Samoa Cookie Dough Bars

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A Samoa inspired cookie dough bar with a layer of Oreo cookies crumb, coconut and caramel, cookie dough and chocolate ganache.

I have been keeping a huge secret, only it’s not such a secret as I have told a number of my friends. I can finally tell all of you that my mom is packing up her life in Vermont and moving to Colorado in two weeks! This plan has been in the works for a while but I couldn’t just go shouting my excitement to the world because she had to finalize all her plans.

I have mixed emotions. I am SO excited that she will be 2000 miles closer and only a 2 hour plane ride away. However, I love her house in Vermont, and I am sad to see it on the market. She gave us the option to keep it, but all of us agreed it would be better to sell it.

My mom’s house was a total hangout spot. The street was constantly lined with cars in high school, she hosted a fair share of team dinners and she has done several wonderful upgrades. I will miss that house for sure. I am so proud of what she has built for herself and that she is letting go and moving onto the next part of her life!

Since I can’t be there to toast with a glass of wine, I will celebrate with these Samoa Cookie Dough Bars. It’s always a good time for Samoa desserts. These bars have a layer of chocolate cookie on the bottom, toasted coconut and caramel, cookie dough and a layer of chocolate ganache, all topped with more toasted coconut. It’s kind of the mother of all cookie dough bars.

It’s crazy how much cookie dough I can eat. I mean seriously, it shouldn’t be humanly possible. This is the third of my cookie dough bars, previously I did Funfetti Cookie Dough Bars and Circus Animal Cookie Dough Bars. Heck, I even did Espresso Chip Cookie Dough Bars! This one though is full of plenty of chocolate for you!

It has all of your favorite elements of Samoas. I choose to do an Oreo crumb base on the these bars, but you could also use a traditional shortbread crust. This layer is somewhat optional, but I like to have the cookie on the bottom. If you build it without the Oreos, then I would suggest to go: Cookie dough, caramel and coconut and then the ganache on top. You do not want the caramel layer on the bottom.

A few notes about this recipe. If you are serving on the same day, there is no need to refrigerate. Otherwise, I would suggest refrigerating overnight. You will want to remove it from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving. The caramel will get firm and needs to come back to room temperature to cut through. As always, when working with caramel, be very careful, because it’s super hot!

Samoa Cookie Dough Bars

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes

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Description

A Samoa inspired cookie dough bar with a layer of Oreo cookies crumb, coconut and caramel, cookie dough and chocolate ganache.

Ingredients

• 3 C Shredded Coconut
• 1 1/2 C Oreo Cookie Crumbs
• 5 tbsp Unsalted butter
• 11 oz Kraft caramels
• 2 tbsp Milk

For the Cookie Dough

• 1 C Unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
• 1 C Granulated sugar
• 3/4 C Light brown sugar
• 2 1/4 C All-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 3 tbsp Milk
• 1 tbsp Pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 C Mini chocolate chips

For the ganache

• 11 oz Dark chocolate chips
• 6 tbsp Heavy cream

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Spread shredded coconut on a cookie sheet lined with a baking mat or parchment paper.
2. Bake coconut until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. You may want to turn the coconut halfway through cooking to prevent one side from burning. Remove from oven and set aside.
3. Remove filling from Oreos, about 20 pc. Use a food processor to grind up cookies into a fine crumb.
4. Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl and pour melted butter over Oreo crumbs. Stir to combine butter into crumbs.
5. Line a 9×9” pan with parchment paper or tin foil, ensuring the liner comes over the sides of the dish. Press Oreo crumbs into the baking sheet.
6. In a medium sauce pan, unwrap caramels and combine caramels with milk. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally until fully melted. Caution, caramel is HOT.
7. Add 2 cups of toasted coconut to the melted caramel and stir until fully combined. Pour caramel mixture over Oreo crumbs and pat down with a spatula.

For the cookie dough

1. Allow butter to come to room temperature.
2. Combine butter and both sugars in a medium-sized bowl. Mix with a handheld mixer until smooth. All chunks of sugar and butter should be broken up.
3. Add flour and salt. Mix just until combined. Mixture will be crumbly.
4. Add vanilla extract and milk. Mix until dough is soft. Stir in mini chocolate chips.
5. Press dough over caramels.

For the ganache

1. In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate chips with heavy cream. Microwave on high for 90 seconds. Remove bowl from microwave (careful, it’s hot!). Whisk together until chocolate starts to melt.
2. Pour melted chocolate over top of cookie dough.
3. Top with remaining 1 cup of shredded coconut.

Notes

If you are serving the same day, there is no need to refrigerate. Otherwise I would suggest to refrigerate overnight. You will want to remove from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving. Caramel will get firm and needs to come back to room temperature to cut through.