Samoa Squares (Gluten Free)

I dream of many things these days... (note: this is not a comprehensive list) The end of this crazy winter (where one day we have the AC on and the next day have to switch to heat). Fresh flowers. Vacations. One day learning to like exercise. A kitchen with a window in it (and marble counter tops too, while we’re dreaming). Paying off student loans. Living nearer a Trader Joes and Whole Foods (though I’m sure it’s better for my pocketbook that I don’t). And Gluten Free Girl Scout Cookies.   Luckily, I can make my own gluten free version of my Girl Scout cookie of preference: Samoas (or Caramel Delites, depending on where you are in the US).

If you think about it, Samoas have quite a few components: the shortbread crust (chocolate crust), the chewy caramel/coconut layer, the chocolate drizzle.... So, I made gluten free Samoa Squares with just a few adaptations to make them a bit easier.  Gluten free shortbread is more fragile than regular shortbread because in addition to not having gluten (i.e. proteins that help provide structure in regular baked goods), shortbread traditionally lacks another structural item: eggs. Making a bar-type cookie that is cut into squares *after* it is assembled is much easier than rolling out the the slightly crumbly dough and attempting to cut out individual cookies. Plus, then the caramel/coconut mixture can be spread on top all at once, and not individually portioned & spread onto each separate cookie base.  Then, instead of dipping the bottom in chocolate, I added a chocolate layer in between the baked shortbread and the coconut caramel. Just a few short-cuts that make the assembly easier, but the squares still taste (and look) amazing! Next time, I may even make a double batch (though then I’d be tempted to eat way, way too many of them....).  

My next dream is to perhaps to take a few of the leftover Samoa Squares make a milkshake or ice cream sundae with a couple leftover Samoa Squares. And perhaps tackle a gluten free version of the Thin Mint (my second favorite).  

Gluten Free Samoa Squares 

Yields approximately 16 squares

Shortbread Base (adapted from Annie’s Eats) 

4.25 oz (1c) GF AP Flour (or substitute AP flour, if not Gluten Free)

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt

3 oz Coconut Oil, solid

1.75 oz (1/4 c) Granulated Sugar

3/4 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder & salt. Set aside
2. In a slightly larger bowl, use a spatula to cream together the solidified coconut oil and the granulated sugar. Add in the vanilla bean paste. 
3. Pour all the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture & continue mixing, using a spatula, until a soft dough forms.  
4. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper (I find it’s easiest to crumple the paper first, then try to line the pan with it)--don’t worry if it’s not perfect. 
5. Press the evenly dough into the prepared pan. (I used my fingers). Chill the pan in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.  
6. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the chilled dough for 15 minutes, or until the dough is baked through and very lightly golden brown. 
7. Set aside to cool.  Keep the oven on to toast the coconut. 

Chocolate Layer

2 oz semi-sweet Chocolate Chips 

1 tsp (6 g) Coconut Oil 

1. In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips and coconut oil. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir. Microwave for additional 10 second increments, stirring after each session, until the chips are melted.  
2. Evenly spread over the baked, cooled shortbread base. Allow to set. 

Coconut Caramel Topping (adapted from Cooking Classy)

90 g (3/4 c) sweetened coconut flakes, divided

6.9 oz (approximately 24) Kraft Caramels, unwrapped (note, weight is taken after unwrapping)

2 1/2 Tbl Milk (approximately 33g) 

1. Spread the coconut flakes onto a small pan. Toast in a 350 F oven until brown (but not burned)--Mine took about 15 minutes. Stir approximately every 5 minutes to ensure even browning. Set aside to cool. 
2. In a small sauce pan, heat the unwrapped caramels and milk over medium heat. Stir constantly until the caramels are just melted. Set aside to cool slightly. 
3. Meanwhile, pulse the toasted coconut in a food processor until finely processed. Remove 60 g (approximately 1/2 c) and set aside both the 60g and the remaining. 
4. Pour the 60g of coconut into the caramel and mix to combine.  Carefully spread in an even layer over the chocolate covered shortbread. Top with the remaining coconut & press into the caramel.  Allow to set completely.
5. Use a sharp knife to cut the coconut/caramel/chocolate topped shortbread into 16 equal squares. Spread the cut squares out slightly on the parchment paper in preparation for the chocolate drizzle. 

Chocolate Drizzle (adapted from Cooking Classy)

Note: this will make more than needed, but it’s rather difficult to make the batch much smaller than it already is. 

35g (2 1/2 Tbl) Coconut Oil, solid

10 g (2 Tbl) Cocoa Powder

1 oz (1/4 c) Confectioners sugar

1. In a small bowl, mix together the coconut oil and cocoa powder.  Heat for 10 seconds, or just until melted. Stir.
2. Add the confectioners’s sugar and mix until combined.  Heat for an additional 10 seconds, or until just slightly warm & of a pipe-able consistency.  Additional coconut oil may be added if the mixture is too thick.  
3. Place the chocolate into a cornet paper piping bag or a small ziplock.  Barely cut off the tip (or corner) and carefully stripe cross the squares.  Allow the chocolate to drizzle across the *entire* square so that you don’t end up with the “toaster strudel” effect ;) 
4. Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature. Store any leftovers at room temperature. 

Please note: When I made these squares, I used the weighted measurements which will be more accurate. I’ve included some volumetric amounts too, though I have not personally tested them.

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Salted Caramel Millet Squares (GF) and a snow walk

Greetings from the Atlanta airport! This week has been an interesting one, to say the least.  Last Thursday, I flew out to the Atlanta area to drive to Birmingham, with my friend Tami, the following day for the conference Food Blog South. The conference was excellent and I’m still digesting all that I learned… A recap post will be coming soon.

Following the conference, we headed back to Tami’s in Georgia & I planned to fly back home to Texas on Tuesday. Well, the weather (specifically winter storm “Leon”) had other plans.... Instead of heading home, I found myself stuck at Tami’s house, due to the inclement weather.

Mingus, wearing his sweater & ready to go on a snow walk. 

But honestly, I can’t think of a better place to be stuck!  Tami & Mike are so kind and hospitable! Even with our snow/ice adventures, propane shortages, and cats lost/stuck in unacessible portions of the attic, it was a fantastic stay! I loved having time to relax, catch up on some computer things, cuddle with Mingus and the kitties, and spending time with good friends.

So now today, I’m trying to head back.  Fingers crossed that I’ll actually make it!  But in the mean time, while I’m chilling in the airport, I thought I’d share something I made last week before the trip: Salted Caramel Millet Squares, which I perhaps should have named “mile high salted caramel puffed millet squares.”  They are a little on the tall side...

After making copycat KIND bars last fall, I found myself with a good amount puffed millet. I thought about making a a variation on rice krispy treats, only gluten free, since the particular brand of Puffed Millet Cereal I found is gluten free, and regular crispy rice cereal is not gluten free.  (yes, I know you can get gluten free rice krispies, but my local grocery store doesn’t stock them).  My one complaint is that my millet had got a little stale and was not quite as crunchy as I would have liked, but fresh cereal shouldn’t have that problem.

Regular old rice krispy treats are great, my browned butter version is even better, and now adding salted caramel adds a whole extra flavor dimension.  These squares aren’t quite as easy--you do have to make both the caramel sauce & brown the butter. But the taste, in my opinion, is completely worth it!  And they might make an easy Super Bowl snack? If you can’t get puffed millet, feel free to substitute an equal amount of crispy rice cereal.

Salted Caramel Millet Squares
yields 9 very generous servings 

Salted Caramel Sauce (recipe follows)
4 oz / 1 stick / 8 Tbl Butter
8 oz Marshmallows
5.6 oz Puffed Millet Cereal (or substitute crispy rice cereal, though it may not be GF! Check the ingredients)

1. Prepare an 8x8 baking pan by spraying it liberally with non stick spray (alternately, use a 9x13 if using the millet & you do not want quite as tall squares). Set aside. 
2. Make the salted caramel sauce (recipe follows), and reserve. 
3. In a tall, heavy stock pot, brown the butter.  Heat the butter over medium high heat. Once it melts, it will become a bit bubbly or foamy.  Keep cooking, gently swirling the pan occasionally, until the bubbles or foam dissipate, and the milk solids begin to brown in the bottom of the pan. Once the solids reach a rich golden brown color, remove the pot from the burner.  
4. Add the marshmallows and stir with a heat tempered spatula until the marshmallows all melt completely. If the residual heat in the pot does not completely melt the marshmallows, return the pot to the burner briefly. Once the marshmallows have completely melted, stir in the salted caramel sauce. 
5. Pour the puffed millet into the butter/marshmallow/caramel mixture. Quickly stir until all the cereal is well coated.  
6. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press to compact.  Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares. Store any leftovers, covered, at room temperature.  

Salted Caramel Sauce

200g / 7 oz / 1c Granulated Sugar 

3 Tbl Water

2 oz Heavy Cream

2 tsp Fine Grain Sea Salt

1.  In a 3 qt sauce pan, mix together the granulated sugar and water until the two resemble wet sand. 
2. Place the pan over medium high heat and cook, without stirring, until the mixture turns a medium/medium dark caramel color. Swirl the pan occasionally, if the browning is uneven.  
3. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cream. Warning, the mixture will bubble violently when the cream is added, so be careful!
4. Finish by stirring in the salt. Use as directed above.  

This post contains affiliate links. 

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Copycat KIND Bars (GF)

October has been full of unexpected things.  A badly sprained ankle. A government shutdown (i.e. a disrupted paycheck schedule).  A knee injury that happened in September, but is taking a long time to heal. Other unexpected medical tests. An ant infestation in the car ?!? (insert Archer jokes, if you like)

We’re kind of in survival mode at this point, wondering why Murphy’s law seems to follow us around so closely these days. And trying to anticipate what unexpected thing will pop up next.

I intended to make these homemade KIND Bars for us to eat on the way to Waco, TX, where my husband was to participate in another Tough Mudder Challenge. I figured they’d be a good training treat as well as a tasty on the road snack.

But his knee injury is taking a lot longer to heal than we thought it would. After a visit to the doctor and an MRI, he has been advised not to participate & that this knee injury may take up to 6 months to fully heal! Sad.

Even though we won’t be heading to Waco for the race like we planned, I still wanted to make these homemade KIND Bars. I do love eating the store bought version--they're such a great gluten free on-the-go snack option. However, they can get to be rather expensive....

Making them at home was really easy and so much more cost effective. Though I made the “Nut Delight” version this time, I can see myself using the same concept & substituting different nuts and mix-ins, depending on what I have in the pantry.

I almost made a second copycat batch, this time of the “Almond & Coconut” variety, but the first “Nut Delight” recipe was so tasty! Perhaps it would be better for my self control (or lack thereof) to wait to make that batch until a future date :)

Nut Delight Copycat KIND Bar (gluten free) 

adapted from The Yummy Life

yields 20 bars

7.5 oz / 1 1/2 c Whole Almonds, raw & unsalted

3 oz / 3/4 c Walnuts, raw & unsalted

2.3 oz, 1/2 c Brazil Nuts, raw & unsalted {approx 15 total}

3.75 oz / 3/4 c Peanuts, lightly salted 

0.25 oz / 1/2 c Puffed Millet (or other puffed whole grain cereal/crispy brown rice cereal)

6.33 g / 1 Tbl Flaxseed Meal

6 oz / 1/2 cup Honey

4 oz / 1/3 c Brown Rice Syrup

1 tsp Vanilla 

1/4 tsp Sea Salt (optional, if any of the nuts are salted) 

nonstick spray 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Spread the almonds, walnuts, and brazil nuts onto a large baking sheet & bake until lightly toasted and fragrant, approximately 10 minutes. 
2. While the nuts are toasting, liberally spray a 9x13 baking pan with nonstick spray (I used a quarter sheet pan). Line with parchment paper & spray the parchment paper. Set aside. Also, spray a large bowl & a heat tempered spatula with nonstick spray.  
3. Once the nuts are toasted & slightly cooled, mix with the peanuts, then coarsely chop. Add the nuts to the large bowl, plus the puffed cereal & flax meal.  Stir & set aside. 
4. Add the honey, brown rice syrup, and salt to a 2qt sauce pan.  Clip on a candy thermometer. Heat over medium high heat until the mixture reaches 260 F. Remove from the heat & stir in the vanilla--be careful, the mixture may bubble & splatter!   
5. Pour over the nut mixture and quickly stir until everything is combined.  
6. Quickly transfer to the greased pan, spreading the mixture evenly in the pan.  Press & compact the mixture using well greased hands and/or the greased bottom of a metal measuring cup or drinking glass. 
7. Let cool 20 minutes (pan will still be warm). Invert the pan on a cutting board & tap until mixture falls out in one piece. Remove the parchment paper. Cut into 20 bars. If the bars become too cool & are too hard/brittle to cut, put the pan into a warm oven for a couple minutes to help soften and then try cutting. 
8. Allow the bars to cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container. Use parchment paper between the layers.  Or individually wrap the individual bars in parchment paper for easy transport. Store at room temperature for up to 1 week, or refrigerate to extend shelf life. 

Alternate Ingredient Substitutions

• Need a vegan version? Use all brown rice syrup & omit honey
• Can't find puffed millet? Use another puffed whole grain cereal.  I almost used GF Rice Krispies before I finally was able to find puffed millet at Central Market. 

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