I have been thinking about this recipe for the past couple of weeks. It’s a combination of 2 recipes – Girl Scout Samoas and Turtle Bars.
Samoas – We were in the process of moving so we missed the boat with Girl Scout cookies this year. HUGE bummer. Thanks to Food Buzz I found a number of recipes for Samoas. I also found Keebler’s Coconut Dreams which taste just like the real thing and they sell them year-a-round. *High five* to Keebler!
Turtle Bars– Before we moved to Kansas I worked at a Real Estate company. Every quarter we would have a welcome reception at the president’s house for the new agents and staff. She always had the same caterer so we all anticipated the same goodies. My favorite was what we all called Turtle Bars. They had a thin fudgy brownie base with caramel, chocolate, chocolate chunks, and I think pecans; so moist and scrumptious. They were bite size pieces so you could quickly eat 10. I made the mistake of telling the chef how much I loved them and she made sure a full plate was in front of me all night…I left with a bit of sugar high each time. I still need to figure out her recipe, but then again, might be better for my pants if I don’t.
I decided to merge these two recipes into one. Beginning with a thin brownie base and then topping with coconut, caramel, and chocolate. For the brownies, I used a box mix but baked in a sheet cake pan instead of a 13 x 9 inch pan. Make sure to reduce your baking time to about 20 minutes.
Once the brownies were completely cool, I went to work on the toping…caramel, coconut, and chocolate. You do need to work quickly before the caramel sets, but you also have to be careful not to tear up the brownie base while you spread the caramel/coconut topping.
The finished product was everything I hoped it would be – fudgy base and chewy goodness on top. I like them served chilled but they were also good at room temperature.
Coconut Caramel Brownies
1 box brownie mix
2-3 cups coconut
2 bags (20 oz total) Werther’s Original Chewy Caramels
½ tsp salt
6 tbsp milk
3 regular sized Hersey Bars (or your favorite chocolate)
Prepare brownies as directed on box but bake in a sheet cake pan and shorten cooking time to 20 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Set aside and let cool completely.
Coconut – Toast the coconut in a large pan on the stove over medium/high heat, stirring regularly, until golden brown. Place in bowl and set aside.
Caramel – Unwrap the caramels and place in a microwave safe bowl. Add in the milk and salt. Microwave for 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to stir every minute of so until smooth and completely melted.
Add toasted coconut to caramel and stir together. Pour mixture onto brownie base and use a spatula to cover the whole brownie base.
Chocolate – Break up candy bars and place in another microwave safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds at a time, stopping to stir each time until completely melted. Drizzle melted chocolate over the entire pan.
Place pan in the refrigerator to set. Cut into small squares and serve chilled or at room temperature.
Oh – I did have a little leftover toasted coconut and chocolate so I combined and placed in refrigerator to set – hey, didn’t want it to go to waste!
Enjoy! Thanks for stopping by!