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Gluten Free Samoas

Gluten Free Mama’s Home-Made Mock Girl Scout Cookies
Gluten Free Samoas

It broke my heart when we walked by the Girl Scouts selling cookies this year. It has never been an
issue in the past, but now that Lexie is almost 7, I see the disappointment in her eyes when she
realizes that they are not gluten free. The sweet little girl she is says, “Mom, we should get some for Cassie, because she really likes them.” I respond, “Lexie, that probably wouldn’t be fair since you can’t eat them too.” Lexie in her sweet little voice, “That’s okay mom, you can just make me some that are gluten free.” Being the sucker I am, oh, I mean the good mom that I am, I told her I would.
Last year, we made thin mint cookies. You can find the recipe in my newest cookbook, “In the Kitchen with Gluten Free Mama.” So I decided to try the Samoas this time. The first batch I did, I toasted the entire package of coconut with about 1 cup of Sweetened Condensed Milk. Oh man, that got me into some trouble, because I ate about a cup of the coconut plain. Wow! I also attempted to make my own caramel, because I am not big on using products that have so many things we don’t need in them, like high fructose corn syrup, etc. To be honest, I didn’t give my caramel the good Gluten Free Mama try. Mine I cooked a little too long and it had more of a toffee flavor. I had mixed the coconut in with the caramel and it hardened quickly, making it difficult to spread onto the cookie. My kids and friends devoured the cookies anyway. They loved them. But the did not pass the Gluten Free Mama test.

Yesterday, I toasted the coconut without the sweetened condensed milk. I only did this because their might be many of you who are dairy free and I want you to be able to enjoy this delicious cookie too. But if you are not dairy free and don’t mind the extra calories try it with the condensed milk, it is very rich and decadent. I also took the easy route and just bought caramels from the store and melted them. I highly recommend if you have a favorite caramel recipe that you use that, because not only will it taste good you can pronounce everything that is in it. After toasting the coconut I used my coffee grinder, clean of course, and lightly pulsated it to make the coconut pieces smaller, just like on the real Girl Scout Samoas. Be sure to not over grind it, three pulses will be enough. You still want coconut, not coconut flour.

You can see the rest of the directions below in the recipe. The cookies do have steps, but it is well worth the time and the energy. These have got to be the best cookies ever! We only had a few left this morning and I enjoyed two of them for my breakfast. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Samoas

Author: Rachel Carlyle Edington – Gluten Free Mama
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 30 cookies


Ingredients

  • 2 cups Mama’s Almond or Coconut Blend Flour
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ¼ tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. xanthan gum
  • ¾ cup butter, dairy free margarine, or Spectrum shortening, room temp
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 egg white
    [br]
  • [b]Caramel and Coconut Topping[/b]
  • 3 cups coconut
  • 1 bag of caramels (14-16oz)
  • 2 Tbsp. milk or dairy free milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and xanthan gum.
  3. In a mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar. Add vanilla and egg white. Mix well. With mixer running on low speed, slowly pour in flour mixture. Mix well.
  4. Roll out dough on generously floured pastry mat to about ¼ inch thickness. Use a 2 inch round cookie cutter and cut out circles. Cut out small circles about ½ inch diameter in the center of each round. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Allow to rest on baking sheet for 1 minute, then remove to cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.[br]
  5. [b]Coconut Topping[/b]
  6. Toast coconut in a 350 degree oven until evenly browned. Be sure to stir often to prevent burning. Using a food processor or coffee grinder, gently pulsate the coconut to make it ground into small pieces. Don’t over process.
  7. Melt caramel with milk in microwave over 50% power for 1 minute at a time until caramel is melted and smooth. Add more milk if necessary.[br]
  8. [b]Assembling the Cookie[/b]
  9. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
  10. Carefully dip the top of the cookie into the caramel. Be careful not to burn the tips of your fingers. Then proceed to press the caramel side of the cookie into the ground coconut. Place the cookie caramel side up onto the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cookies. Allow cookies to rest until the caramel has set. Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate.
  11. Chocolate Coating
  12. cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 1 cup semi-sweet and 1 cup bittersweet)
  13. Tbsp. Spectrum shortening, optional
  14. Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Stir often.
  15. Gently dip the cookie side of the cookie into the chocolate. Place the cookie, caramel side down onto the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cookies. Place cookies in refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes until chocolate is set. Turn cookies over. Fill a pastry bag with chocolate. Pipe chocolate strips across the top of the cookies, (caramel side up). Place in refrigerator to set the chocolate for about 15-20 minutes. Then enjoy!

Notes

[b]GFM Tips[/b] If you do not have a 2 inch round cookie cutter, look in your cupboards to find a glass cup that has a rim that is about 2 inches in diameter. Not everyone has a ½ inch cookie cutter, I am one of them. I used the round part of a icing tip to cut out perfect centers from my cookie rounds. Look around your kitchen and see what you can use.

Gluten Free Samoas

Basic Butter Cookie (You can use the recipe as a base for many cookies!)

2 cups Mama’s Almond or Coconut Blend Flour
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. xanthan gum

¾ cup butter, dairy free margarine, or Spectrum shortening, room temp
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg white

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and xanthan gum.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar. Add vanilla and egg white. Mix well. With mixer running on low speed, slowly pour in flour mixture. Mix well.

Roll out dough on generously floured pastry mat to about ¼ inch thickness. Use a 2 inch round cookie cutter and cut out circles. Cut out small circles about ½ inch diameter in the center of each round. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Allow to rest on baking sheet for 1 minute, then remove to cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.

GFM Tips: If you do not have a 2 inch round cookie cutter, look in your cupboards to find a glass cup that has a rim that is about 2 inches in diameter. Not everyone has a ½ inch cookie cutter, I am one of them. I used the round part of a icing tip to cut out perfect centers from my cookie rounds. Look around your kitchen and see what you can use.

Caramel and Coconut Topping:

3 cups coconut

Toast coconut in a 350 degree oven until evenly browned. Be sure to stir often to prevent burning. Using a food processor or coffee grinder, gently pulsate the coconut to make it ground into small pieces. Don’t over process.

Make a batch of your favorite caramel recipe

Or…

1 bag of caramels (14-16oz)
2 Tbsp. milk or dairy free milk

Melt caramel with milk in microwave over 50% power for 1 minute at a time until caramel is melted and smooth. Add more milk if necessary.

Assembling the Cookie

Line a baking sheet with wax paper.

Carefully dip the top of the cookie into the caramel. Be careful not to burn the tips of your fingers. Then proceed to press the caramel side of the cookie into the ground coconut. Place the cookie caramel side up onto the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cookies. Allow cookies to rest until the caramel has set. Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate.

Chocolate Coating

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 1 cup semi-sweet and 1 cup bittersweet)
1 Tbsp. Spectrum shortening, optional

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Stir often.

Gently dip the cookie side of the cookie into the chocolate. Place the cookie, caramel side down onto the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cookies. Place cookies in refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes until chocolate is set. Turn cookies over. Fill a pastry bag with chocolate. Pipe chocolate strips across the top of the cookies, (caramel side up). Place in refrigerator to set the chocolate for about 15-20 minutes. Then enjoy!

For another great Mock Cookie Try Mama’s Chocolate Striped Cookies Click Here



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