These gooey, chewy bars are loaded with coconut AND caramel AND chocolate. They're a tasty substitute for those Samoa cookies the Girl Scouts sell, if you've devoured your stash and just can't wait till Girl Scout cookie time comes around again.
1/2 cup (1 stick -or- 4 ounces) butter
1 1/2 cups (11 1/4 ounces) brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups (5 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups (6 ounces) shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened, toasted (1/2 cup reserved for topping)
1 cup (10 ounces) caramel cut from a block (or about 30 individual caramel candies), divided
1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) milk or cream
To toast coconut, spread it in a 9" x 13" pan, and bake it in a preheated 300°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring it halfway through, or until it's a light golden brown. Watch it very closely towards the end, as it'll go from golden to dark brown very quickly. Increase the oven heat to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg. Mix in the flour, salt, baking powder, and 1 1/2 cups of the toasted coconut.
Spread the mixture in an ungreased 9" x 13" pan.* Bake for 15 minutes. Just before the 15 minutes is up, melt half the caramel (1/2 cup); a microwave makes this easy. Drizzle the melted caramel over the crust and return it to the oven for 10 to 12 minutes; when done it'll be medium-brown and the caramel will be bubbly.
Remove the crust from the oven and, working quickly, use a heatproof plastic knife (plastic reduces the drag in sticky baked goods), or a bench knife, to loosen the edges of the crust from the pan, and to cut 2 dozen bars, leaving them right in the pan. It's easier to cut these bars while they're warm. Sprinkle the bars with the chocolate. Allow the chocolate to soften for about 5 minutes, then spread it evenly atop the bars. Set aside to cool completely.
Loosen the bars from the edge of the pan again, and use a flexible spatula to lift them out and set them on a rack. Combine the remaining caramel with 1 tablespoon milk or cream, and heat until the caramel is pourable. Stir to combine with the cream, and drizzle over the bars. Garnish with the reserved toasted coconut.
Yield: 24 bars.
*These bars usually aren't a challenge to get out of the pan. But if you're at all nervous, line the bottom of the pan with parchment, if desired
~ If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month ~
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