Samoa Trifle

It's the second most wonderful time of the year....Girl Scout cookie time! As a Girl Scout mama to a dear Brownie and our troops "cookie mom" I found it fitting to develop a recipe for the second annual Girl Scout cookie contest. This recipe pays homage to one of my favorite Girl Scout cookies, the Samoa.

The many layers of the Samoa trifle lead to intrigue and surprise. The sweetness and full flavor of the cookie is beautifully balanced by the strong and crunchy cocoa nib while the halved peach and raspberry compliment the lightly sweetened whipped cream.

When & where might one get the delicious cookies you ask?  Sales begin on March 1 and go through March 17th.  The clever folks at Girl Scouts even created a cookie finder, just for you! Click here for the Locater.  If you like your apps as much as I do click here for the cookie locater app.  These handy dandy tools will be updated closer to the times of the cookie sales so be sure to check back near March to find out where a sale is happening near your neighborhood.

Samoa Trifle
4 servings

Ingredients

• 12 Girl Scout Samoa cookies
• 4 canned halved peaches (I prefer Trader Joe's) 
• 3 tablespoons canned peach juice 
• 4 tablespoons roasted cocoa nibs (I prefer Theo cocoa nibs) 
• 1 3/4 cups fresh or frozen raspberries (I used frozen and thaw for about 15 minutes prior to assembly)
• 8 teaspoons unsweetened flaked coconut
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 16 ounces heavy whipped cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 glasses or parfait dishes, 8 ounces (1 cup)  in size

*Optional, as a garnish

• chocolate syrup for garnish
• caramel for garnish
• pastry bag and star tip to pipe whipped cream on top of trifle

Place whipped cream in an electric mixer. Add vanilla, canned peach juice, and powdered sugar. Whip on high for about 3 minutes or until the whipped cream has formed peaks. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of whipped cream on the bottom of one serving glass or dish. Sprinkle about 8 pieces of cocoa nibs on top of the whipped cream.

Chop 10 Samoa cookies into small pieces and place about 6 small pieces on top of the whipped cream layer. Halve the remaining 2 Samoa's and set aside.

The third layer will be whipped cream. Place about 2 tablespoons of whipped cream on top of the Samoa cookie pieces.

The fourth layer contains the fruit. Place one peach halve on top of the whipped cream. Add 4-5 raspberries, a sprinkle of cocoa nibs (about 8 pieces) & a teaspoon of coconut.

Spoon another layer of the whipped cream into the glass.

Next, place about 6 small pieces of Samoas cookies in the glass.

Last, pipe in the top layer of whipped cream in a circular motion to achieve a decorative look. Sprinkle coconut, cocoa nibs and syrups as garnish. Place a halved Samoa cookie piece and one raspberry on top. **If you are using frozen berries as I did you'll want to add the raspberry garnish just before serving as the juices from the berry may begin to run a bit.

Repeat the layering on the remaining 3 glasses or dishes. Serve and enjoy Samoa Trifle

Please click here to visit the Girl Scout Cookie contest to vote for the 5 finalist beginning February 19th.

Chocolate Fudge Caramel Sea Salt Dot Cookies

Ahh the Super Bowl....the dust has settled at our house from a great family gathering of far too much food and fun. In usual style, I've managed to miss some of the commercials but of the ones I did watch I laughed out loud at the the Taco Bell and Pistachio commercials while The Dodge commercial honoring farmers tugged at my heartstrings.

But in typical style of viewing my broad based friend network via my Facebook newsfeed, I'm reminded that it's not all food, fun and laughs during a Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is the single largest human trafficking incident according to the US Attorney General.  There are vulnerable minors being brought in from other locations to cater to the mostly male appetite of the sex trade. It's outrageous and sick. So much so that even  some in Hollywood are taking action with their "Real Men don't Buy Sex" campaign.

You can report a tip or get assistance at the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-877-373-7888, a non-profit resource center.

Chocolate Fudge Caramel Sea Salt Dot Cookies

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 12 ounces semi sweet chocolate
• 2 sticks of butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt

2 Topping choices:

• 30 caramels
• 3 ounces of white chocolate or almond bark

Preheat oven to 300. Grease baking sheets

Melt semi sweet chocolate on low over the stove, stirring constantly. Remove and let cool a bit.

Mix flour, baking powder, cocoa and salt in a large bowl. Set aside

In an electric mixer, add butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add chocolate. Mix again. Add flour mixture and mix well.

Using a 1" cookie scoop place drops on the cookie sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes. Let cool for a minute or two then remove and allow to cool on a rack.

Topping

Set aside half of the cookies. Place white chocolate or almond bark in a bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring each time until nearly melted.  Drizzle over the cookies

Place caramels in a pan on the stove on medium low, stir until melted. Using the remaining half of cookies, drop a teaspoon full caramel in the center of each cookie. You will need to use your finger to shape nicely.