconut mixture is quite sweet, so I used Bittersweet chocolate to balance the sweetness bit.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (F)

Spread coconut evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Watch carefully, especially near the end of toasting time; the coconut toasts very quickly once it begins to become golden.

Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.

Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 teaspoons per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it begins to firm up, to make it soft and spreadable once again.

While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. (I melted mine stovetop using double boiler method.) Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper (I used silicone baking mats instead). Transfer all remaining chocolate into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate. (Melt a bit of additional chocolate, if there is not quite enough for each cookie.)

Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

I printed of the recipe, went to the store to buy all of the ingredients, and got home and started. It started off so easy! The cookies are a breeze to make. The trouble started and ended with the caramel. I burnt it. Sadly I didn't have enough caramel to try again so that part was hosed. 
 Picture of my beautiful (insert sarcasm here) caramel coconut mix below. 

 

Looks pretty doesnt it! ... OR more like someone took a crap in my mixing bowl.

So here I have 2 dozen naked shortbread style cookies and no topping for them. Then LIGHT BULB I realized hey I still have the chocolate and most of my toasted coconut. So I decided rather then waste money and a TON of time spent I would just dip the cookies in the chocolate and sprinkle the coconut on top of half of them (in case any of my primary kids have a coconut allergy.) I bought two different types of chocolate chips, semi-sweet and dark chocolate. So I dipped them in the semi-sweet, and pipped the dark on top.. Not sure if it made any difference. Honestly I'm not sure if they're any good. They're still cooling right now and I'm just too tired and too bummed to try them out. Hopefully my primary kids like them.

Pictures of my new Fail Cookies... Yeah... thats a good name for them :)

with coconut

without coconut

Will I try it again? Probably, but for now I will probably stick to easier recipes until I get the hang of being in the kitchen.

Soo needless to say dinner tonight didn't happen. My sweet (and starving by that time) husband offered to run to Costa Vida to get some dinner. He brought back my favorite dish Mango Chicken Salad (one day I will get that mango salsa recipe). Such a sweet husband.

Thanks again for checking back! I'll let you know tomorrow how my primary kids liked them. Don't forget tomorrow is Sneak Peak Sunday! (or Sunday Sample... Which sounds better to you?) But honestly guys, I'm feeling pretty darn discouraged right now... I dont like to fail at things... This is why surfing doesn't happen for me. I need some words of encouragement.

Until Tomorrow