Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Let The 2014 Rosiethon Begin. Samoas Kick Off The Season.

Yes.  It's that time of year.  After much trepidation and a seasonal meltdown in which I vowed to never bake another cookie, never have another Christmas tree, and to simply run away for the month of December, I came back to my senses (?) and called myself all sorts of names and then just resigned myself to the fact that yes-this-is-what-i-do.  After all, there was nowhere to run away to.

I can't let my shortcomings ruin Christmas for the rest of the Hawthornes and my faithful peeps, so, Rosie, being the trooper she is, pulled her shit together.

Actually, I have received numerous harassing phone calls, several death threats, and road kill on my front porch - all of which means, once again,  you're going to get my 2014 Rosiethon, you lucky dog, you!


 I'm starting off with the ever-popular Samoas.























Samoas

Cookie Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 TB milk
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add flour mixture to creamed butter in 3 additions, incorporating well.
Add milk and vanilla, blending until combined.
Divide dough in half, pressing each half into two disks.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about one hour.

Heat oven to 350°.

Roll each disk out onto a lightly floured surface until it is 1/8 inch thick.  Cut out cookies using two round cutters to make doughnut-like shapes.  Place cookies on parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes, turning the pan halfway through, until cookies are golden brown.  Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

















Coconut Topping Ingredients
3 cups sweetened coconut
1 lb soft caramels (You could use store-bought, but I've included the caramel recipe below.)
3 TB milk
1/3 tsp salt

Lightly toast the coconut in a 350° oven for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until light brown.  Remove from oven and set aside.

Melt caramels with milk and salt in a double boiler.  Cook, stirring until mixture is fully melted.

Coat cookies with caramel mixture, then press coconut into the caramel.  Let cool, then drizzle with chocolate.

Chocolate Drizzle
 8 ounces dark chocolate

Melt chocolate in microwave.  Drizzle the cookies with the chocolate, using a fork.  Let cookies sit until the chocolate fully hardens.













Caramel Ingredients
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 pound light brown sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Lightly coat a baking sheet with butter. Line the pan with butter wax or parchment paper.  Buttering the tray first keeps the paper from slipping around when you pour in the hot caramel mixture.

In a large pot over high heat, bring cream, corn syrup, sugar, and butter to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved.  Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches 248°, about 20 minutes.
Pour onto prepared pan.



Making the caramel.




Cookies are ready, my coconut toasted, and I'm ready to use part of that sheet of caramel to make the caramel topping.



I measured about 1 pound of caramel out.

Nice and pliable.
Bring the caramel, milk, and salt to a boil in a double boiler, stirring until mixture is fully melted.



Spoon caramel over cookies.
Press in toasted coconut.
Drizzle dark chocolate over top.








2 comments:

Catherine said...

So delicious! These are beautiful cookies to grace the holiday table with. xo Catherine

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Enjoy, Catherine!