Homemade Samoas Girl Scout Cookies

• For the cookies:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• For the coconut topping:
• 3 cups shredded sweetened coconut
• 15 ounces store-bought or homemade soft caramels (Recipe follows)
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces dark chocolate

1. Make the cookies:
2. Preheat the oven to 350u0b0F.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter & sugar til light and fluffy.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In three increments, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter, mixing between each addition and scraping as necessary. Add the milk & vanilla extract, blending until combined and the dough begins to come together.
5. Divide the dough in half, pressing into two disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate them until firm.
6. Roll each chilled disk out on a floured surface until it is 1/8" thick. Cut out as many cookies as possible with a doughnut-shaped cookie cutter. Place the cut-out cookies on a Silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
7. Bake the cookies for 10 - 12 min, rotating sheet half-way through, til the cookies are pale golden brown. Cool on a rack.
8. Make the coconut topping:
9. On a sheet pan bake the coconut for about 10 min in a 350u0b0F oven until toasted, stirring frequently to ensure even browning and so that it does not burn.
10. Melt the caramels, milk and salt in a double-boiler by placing the caramels in a medium saucepot set over a large saucepot of simmering water. Cook, stirring, until the caramels are fully melted. Remove the saucepot from the heat and combined 3/4 of the caramel with the toasted coconut in a large bowl.
11. Carefully spread the remaining 1/4 cup of caramel atop the cooled cookies then press on a portion of the coconut mixture. Let the cookies cool for 30 minutes. If the caramel-coconut mixture thickens too much re-heat in the double-boiler.
12. Melt the dark chocolate in a double-boiler or in the microwave. Dip the bottoms of the cookies in the chocolate and place them on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Use a fork to drizzle the tops with chocolate. Let the cookies sit until the chocolate hardens fully.

cookies, unsalted butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, milk, vanilla, coconut, caramels, milk, salt, chocolate

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/-homemade-samoas-girl-scout-cookies-52155561 (may not work)