Vegan Samoas/Caramel deLites

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person who does not look forward to Girl Scout Cookie-Selling Time. While everyone is raving about how he/she would sacrifice his/her first born child for a Tagalog, I'm sitting there munching on the Lemonades. Don't get me wrong, I'm appreciative that they have some vegan options at all, but those lemon shortbread cookies are a far cry from the others that are smothered in caramel, chocolate, coconut, mint, and peanut butter goodness.

In honor of Girl Scout Leader Appreciation Day today, and because I wanted to see if I could tackle these coconutty, caramely, chocolatey creations, I bring to you Vegan Samoas a.k.a Caramel deLites. 

I also wrote a post over at Joonbug.com about these. The recipe is exactly the same, but I've included more pictures here, because like my mama always said, they're not going to buy the cow if they can get the milk for free. That saying's applicable here, right?


Vegan Samoas/Caramel deLites

Ingredients


Shortbread Cookies:

1 cup soy butter (such as Earth Balance Original Spread)

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons soy milk


Coconut, Caramel, Chocolate Topping:

3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted

15-oz soft vegan caramels, or make your own

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons soy milk

8 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate


Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Mix together the soy butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).

In a separate bowl, combine together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar.

At a low speed add the soy milk and vanilla. 

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or in a Tupperware container. Refrigerate until the dough is as firm as a stick of butter (at least 1 hour and up to overnight).

While the cookie dough is in the refrigerator, toast the shredded coconut on a baking sheet for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring frequently.

Once the dough is as firm as a stick of butter, remove from the refrigerator while the coconut cools.

Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface (don't be afraid to use too much flour).

Cut out your desired shapes with a biscuit cutter, or two different-sized round cutters to make a donut shape. Or do what I did and use a glass to make the outer circle and a knife to jaggedly cut the inner.

Place the cut-out cookies on an un-greased baking sheet for 5-6 minutes then rotate the cookie sheet 180 degrees and bake for another 5-6 minutes. 

As the cookies are baking. Place the caramel, soy milk, and salt in a microwavable bowl and microwave for 1 minute, stir, then microwave for another minute, and repeat until the mixture is melted. Or you can place in a saucepan and heat on the stove over low heat until melted.

Stir the toasted coconuts into the caramel mixture.

Using a knife, spread the caramel mixture on top of the baked cookies.

Lay out a sheet of waxed paper for the cookies to sit on once they have been dipped in chocolate.

Chop up the chocolate and melt in the microwave for 1 minute, or until melted, or you can melt over a double-broiler on the stove.

Dip the bottoms of the cookies into the chocolate and place on waxed paper.

Using the remaining melted chocolate to drizzle stripes over the cookies.

Store in an air-tight container and enjoy!

Also, if you're interested in trying to make some of the other kinds of Girl Scout Cookies here are some suggestions:

Tagalogs: Use the same shortbread cookie recipe as above except just make circles, not donuts. Then pile on the peanut butter filling recipe from my Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups and dip in chocolate.

Thin Mints: Check out Chef Chloe's website for a delicious looking recipe and a pretty adorable picture of her as a kid.