Recipe: Samoas Ice Cream Cake (makes one 9-inch cake)
Ingredients:
- 2 boxes Samoas Girl Scout Cookies (30 cookies)
- 2 Tblsp melted butter
- One 14 to 16 oz. container of Dulce de Leche ice cream
- 1 quart vanilla ice cream
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chopped semi-sweet chocolate
- handful of coconut for garnish (optional)
Prepare a 9-inch round springform pan with a light amount of cooking spray on the bottom and sides.
Put 1 box of cookies into the food processor and grind very well, until completely crushed. Add melted butter and mix to combine. Press cookie mixture into bottom of prepared pan evenly and tightly.
Soften dulce de leche ice cream in microwave a little so it’s more spreadable. Spread evenly over cookie crust. Put in freezer for about an hour to re-harden.
Arrange remaining box of cookies, chocolate side up, in a single layer over the ice cream.
Soften vanilla ice cream a bit and spread out over cookie layer. Cover and put in freezer to completely harden, about 2-3 hours.
Heat cream in a saucepan to almost boiling. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Stir with a whisk until completely melted. Let cool so it’s still pourable but not too hot to melt the ice cream.
Uncover ice cream cake and pour chocolate mixture over. Sprinkle a little coconut on top, if desired. Recover and freeze again to harden.
To serve, run a knife carefully around the outside of the cake to loosen. Gently unclasp the springform pan and remove the outer ring. Cut with a sharp knife that’s dipped in very hot water and wiped with a towel between each slice.
Homemade Samoas (a.k.a. Caramel de-Lites)Cookies:
- 1 cup butter, soft
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- up to 2 tbsp milk
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (it’s possible you might not need to add milk at all). The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.
Roll the dough (working in two or three batches) out between pieces of wax paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and use a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to make rounds. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat with remaining dough. Alternatively, use scant tablespoons of dough and press into an even layer in a mini donut pan to form the rounds.
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set. If using a mini donut pan, bake for only about 10 minutes, until edges are light gold.
Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Topping:
- 3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
- 12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp milk
- 8 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)
Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it gets too firm to work with.
While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.
Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.
Makes about 3 1/2-4 dozen cookies.