Gluten-Free Samoas

I love Samoa Girlscout cookies- they're definitely my favorite. I had one the other day at work but felt bad because most of my co-workers can't eat them (gluten intolerant/don't eat gluten for health reasons). I saw a recipe some time ago for home-made samoas, and it seemed like a perfect idea to make them and just use a gluten-free version of the shortbread. I found a good shortbread recipe, and it wasn't difficult at all to make.

Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies

2 c Rice Flour
1/2 c Cornstarch
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Xanthan  Gum
1 3/4 c Butter
3/4 c Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
Milk

-Mix together dry ingredients.
-Cream together butter sugar and vanilla in separate bowl.
-Add dry ingredients and mix until soft dough forms (I had to add a little bit of milk because it just wouldn't stick together no matter how long/fast a blended it)
-Roll dough out to 1/4" thickness and use a round cookie cutter. Cut out a small circle in center of cookies to get the classic samoa shape.
-Bake @ 300º for 20-30 minutes until edges of cookies are golden brown.

Recipe from: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/09/gluten-free-tuesday-shortbread-cookies-recipe.html

Samoas

3 c Shredded Coconut
12 oz Chewy Caramels
3 TB Milk
1/4 tsp Salt

-Spread coconut out in a jellyroll pan. Bake @ 300º for 20 minutes, turning/stirring ~every 5 minutes.
-Combine caramels, milk, and salt in a glass bowl. Melt in microwave for 3-4 minutes, stirring every minute until caramels are completely melted.
-Add toasted coconut to melted caramel and stir until well combined.
-Spoon caramel onto cookies. (This part was a huge pain. The best advice I have is to add the caramel/coconut in small amounts, working around the cookie a little at a time)

Finishing Touch

Semi-Sweet Milk Chocolate

-Microwave or use a double boiler to melt chocolate down.
-Dip the bottom of the cookie in melted chocolate (you will have to spread/smooth the chocolate out a little on the bottom. I actually found it easier to just spoon some melted chocolate onto the bottom and spread it that way)
-Pour some of the melted chocolate into a plastic bag. Cut away a small section of the corner and draw stripes on the cookie.
-Put cookies in freezer for ~5 minutes to help them set.

Recipe from: http://sweetkiera.com/?p=919

In the end, I think these cookies turned out beautifully. I did have a few issues with them, however. First of all, the caramel. I'm not sure if it was because of the kind of caramel I used or because the caramel was melted and then re-solidified (I used Kraft as it was the only option at the grocery store), but I found that when the cookies were done setting, the caramel was fairly tough. Also, the whole process of spooning the caramel onto the cookie was tough; it wouldn't have been so bad if I wasn't so insistent on them having the hole in the center like the actual cookie. Next issue: the chocolate. I'm fairly certain that this is because of the kind of chocolate I used, but every time I use chocolate for dipping etc. it seems like once the chocolate has hardened, the melting temperature is even lower than before (so basically it completely melts in your hands). I think I just need to experiment more with this and try switching up the ingredients a little. Apart from this though, the cookies are delicious, and very pretty : )