Welcome to Beats, Treats and Eats!

Let's keep it short and simple. I love listening to music. I love to bake. And I love to cook. And so, at this time of my life, 6 months before I transition from a life of working 40-hours-a-week, to a life of being a PhD graduate student, I'm taking time to pursue those loves.

So the concept- as for now there is no super exciting, unique sell for this blog. But this is me- I grew up in a house of foodies- a mom who can cook any cuisine under the sun amazingly well- a brother who went to the Culinary Institute of America and is an executive chef in Dallas- and my father and me- happy taste-testers who also enjoy taking a stab at different cuisines in the kitchen. Now I live away from my family in DC, a city I can barely afford to live in, and I cook in a tiny kitchen without all the gadgets that I took for granted back home. So that's what you'll see here- me exploring different recipes, while mostly sticking to the basic ingredients I can afford and to common kitchen amenities the 20-somethings keep in their limited cabinet space. Oh and the beats? I like cooking to music, so I'll let you know what song could be heard from my kitchen while cooking.

Okay- that's enough for now- let's get to a recipe! I attended a Vandy alumni dinner tonight and I brought a dessert. Specifically, homemade samoas! I missed the girl scout cookie ordering this year, so I thought I'd take a stab at it myself.

Pretty good right?!

So first- what was I listening to? Ra Ra Riot's "Dance with Me" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp8CqqY-OYg) I recently saw them in concert and they were amaaaazing! And I'm celebrating today- just finished a month of grad school interviews so I definitely feel like dancing.

I'm going to walk you through the steps through pictures, but if you scroll to the bottom you can get the recipe and step-by-step directions.

So first I made the shortbread batter. Rolled it out and cut it into cookies.

While most recipes call for a doughnut cookie cutter, I found a good stein works just as well:

I took the cookies out when they were just slightly browned on the edges. The caramel topping gets pretty hard, so you want the cookie to still be soft. 

I maybe burned the coconut a little. You really have to keep your eye on that stuff! This was after 6 minutes. It still tasted good, but I had to pick out the burnt pieces.

One kitchen indulgence I do have is a double-boiler. I use it a lot though so I think it's worth it. Also secret tip- you can use the bottom pot as a regular pot- who would've thought?

I know typical samoas have a middle circle cut-out, but I figured it wasn't worth the effort. Go for it if you have the patience!

Yummmmmm..

They were a big hit at the party and tasted as good as (if not better than) the real things! :)

Homemade Samoas

How many: 24 cookies

Ingredients:

Cookie dough:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extra

Coconut/Caramel Topping:

8 ounces soft caramels (I used Brach's Milk Maid Caramels)

2 tablespoons milk

1/3 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

Chocolate dipping:

5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

Steps:

Shortbread Cookies:

1) If you're lucky enough to have a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. I unfortunately don't have one of those bad boys (they take up so much space!) So I found, if you let the butter sit out long enough, a fork works just as well.

2) In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the mixture to the creamed butter. Add the milk and vanilla extract. I'm not sure how easy this would be in a stand mixer, but when doing it by hand, I used a fork at first and then eventually had to resort to my hands to fully incorporate all the ingredients and form a dough.

3) Separate the dough into two disks, wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for about 45 minutes.

4) While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

5) If you have parchment paper, line your baking sheet with that, but I find that stuff a little expensive, and a lightly buttered pan works just as well. Lay the cookies out on the tray with at least 1/2 an inch between cookies.

 6) Once the dough is chilled, take one disk out and roll it onto a lightly floured surface till it's about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out as many cookies as possible using a cookie cutter if you have it, or a cup works just as well (as pictured above). My cookies were about 2 inches wide, but you could make them bigger if you wanted. If the cookie dough gets too soft, refrigerate it again and get the other disk. I switched back and forth between disks until I had 24 cookies cut out.

7) Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, the thinner you rolled your cookies the less time you'll need to bake them so keep an eye on them. You want them kind of soft to balance out the caramel and so they don't break in half when you're pushing the topping onto them. 

8) Transfer the cookies to a wire wrack to cool. If you don't have a wire rack, a cool tray or plate works just as well.

Coconut topping:

1) Spread the coconut flakes onto a baking sheet (no need to butter it or line it). Bake at 350 degrees until toasted. I set a timer and checked the coconut every 2 minutes because that stuff browns quickly!

2) Melt the caramels, milk and salt in a double boiler. Remove from heat and stir in toasted coconut. (I did this in two batches, so I didn't have to rush topping the cookies before the caramel hardened.)

3) Using a spoon, spread caramel and coconut topping on the cookies and let them harden. 

4) Melt the chocolate in a double-broiler. I used a spatula to spread the chocolate on the bottom of the cookies, you can also try dipping, but I found that more difficult. If you have wax-paper, you can lay the dipped cookies onto that, but if not, I just flipped the cookies upside down (chocolate side up) and let them harden that way.

5) Once the bottoms have hardened, flip them over and drizzle the remaining chocolate on top and you're done!

6) Enjoy!