Category Archives: Food

The Ulster Fry

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The Ulster Fry

The Ulster Fry : a traditional full breakfast from Northern Ireland.

This week Becky and I have been vising some of her friends in Northern Ireland. It has been interesting to sit and talk with people and to watch how the culture is different when compared the cultural elements we encountered in Edinburgh, Scotland. On of the things we had the privilege of eating was an Ulster Fry. Complete with eggs, ham, potato, tomato, sausage, toast, jam, tea, farls and friends.

Girl Scout Samoas

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Girl Scout Samoas are my second favorite Girl Scout Cookie (GSC). But the price is outrageous and they use High Fructose Corn Syrup. I think I would rather eat a brownie. So I though it time that Becky and I figure out a recipe we like. So, here are a few we’ll try when we get back to the States:

Recipe: Girl Scout Samoa Cookies (Copycat)

Ingredients

  1. 6 tablespoons butter
  2. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  3. 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  4. 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
  5. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  6. 4 cups toasted coconut
  7. 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Place each shortbread cookie in cup of a greased muffin tin.
  2. In 2-quart saucepan over medium-low heat, combine butter, sugar and corn syrup.
  3. Heat to a full boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
  4. Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
  5. Slowly pour in sweetened condensed milk, stirring constantly.
  6. Continue cooking over low heat until candy thermometer reaches 220-228ºF degrees.
  7. Remove from heat.
  8. Stir in vanilla.
  9. Beat until creamy.
  10. Immediately stir in toasted coconut and mix well.
  11. Spoon mixture by teaspoonfuls over shortbread cookies.
  12. Cool completely.
  13. Remove cooled cookies from muffin tin onto waxed paper.
  14. Melt chocolate chips and drizzle thinly in stripes over cookies and let chocolate harden at room temperature.
  15. Store in airtight container.

Quick Notes

24 -30 shortbread cookies (I used Lauryn Clark’s copycat recipe for the Girl Scout shortbread cookies, just cut them out so that they look right.)

Variations

Substitutions: 1/2 cup sugar + 2 tbsp water = 1/2 cup light corn syrup; 1/2 cup honey = 1/2 cup light corn syrup

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: USA (General)

Recipe: Girl Scout Samoa Cookies

Ingredients

  1. 6 tblsp butter shopping list
  2. 1/2 cup sugar shopping list
  3. 1/2 cup Karo light corn syrup shopping list
  4. 1/2 of a 14 ounce can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk shopping list
  5. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract shopping list
  6. 4 cups toasted coconut shopping list
  7. 1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. In a 2 quart saucepan over medium-low heat, combine butter, sugar and corn syrup.
  2. Heat to a full boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
  3. Slowly pour in Eagle Brand milk, stirring constantly. Continue cooking over low heat until candy thermometer reaches 220-228 degrees.
  4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Beat until creamy. Immediately stir in toasted coconut and mix well.
  5. Spoon by tablespoonfuls into circular mounds onto buttered wax paper. Flatten slightly. With the end of a wooden spoon, poke a small round hole into the center of each cookie.
  6. Cool completely.
  7. Melt the chocolate chips and drizzle thinly in stripes over cookies. Let chocolate harden at room temperature. Store in a airtight container.
  8. To toast coconut: Spread coconut on a baking sheet and toast in a preheated 350 degree oven, stirring occasionally until lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes.

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: USA (General)

Recipe: Caramel de-Lites

Summary: Homemade Girl Scout Cookies: Samoas

Ingredients

    Cookies

  1. 1 cup butter, soft
  2. 1/2 cup sugar
  3. 2 cups all purpose flour
  4. 1/4 tsp baking powder
  5. 1/2 tsp salt
  6. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  7. up to 2 tbsp milk

    8. Topping

  8. 3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
  9. 12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
  10. 1/4 tsp salt
  11. 3 tbsp milk
  12. 8 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Instructions

    Cookies

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (it’s possible you might not need to add milk at all). The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.
  3. Roll the dough (working in two or three batches) out between pieces of wax paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and use a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to make rounds. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat with remaining dough. Alternatively, use scant tablespoons of dough and press into an even layer in a mini donut pan to form the rounds.
  4. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set. If using a mini donut pan, bake for only about 10 minutes, until edges are light gold.
  5. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

    6. Topping

  6. Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
  7. Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
  8. Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it gets too firm to work with.
  9. While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.
  10. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Quick Notes

Makes about 3 1/2-4 dozen cookies.

Variations

Samoas Bars

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: USA (General)