Ooey Gooey Samoas Blondies taste like the classic Samoas Girl Scout cookie – topped with decadent caramel, chocolate & toasted coconut! Oh my!
Ooey Gooey Samoas Blondies will make your taste buds dance for joy! This soft, chewy “blondie” may be the best cookie bar recipe ever! Made with real butter, brown sugar, and vanilla and loaded with chocolate, salted caramel and sweet, toasted coconut – they’re the perfect balance of indescribable flavors and rich, gooey goodness!
A Twist on the Iconic Girl Scout Cookie
Samoas (also known as Caramel DeLites) rank second only to Thin Mints as the best-selling Girl Scout cookie of all time, and for good reason! These crisp cookies with their fudgy stripes are irresistibly delicious!
Instead of starting with a shortbread cookie, our Ooey Gooey Samoas Blondies have a buttery, vanilla “brownie” base (that’s the twist!), then we layer on all the classic, rich, sweet toppings you love!
Other Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
- These amazing candy-coated Chocolate Mint Balls are super easy to make and elevate the traditional Thin Mint cookie to a whole new level!
- Holiday Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread will satisfy your crispy cookie craving and can be garnished for any occasion!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients: This blondie is made almost like a brownie, just without the cocoa! The dry ingredients are simply flour, brown sugar, and salt.
Wet Ingredients: To finish the blondie batter, you will need melted butter, vanilla, and one egg.
Samoa Toppings: The ooey, gooey part of this cookie bar requires sweetened shredded coconut, caramel candy chews, chocolate almond bark, a bit of milk, salt, and shortening.
How to Make Ooey Gooey Samoas Blondies
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8-inch x 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, allowing it to hang over by about 2 inches on all sides. Now, stir together the softened butter and brown sugar in a large bowl. Add in the egg, vanilla, and salt until well mixed.
STEP TWO: Finally, stir in the flour until thoroughly blended. Spread into the baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes.
STEP THREE: Line a baking sheet with parchment and spread out an even layer of coconut. Toast in the 350-degree oven for 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove and pour into a large bowl.
STEP FOUR: Melt the caramel chews with the milk and salt in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
STEP FIVE: Once melted, spread three tablespoons of the caramel sauce (not all of it!) over the top of the blondies.
STEP SIX: Pour the rest of the caramel sauce into the bowl with the toasted coconut. Toss to coat the coconut, then pour the mixture over the blondies and spread it evenly over the bars.
STEP SEVEN: Now melt the chocolate almond bark and the shortening together in the microwave. Heat in 30-second intervals, stirring after each heating, until smooth.
STEP EIGHT: Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the coconut layer and allow it to cool. Once the chocolate has been set up, remove the blondies from the pan, cut into squares, and serve!
Tips for Success
- Keep a close eye on your toasting coconut. Once it starts to brown, it toasts very quickly! If you overeat, your coconut will taste burned and bitter.
- The blondie base bakes for 20 to 25 minutes. If you like a gooey cookie bar, go for 20 minutes. If you prefer a cakier, firmer bar, shoot for 25 minutes.
- If you don’t have chocolate almond bark, you can substitute 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.
- I use binder clips to help hold the parchment paper in place on the pan so it doesn’t fall while I spread out the blondie batter. Since they’re made of metal, putting them in the oven is okay. If your clips have a plastic coating, do not heat them!
Where Did Girl Scout Samoas Get Their Name?
No one knows exactly the origin of the Samoa cookie’s name. Some say it was a play on S’mores, but intended to say “some more of” or S’moa! But most say this cookie is named after the South Pacific Island because of its tropical, coconut flavor.
Do You Have to Toast the Coconut?
To get the true Samoas flavor, you need to toast the coconut. When you toast coconut (it’s easy to do in the oven!), the heat brings out a deeper, nutty flavor than raw coconut has. Toasting also gives it a crispy texture, which is a huge benefit for people who love the flavor of coconut but have a tactile aversion to how it feels in their mouth.
Other Decedent Bar Recipes You’ll Love
- Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars
- Caramel Pumpkin Blondies
- German Chocolate Cookie Bars
- No Bake Cookie Dough Bars
- Pecan Pie Brownies
- Lemon Poppy Seed Sugar Cookie Bars
*This post was originally posted on3/08/2014
Ingredients
Blondies
- ½ cup butter melted
- 1 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Topping
- 3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
- 15 ounces caramel chews unwrapped
- 3 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces chocolate almond bark
- 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening
Instructions
Blondies
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8-inch x 8-inch baking pan or dish with parchment paper so that it hangs over on all sides by 2 inches. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the butter and brown sugar. Stir in the egg, vanilla, and salt until combined. Then stir in the flour.
- Spread the blondie batter evenly in the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest while you make the topping.
Topping
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the coconut in an even layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes in the 350-degree F oven. Remove the toasted coconut from the baking sheet and place it in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Stir the caramels, milk, and salt together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth.
- Spread 3 tablespoons of caramel sauce over the top of the blondies.
- Pour the rest of the caramel sauce over the coconut and mix until the coconut is completely coated. Pour the coconut over the top of the blondie and spread it out evenly, edge to edge.
- Add the chocolate almond bark and vegetable shortening together in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each heating, until smooth. Drizzle the chocolate over the top of the coconut.
- Allow the blondies and topping to cool to room temperature. Once the chocolate has hardened, use the parchment paper to remove the blondie from the pan. Cut into 12 bars and enjoy!
Notes
- Binder clips are a great way to hold the parchment paper in place when you clip them around the edge of the baking dish/pan. These clips are made of metal, so they’re okay to go in the oven. (If your clips have a plastic coating on them, do not heat them!)
- If you don’t have a double boiler, you can use a small saucepan with a glass or metal bowl placed on top. Just be sure the water in the saucepan doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl.
Jillian- News Anchor To Homemaker says
Samoas are my favorite girl scout cookie, what a perfect treat!
Winnie says
Ohhh my
These look soooooooooooo delicious
The perfect treat 🙂
Carly says
Yueerrrmmm! This sounds so tasty. For a more coconutty taste I will probably use coconut oil instead of butter. But I have a question, do you mean to cream the butter and sugar together until creamy for several minutes, or simply sitr the two together just until fully incorporated?
Thank you for this recipe. Any homemade recipe of a boxed processed cookie is a welcome feat in my kitchen as I can play with the ingredients and make it just a bit better for me.
Aubrey says
Thanks Carly! You don’t have to cream the butter because it’s melted, not just at room temp.