Simple Samoa Cookie Bars

A stack of Samoa Bars sits on a cream colored plate.

4 from 3 votes

These Samoa Bars are the essence of minimum work for maximum flavor. A melt in your mouth shortbread crust topped with homemade caramel (you can do it, it's foolproof) chock full of toasted coconut with the bottoms dipped in chocolate.

Prep Time1

Total Time1

Course: Bar Cookies, Cookies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Samoa Bars, Samoa Cookies

Servings: bars

Calories: 217kcal

Author: Helen S. Fletcher

Equipment

9x9 inch square baking pan

Ingredients

Coconut Caramel - this makes a small amount so watch it carefully as it comes to a boil.

2 cups desiccated coconut
½ cup water
¼ cup corn syrup
½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (30 grams)
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
OR
8 ounces Werther caramels if not making the caramel

Shortbread Base

1 ⅛ cups all-purpose flour (160 grams)
⅓ cup powdered sugar (45 grams)
½ cup butter, refrigerator cold (114 grams or 1 stick)

Chocolate Finish

6 ounces semisweet chocolate (170 grams)
1 to 2 teaspoons crisco

Instructions

Coconut Caramel

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Arrange 2 cups of desiccated coconut in a single layer in a sheet pan. Make sure there are no stray shreds of coconut at the edges. Just scoot them into the pile. Toast the coconut until uniformly medium brown. I did not need to stir mine but I did turn it front to back about ¾ through baking. If the coconut is not baking uniformly, then stir as needed. Set aside to cool.
Reserve ½ cup of the coconut.
Heat the cream until hot. Set aside,
Bring to a hard rolling boil and boil until the syrup turns a medium golden brown. (see the photo in the step by step photos)
Remove from the heat and add the butter Stir until it has melted. Add the cream and vanilla extract, stirring to combine. If the cream seizes, it will be corrected in the next step.
Return the pan to the heat and bring back to a boil. Boil to a temperature of 230°F. Pour into a medium size bowl and cool.

Shortbread Base

Line a 9x9 inch baking pan with parchment paper letting the excess hang over the edges to form a sling. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Combine the flour and powdered sugar in the bowl of a processor. Pulse several times to mix.
Cut the cold butter in smallish pieces. Add to the flour mixture and process until it forms large crumbs.
Arrange the shortbread crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan. Push them together to form an even solid pastry base. Make sure there are no seams showing as they make crack when baked.
Bake for about 25 minutes until an even golden brown, turning halfway through. Cool.

Assembly

Add the 1 ½ cups of coconut to the caramel, stirring to blend well. Spread this evenly over the shortbread base. If the caramel has set up too hard, microwave it briefly before adding the coconut.
If using the Werther caramels, unwrap them, place them in a microwave dish and microwave to melt. Proceed as above.
Spread the Coconut Caramel evenly over the shortbread base. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of toasted coconut on top, pressing it lightly into the coconut caramel. Cool completely.
Remove the Samoas from the pan, lay the sling flat.

Chocolate Finish

Combine the chocolate and 1 teaspoon crisco in a small bowl wide enough to dip the bottom of a bar in. Microwave to melt. Stir to combine. If the chocolate is still really thick, add the second teaspoon of crisco. The chocolate should be thick enough to coat with the excess barely running off.
Place a small amount in a pastry bag fitted with a small writing tip. Alternatively, use a heavy plastic bag and cut a very little off the tip. Do not make it too big.
Pipe diagonal lines over the top of the coconut. Let it set up. To speed it along, place it in the fridge for a few minutes. Cut 7 across and 3 down for 21 bars or cut any size you wish.
Dip the bottoms in the chocolate. Holding the bar just above the rim of the bowl, lightly swipe the excess chocolate off. Place it on a piece of waxed or parchment paper. Let the chocolate set up. Again, pop them in the fridge for a few minutes to harden. After that they will hold at room temperature
These hold well at room temperature lightly covered or even in an uncovered container.

Notes

There is always an abundance of photos to guide you in the post above. If you have questions, look at the photos or read the header of the article. Many of them will be answered there.

As always, I recommend using a scale for accuracy and consistency. Flour, in particular, is difficult to measure by volume. For my recipes, I use 140 grams per cup of unsifted all-purpose, bread or whole wheat flour and 125 grams of cake flour. Others may use different weights so use whatever they suggest.

_____________________________________________

Toasting the coconut to a deep golden brown is key to the taste of the Samoa Bars.

Watch the coconut carefully - it goes from just right to good grief I burned it in a flash towards the end.

Using powdered sugar in the base gives it a melt in your mouth texture as opposed to granulated sugar which gives a snappier texture.

Unsweetened desiccated coconut is the way to go here.

8 ounces of Werther's soft caramels can be subbed if not making the caramel.

Nutrition