Channeling My Inner Girl Scout

What's your favorite kind of Girl Scout cookie?

Mine is definitely the classic shortbread cookie. There's something about those tasty treats that make my heart melt. A cookie that comes in a close second is the Samoas! They're a perfect blend of chocolate, coconut, and carmel. Yum yum in my tum.

While browsing Pinterest, I stumbled across a recipe for Homemade Girl Scout Cookies and knew I had to make them. I put on my apron and began measuring away. Needless to say, things got a little messy...

post lake swim

After having an audience while I whipped up these bars, I realized I have more similarities to the Swedish Chef that I originally thought. 

Back to the baking!

what your bars should look like...

With my two friends, Emily and Jolyn, at my side... I began this adventure. Let me just say, this was a multi-step process. Not as "quick" and "easy" as I anticipated. 

With this particular recipe you have to make time to cook the cookie base (yum) and crisp your coconut. That's roughly 40 minutes after preparing the batter. Of course, I hadn't read the entire recipe before hand so I wasn't aware of this. I tell my students to read the directions all the time, you would think I would take my own advice!

After our cookie base had been blobbed with carmel and coconut, I used my trusty pizza cutter to make bars. Then, we began dipping the bars in chocolate. Emily and I both managed to burn our fingers on the piping hot chocolate. So let this be a warning to you... anything you put in the microwave GETS REALLY HOT. (In case you didn't know that already...)

The end product was delicious! I highly recommend this recipe, but if I were to do this again I would take Martha's advice and cook them her way. 

Martha's Chocolate Coconut Bars

Ingredients

• 3 cups finely ground cookies (12 ounces), such as graham crackers or chocolate wafers, or a combination
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup pecan pieces
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly splash a 15-by-10-inch rimmed baking sheet evenly with water, then line with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, stir together cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter until combined. Evenly press onto bottom and up sides of prepared baking sheet. Bake, rotating halfway through, until firm, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool, about 20 minutes.
3. Sprinkle cooled crust evenly with pecans and chocolate. Pour condensed milk over the top, spreading to cover completely (do not let it drip over the edges). Sprinkle with coconut.
4. Bake until coconut is toasted, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely. Trim edges, if desired, and cut into equal-size bars.