Samoa Brownies

I have decided that motherhood is not cool.

It’s rewarding and undoubtedly the best thing I will ever do with my life…but not cool.

US Weekly can parade those photos of moms like Jessica Alba, with her over sized sunglasses and bohemian knotted scarves, but I have no doubt that there have been times she’s gone to the bathroom, saw two Oatmeal Cream Pie wrappers in the little wastebasket next to the toilet and thought, “What the crap?!”.

Because kids are weird.

And they drag us down with them.

I cannot tell you how many investigations I have launched over snack cake wrappers in the bathroom wastebasket.  Is someone grabbing handfuls of Little Debbies and running to the bathroom, locking the door and shoving them hastily in their mouth while they huddle in the tub with the curtain closed?  Or worse–are they leisurely eating them on the toilet while they browse a copy of Country Living?

Quite frankly, it’s disturbing.

Lately, my son has had an aversion to me clipping his toenails.  So last night I waited until he fell asleep and I snuck in his room with a small flashlight and pair of clippers.  I don’t know why, but the whole thing was very scary, he kept tossing and turning and every time he did, I would freeze and drop to the floor by his bed so he wouldn’t see me.  I finally accomplished my toenail mission and crawled out of his room (he was asleep…why didn’t I walk?  I have no idea, caught up in the moment I guess) and realized that motherhood makes us all do some really dumb stuff.

So I have accepted it.  I am not cool.  And I am reminded of this any time I spontaneously call my son over so I can check for ear wax.

Lets move on and talk about food, want to?

I decided that Samoa Brownies needed to happen.  Brownies are good, Samoa cookies are good, obviously the next step is for them to get married.  I decided not to put actual Samoa cookies in the brownies, but instead sandwiched a brownie between a cookie crust and a caramel/toasted coconut topping.

Then I dipped the bottom in dark chocolate and drizzled chocolate across the top.  Winning!

Samoa Brownies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 stick salted butter, cold and cut into pieces
• Box of Ghirardelli Brownie Mix (or other mix that only makes a small pan), plus ingredients to prepare
• 1 cup coconut, toasted
• 11 oz bag of caramel bits
• 1/2 lb dark chocolate almond bark (or a couple cups of dark chocolate coating wafers or candy melts)

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Line a 7 x 10 pan (or 8 x 8 if you don’t have that size) with foil and spray with nonstick spray.

2.  In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and butter until a dough forms.  Alternately, you could use your hands and cut it together until it forms a dough.  Pat dough evenly into the bottom of the pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown.

3.  Place the pan in the refrigerator to cool for about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare brownie mix according to box directions.  Once crust is cool, spread the brownie mix in the pan and place back in the oven until brownies are fully baked.

4.  Place caramel bits in a microwave safe bowl and melt according to package directions.  Stir in the toasted coconut and spread evenly over the brownies in the pan.  Place pan in the refrigerator to chill.

5.  Once brownies are chilled and firm, remove from pan by grabbing the sides of the foil.  Peel the foil from the brownies and cut into squares.  Melt chocolate coating according to package directions and dip the bottom of the brownies in the coating.  Place on a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper to set.  Once all brownie bottoms are dipped, drizzle remaining chocolate over the top.  Let chocolate firm before serving.

Notes:

To toast coconut, place in a cold skillet.  Heat skillet over medium heat, stirring coconut constantly.  Remove from heat once it’s lightly browned.

I prefer using Caramel Bits instead of whole caramels because they melt more quickly and don’t need unwrapped.  You can find them in the baking aisle with the chocolate chips.

If you don’t want to use Ghirardelli Brownie Mix and instead prefer a mix or recipe that makes a large 9×13 pan, just double the crust and topping recipes and adjust baking times if needed.

 

Enjoy and have a happy Tuesday!!