Twix and a blogiversary!

Today is Broma Bakery's first birthday. I cannot believe it's been a year since I started my blog. I've loved every bite, every photograph, and every post. Through midterms, finals, work, play, holidays, and bored mornings this blog has kept me sane. My motto for life is now unofficially, "when in doubt, bake." And in looking back over old posts, I realize how insane I sound in most of my writing. It's kind of ridiculous. So thank you for bearing with me. And happy birthday to YOU, Broma! My little baby's all grown up!  

For the shortbread:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar

For the caramel:

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the chocolate:

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, cream sugar and butter for about two minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Add in the flour and salt, mixing until the dough starts to come together.

On a lightly floured surface mix the dough together with your hands. Spread out into a 9"x13" greased baking dish. Use a fork to poke holes in the dough so that no air bubbles will form. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the butter, salt, sugar, and condensed milk to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring often. The caramel should be medium-golden brown in color and the milky taste should pretty much cook out (taste test this!). 

Once the cookies are cooled, spoon the caramel over them. Again allow to cool completely before cutting the cookies into 1 1/2 by 4 inch bars. Set aside.

In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the chocolate chips in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each one. Once the chocolate is completely melted, pour into a shallow bowl. Dip the cookie bars into the chocolate and set on wire racks to cool.

Tadaaa, homemade Twix!

Samoa girlscout cookies!

2 hours, 10 burnt fingertips, a frustrated me, and a messy kitchen later, they were finished. Other than the fact that these were a bitch and a half to make, these Samoa cookies are bomb. But they're definitely not for the faint of heart. Or the faint of, erhm, expertise? I don't know. Just expect to get frustrated like five times in the process. Verdict? They are worth the effort. Totally.

Makes about 32 cookies

For the shortbread:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the coconut bit:

14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut
14 ounces soft chewy caramels (like Kraft Caramels)

For the chocolate:

3/4 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
2 tablespoons shortening
4 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
2-3 tablespoons water

Heat oven to 350ºF. Line bake sheet with parchment. Place coconut on bakesheet and bake until golden brown,  10-15 minutes. Make sure to stir the coconut half way through. Be very watchful of the coconut-- it takes seconds for toasted to turn to burnt.

Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and creamy. Add vanilla and beat until combined. Add flour and beat until combined. Place dough in refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes. Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out the dough to an 1/8 of an inch in thickness.

Using a two inch round cookie cutter stamp out cookies and for the center use the wider end of a piping tip if you don’t have a small enough cookie cutter. Place stamped out cookies on parchment lined bakesheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Place caramel squares in a medium size sauce pan over medium heat to melt. Once the caramel bits are completely melted reserve ½ a cup of mixture in a shallow bowl; set aside. Add the toasted coconut to the remaining caramel mixture. Fill a shallow pan with hot water and place saucepan filled with the finished caramel coconut in it to keep the mixture at spreading consistency. Reheat mixture as needed to maintain spread consistency during assembly.

Dip tops of cookies into the reserved caramel bowl. This will help the sticky caramel coconut mixture to quickly adhere to the cookie. Place cookie on a flat surface and using an icing spatula or butter knife spread caramel coconut mixture on to the cookie. If necessary, use a spoon to guide the caramel coconut spread off the icing spatula and on to the cookies. Let cookies rest for 30 minutes before dipping the bottoms in chocolate and drizzling the striping on top.

Place chocolate and shortening in a bowl over simmering water. Let chocolate and cream sit for 2-3 minutes to melt without stirring. Then slowly stir mixture to combine. Add powdered sugar and mix to combine. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing after each addition until pouring consistency is reached. Set aside and let sauce cool to warm.

oh hey where'd they go....

Recipe adapted from Bakers Royale.