Samoa Bars

Girl Scout knock offs.  When I was a GS they were called Carmel DeLights.  Now they are known as Samoas.  Whatever you call them, they are addictive and delicious!  This recipe is for a bar version and I modified it from this recipe: http://www.justataste.com/2013/05/homemade-samoas-girl-scout-cookie-bars-recipe/

Samoa Bars

Ingredients:

For the shortbread cookie base:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
For the coconut topping:
4 cups shredded sweetened coconut (14 oz. bag)
20 ounces of caramel squares (aprox. 65 squares)
3 Tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 ounces dipping chocolate

Directions:

Make the shortbread cookie base:
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line a 13-by 9-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Turn the mixer to low, and then carefully add the flour mixture to the bowl, beating just until combined and scraping down the sides as needed. (Do not overmix the shortbread dough or it'll be too crumbly to cut once baked.  This is critical!) Dump the crumbly dough into the prepared baking pan and press it into an even, flat layer.
Bake the shortbread until barely golden, 17 to 20 minutes. Let it cool completely while you make the topping.
Make the coconut topping:
Turn the oven to 300ºF. Spread the coconut flakes onto a baking sheet. Bake the coconut for about 10 minutes until it's toasted, stirring frequently to ensure even browning and so that it does not burn.  Watch it closely!  Remove the toasted coconut from the oven and set it aside.
Melt the caramels, milk and salt in a double-boiler by placing the ingredients in a medium saucepot set over a large saucepot of simmering, not boiling water. Cook, stirring, until the caramels are fully melted. Remove the saucepot from the heat and combine the caramel mixture with the toasted coconut in a large bowl. Immediately spread the coconut mixture over the cooled shortbread, pressing it to adhere to the shortbread base. Work quickly, as the caramel mixture will begin to firm up and won't adhere if it cools too much. Let the bars sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Using the parchment paper overhangs, lift the shortbread out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Slice the shortbread into bars by spacing your cuts to make 3 columns down and 10 rows across to form 30 roughly 2-inch by 1-inch cookie bars.
Melt the dipping chocolate in a double-boiler. Dip the bottoms of each of the cookie bars into the chocolate and place them on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Pour some of the chocolate into a ziploc bag, cut the corner and drizzle over the tops of the cookies. Let the cookies sit until the chocolate hardens fully.