Samoa Cookie Recipe & Tips

Made these for our Primary class. One of our boys got baptized recently so I wanted to make an extra-special treat to celebrate~
I used the recipe HERE.
BUT I used Ina's recipe for the shortbread cookies HERE and made my own caramel.

For ease of reading here is the recipe with all of my alterations: (might wanna check the bottom for my list of tips first)

Samoa Cookies
Makes about 18 cookies

Shortbread Cookies:

• 1-1/2 sticks butter (12T), room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-3/4 cup flour
• 1/8 tsp salt

Caramel: (got recipe here)

• 1 cup sugar
• 6T butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

 Topping:

• 3 cups coconut
• 8 oz. melting chocolate

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Beat together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and salt, then beat it into the butter mixture until combined.
Dust a clean surface with flour and mold the dough into a disk shape, then cover in saran wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
While that's chilling, toast the coconut. Spread it onto a small pan and place in the oven for about 10 minutes (keep an eye on it so the edge pieces don't get too dark).
On the flour-dusted surface, roll out the dough to about 1/2-cm thick. I used a medium biscuit cutter and a large frosting tip to cut my cookie holes. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
Let cool.

Caramel:
In a 2-3 quart pot, melt the sugar over med-high heat, whisking constantly (recommend wearing a oven mitts because this gets HOT). Once the sugar is melted and is a dark amber color, immediately add the butter. Once that is melted, remove the pot from heat and slowly whisk in the heavy cream.

Pour the toasted coconut into a medium bowl and then pour in caramel until it is your desired consistency. Spread the mixture onto the cooled cookies.

Chocolate:
Place the chocolate into the microwave for 30 seconds then stir vigorously. If still not completely melted, nuke longer in 10-second intervals.

Prepare a pan with wax paper. Dip the bottom of each cookie into the chocolate and place on the wax paper. With the leftover chocolate, spoon it into a sandwich bag and cut a small hole in the corner. Drizzle over the cookies. Refrigerate until chocolate is set.
Whew! Done!

That is exactly what I did to make my cookies, but here are some tips that I will be following next time I make them:

• I made my own caramel to pinch a few pennies, but next time I'm just going to buy them
• Use milk chocolate (or even dark) instead of semi-sweet

Lots of work, and 80% worth it! Lol.