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No actual Samoas were harmed in the making of these magic bars. Samoa Magic Bars are inspired by the delicious Girl Scout Cookies, with a shortbread crust covered in a gooey chocolate, caramel, and coconut topping. If you run out of your favorite Girl Scout Cookies, these will hold you over until you can buy your Samoas next year!
These Samoa Magic Bars just taste like the real thing…so you can have your magic bars and your Caramel deLites too!
So, what are Girl Scout cookies up to now? $4.50 a pop? Seriously, they’re the only cookie that’ll I spend that much on for such a small box. I mean, each box is one serving (maybe two), am I right?
Jordan was a Girl Scout for a hot minute back in Kindergarten and First Grade. By Christmastime in Second Grade she was hemming and hawing about continuing; it really wasn’t for her.
I made sure she quit before cookie sales started. I’m a smart mom, after all. Because a 5 or 6 year old selling cookies means I’m selling cookies. I did that for several years back in the day myself, thankyouverymuch. #mamaaintgottimeforthat
So now we just live off the GS cookie stash in the freezer. You GS moms know it; it’s the one you have because your daughter had to get to the next tier so instead of paying your mortgage last January, you paid for cookies.
Well, you’ll be delighted to know that these Samoa Magic Bars don’t actually use the girl scout cookies. So you can have them now, even if your shipment hasn’t come in.
You can have them in June, when you’ve run out.
Or you can make them AND eat that box of Caramel deLites.
{BTW, which is it? Samoa or Caramel deLite? Why do they always change the darn names??!!}
Whatever they’re called, they are the most wonderful combo ever: shortbread, caramel, coconut, and chocolate. To. Die. For.
So are these bars.
Samoa Magic Bars are like a homemade Samoa cookie bar with chocolate, caramel and coconut!
I love making copycat Girl Scout cookie recipes because then I can have them all year long. Things like Tagalong Bars, Samoa Pies, or Thin Mint S’mores. My friend Averie makes a killer Samoa Pie recipe and Julianne has a Samoa Cake recipe that looks like heaven!
If you’re looking for a 7-layer bar without a graham cracker crust, these are the perfect magic cookie bars for you!
These bars have a shortbread crust. It’s pre-baked for 10 minutes before you add the toppings.
The toppings are reminiscent of that amazing girl scout cookie: chocolate chips, caramel bits, and coconut. I used Kraft Caramel Bits for my caramel layer. They’re little balls of caramel sold near the bags of caramel squares. If you can’t find them, you can use caramel squares, or even Rolos.
The magic comes from the sweetened condensed milk: you pour it over the top of the bars before baking and it melts all the goodness together. You’ll notice in the recipe I call for fat-free sweetened condensed milk. It’s what I prefer, but you can use regular as well.
These are gooey, sweet, and they taste like Samoas! The perfect way to get your girl scout cookie fix…no matter what month it is!
Oh, and these are, like, totally addicting. Beware!
How to make a copycat Samoa Cookie Magic Bar:
- These are 7-layer bars without the graham cracker crust: I use a shortbread crust instead! It’s important to pre-bake the crust so that it’s not raw when you eat it.
- If you can’t find the caramel bits (I have good luck at Target), then use unwrapped caramel squares you cut in half, or use Rolos or another caramel candy.
- Sweetened condensed milk is the magic here; make sure you’re not using evaporated milk. They’re quite different!
Samoa Magic Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cups chocolate chips semi-sweet or milk
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 3/4 cup Kraft caramel bits or about 18 square caramels, cut in half
- 1 can 14 ounces regular or fat-free sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Line a 9x13” pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. The foil is optional, but helps aid in removing these from the pan.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Beat butter in a stand mixer until smooth. Mix in flour, sugar, and salt. Beat until the mixture is crumbly. It’s done mixing when you can press it together between your fingers and it sticks together. (You can use a hand mixer but it will take a really long time to come together, FYI.)
- Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove hot crust from the oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips, coconut, and caramels1.
- Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden around the edges. Cool completely before cutting.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. These can be frozen in a single layer in a resealable plastic bag or plastic container.
Recipe Nutrition
Click here to see more of my ULTIMATE COCONUT recipes!
Brownie Peanut Butter Magic Bars
Sweets from friends:
Nutella Magic Bars by Roxana’s Home Baking
Snickerdoodle Seven Layer Cookie Cups by Beyond Frosting
Reese’s Oreo Magic Cookie Bars by Something Swanky
Like Monica said: the difference in the names is due to the distributing bakers.
Also: the main difference in taste between Samoas and Caramel deLites is the chocolate! Samoas use dark chocolate and Caramel deLites use milk chocolate!
FYI, they don’t change the names of girl scout cookies. There are 2 baking companies used by the girl scouts, and each one uses different names. The distribution is regional and that has changed from time to time…so some people live in areas where they’ve seen both names. I’ve known this for decades, as a former girl scout. Mystery solved. 🙂
ABOUT TO START MAKING THESE IN A FEW MINUTES…AFTER THE CRUST IS DONE DO YOU JUST PUT ONE LAYER OF CHOC CHIPS, THEN COCONUT, THEN CARAMEL BITES? OR AFTER THE FIRST LAYER DO YOU PUT MORE CHOC CHIPS, COCONUT AND CARAMEL BITES? OR IS ONE LAYER ENOUGH?
One layer is all I used. Just sprinkle each topping in one layer over the top of the hot crust, then pour the SCM over the top.
So I thought “regular” in the ingredients meant u could use regular milk not sweetened condensed. It really was not clear, so now the bars are a complete failure.
I meant regular sweetened condensed milk – it’s more mainstream. I use fat-free scm for most of my recipes because of habit, but some people have trouble finding it. I’m sorry you were confused!
I did make the recipe again after the disaster, and it is absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing!
These are so good! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I actually made them twice this weekend. The first time, I couldn’t find caramel nibs, so I just grabbed a jar of caramel ice cream topping. Worked all right, tasted well, but they are super messy. The second time, I just happened to find the carmal nibs in the candy aisle of the grocery store. These are much prettier as they hold up better. Absolutely delicious!
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