Samoas Bars

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Hubby loves girl scout cookies. Specifically Samoas. I grew up in the Midwest, and we always called them Caramel Delights. Whatever you call them, everyone loves them. I saw this recipe come up and I knew I had to make these.

These bars do take a little bit of time because each step requires some wait time before you can move on to the next step. In the end, they’re definitely worth the effort. Hubby did comment that the cookie part tasted a bit off. I think there’s just a higher ratio of the cookie part than in the girl scout version.

Homemade Samoas Bars – from Baking Bites – makes 30 barsCookie Base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

First, make the crust.

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping:
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened) – I used sweetened
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels – I used the Kraft caramel bits
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is 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.

Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.

When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter.

Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper – I used a spoon to spread some melted chocolate on the bottom of each bar. I then laid them chocolate side up to set the chocolate.

Transfer all remaining chocolate into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.

Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 30 bar cookies.

Bars and Brownies, Dessert

14 comments »

18 Responses to “Tunnel of Fudge Cake”

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1

vanillasugarblog — February 8, 2014 at 11:54 am
this cake screams a lot of things!
eat me comes to my mind!
lol
- beantownbaker — February 8th, 2014 @ 11:57 am
  
  It does definitely scream that 🙂
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2

Aimee — February 9, 2014 at 7:14 am
Gorgeous Bundt, Jen! It looks amazing. Love the butter and cocoa tip and the raspberries!
- beantownbaker — February 9th, 2014 @ 8:58 pm
  
  Thanks 🙂
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3

Tracy | Pale Yellow — February 10, 2014 at 7:31 pm
Who needs a tunnel of love when you have a tunnel of fudge! This looks fantastic!!
- beantownbaker — February 11th, 2014 @ 12:14 pm
  
  So true!
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4

Nutmeg Nanny — February 23, 2014 at 9:45 am

This cake looks glorious 🙂 I am dying to get a slice, maybe two 😉
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5

sue epstein — February 27, 2014 at 6:19 pm

The original recipe called for a box of Pillsbury’s frosting mix and was much, much better than the current recipes. There was a tunnel of gooey soft fudge in the middle that you just can’t get with today’s recipes for this cake. But it’s still a great cake!
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Lynne — February 28, 2014 at 9:35 pm

For most up-to-date information you have to visit tthe webb and oon web I
found this site as a most excellent web page for latest updates.
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7

Marye Audet — March 21, 2014 at 5:12 pm

One of my favorites! Thanks for the reminder..I need to make this – soon!
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Heila — December 22, 2015 at 4:24 am

I just tried this yummy recipe from your blog and it has come out really yummy!! 🙂
This is my first tunnel of fudge cake and I am quite happy with the outcome…
Thanks for sharing this easy recipe 🙂
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Lois C. Flores — January 27, 2016 at 9:20 pm

Gorgeous!!! I’d love to try to make it for my family soon. Your recipe is so detailed, but to a clumsy person like me, Hopefully I won’t mess everything up haha.
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Abigail C. Murdock — March 17, 2016 at 4:19 am

Looking at the picture of your cake I just wanna try it immediately. It looks really good. It is good to make it at home and serve on some special occasions like birthday parties or a party with friends on weekends. Thanks Jen for sharing this recipe with us!
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11

Dane Shaw — March 23, 2016 at 6:47 am

Nice recipe Jen! Hope that I can do it the way you make your cake. Always love chocolate. Thank you for sharing it!
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Healthoop — March 24, 2016 at 9:53 am

oh my god, I fell in love with it at the first sight. So yummy and nice at the look. Thanks Jen for sharing wonderful recipe!
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Anthony — April 20, 2016 at 12:34 am

Awesome, you make it like an artist. It looks so delicious, I will try your recipe to make it for my kids. Thank you so much for sharing this!
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Kathy — June 16, 2016 at 3:26 am

This cake recipe looks very sweet and delicous. I will try it soon. Thank for share this great post.
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Luis Sanborn — March 14, 2017 at 4:21 am

This looks amazing, I will try this out tomorrow, thank you for sharing!