Secret Recipe Club: Samoa Bars

Confession: I was assigned Ewa's blog Delishhh for the Secret Recipe Club this month and I spent more time looking at the pictures than reading the actual recipes.  The pictures are so gorgeous and in all honesty, my pictures don't even do this dessert justice, so please go to her blog and eat with your eyes.  You'll thank me for telling you to go there.

This month, while I was looking at Ewa's pictures, I had a hard time deciding.  Ewa has a passion for healthy, simple, delicious, and fun recipes.  While I set out to find a healthy and simple recipe, I ended up getting hooked on a delicious and fun one.

In my mind, the problem with Girl Scout Cookies is that they are only available at certain times of the year. Sometimes you just have a day where you really need those delicious cookies, and they are totally out of season.  I honestly had that kind of month where I needed BOXES of those cookies, so these Samoa Bars were screaming at me.  I know, I know, it isn't Girl Scout season.  Actually it is about 6 months from Girl Scout season.  Luckily, the Keebler Elves saved my life and provided me with Coconut Dreams (aka Samoas) and Sandies (aka Trefoils or however you spell them).

Samoa Bars
barely adapted  from Delishhh
Ingredients
Crust
4 tablespoons of melted butter
1 box (9 oz) of shortbread cookies

Filling
2 boxes of Samoa Girl Scout cookies (or Coconut Dreams from Keebler)
16 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup jarred caramel sauce


Directions
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease a 9 by 9 baking pan.  Line the pan with parchment paper, allowing the excess to hang over the sides of the pan.
2) For the crust: Pulse the shortbread cookies in a food processor until the cookies resemble the texture of bread crumbs.  Melt the better, and pulse with the crumbs to incorporate.  Press the mixture into the baking pan and bake for 12 minutes until golden brown.
3) Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl by microwaving for 30-second increments and stirring after each increment, until completely melted.
4) Pour the chocolate on the shortbread crust, reserving 2 tablespoons.
5) Pulse coconut cookie until they are 1/2 inch pieces.  Press Samoas on top of the chocolate layer.
6) Sprinkle coconut on top of the cookie layer, and then layer caramel sauce and chocolate drizzle.
7) Refrigerate 30 minutes to set.

These bars are incredible.  Ewa has a recipe for caramel on her blog, but mine turned out horribly wrong and I ended up having to cheat and use the jarred caramel.  I love how these bars have Samoa cookies in them, but then the bar themselves is a bar-like form of the cookie.  These are definitely fun and delicious.  I can't wait to try them with the real Girl Scout Cookies.  Check out what all the other swap participants made for this swap.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

Growing up, I hated pretzels.  I just couldn't get over the dryness of them.  Recently, I've started loving them.  I love dipping them in peanut butter as a snack.  Since I'm going through a pretzel phase, I thought it would be fun to bake with them.  I found these on Pinterest and they had peanut butter and pretzels, so I knew they would be perfect.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars
from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice
Ingredients

Crust

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup ground pretzels (measure after crushing)

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

Filling

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup coarsely chopped pretzels, for topping

  

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9" x 13" baking pan with parchment, leaving long ends to use to remove the bars from the pan.

2) To make the crust:  Whisk together the flour, ground pretzels and sugar until well combined. Mix in the melted butter using your fingers to evenly distribute it. You should have a soft but not wet dough.

3) Press the dough evenly into the pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. While the crust cooks make the filling.

4) To make the filling: Using a microwave melt the chocolate chips, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth and creamy. Add the peanut butter and stir until well combined and smooth.

5) Pour the filling over the warm crust and spread out evenly. Tap the pan on the counter to allow air bubbles to escape.

6) Press pretzels (either crushed or whole) down so that they stick into the chocolate. 

7) Chill in the freezer for 1 hour. Use the parchment to lift the bars out of the pan onto a cutting board. Use a large chef's knife to slice into squares or bars. Serve frozen, chilled or at room temperature.

 

 I took these to a get together and everyone broke into them before the main course was even ready.  Everyone was so surprised how good they were, definitely an amazing dessert for the amount of time that it takes to get it together.  To me, this dessert was the perfect blend of sweet and salty.  The crust is kind of crumbly, so definitely eat these over a napkin or plate.