I was a Girl Scout.

First, a brownie. I wore the uniform (even though brown and orange are not my best colors), earned badges, sold cookies. Fun stuff.

As a brownie, I looked forward to graduating to a Junior. New uniforms – in green and more choices! I had visions of camping and all the fun adventures we would have. and camping. I really wanted to go camping.

I remember the “graduation ceremony” like it was yesterday – it took place at my friend Shelley’s house. We had to “walk the bridge” from Brownie to Junior status, and… well… ours was a makeshift bridge.

The bridge consisted of several Playboy magazines fanned out over a long piece of aluminum foil (signifying water, of course). I should have seen that as a big red flag.

We never went camping. Not once. Actually, I don’t really remember doing much of anything.

I am a Girl Scout Drop Out.

I made up for the camping thing in high school and college – my friends and I went nearly every weekend. I have some amazing and fun memories of all those weekends.

If I could still earn badges, I’d try to earn all the cooking and baking badges.

My mom would still have to sew them for me – I never did earn those.

homemade Samoa cookies

makes 20-24 cookies

gluten, dairy, egg and soy free, vegan

cookie dough base:

1 cup butter (Earth Balance soy free)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla paste
2 cups flour (gluten free ap)
1/4 cup milk (vanilla almond)

Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. Stir in flour 1/2 cup at a time, adding milk by the tablespoon as necessary. Combine until dough forms, do not over mix. Knead into a ball, cool in refrigerator 10 minutes. Roll to 1/4 to 1/3 inch thickness and cut into circle shapes (I used a glass about 2 1/2 inches diameter). I did not cut circles in the middle. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes, until just golden brown on edges. Cool completely. 

caramel coconut topping:

1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup coconut milk*
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon butter (Earth Balance soy free)
2 tablespoons coconut spread (or use more butter)

*carton, not canned coconut milk – or sub milk of choice

Spread coconut in layer on prepared baking sheet (silpat or parchment), bake at 350 for 3 minutes – remove from oven, stir – replace and bake for another 3-4 minutes or until toasted. In saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cornstarch, water and milk, stirring until sugar is dissolved and mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Add butter and coconut spread, stirring until combined. Let cool.

Combine toasted coconut and caramel sauce, top each cookie with about a tablespoon. Let set (I placed cookies in refrigerator).

dark chocolate drizzle topping:

3-4 ounces dark chocolate
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut spread (or butter)

Melt chocolate in saucepan over medium heat, add coconut spread or butter if you want a thinner shinier consistency. Drizzle over cookies after caramel coconut has set.

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The chocolate remains slightly tacky, but I wanted a shiny appearance. If you’d rather have the chocolate harden completely, omit the coconut / butter spread from the melted chocolate, and simply melt chocolate alone.

Were you a Scout?

What is your favorite Girl Scout cookie?

Do the Boys sell anything?