Samoa Pie

A big trend in food blogging right now is Girl Scout cookie themed desserts.  

It is the season for Girl Scout cookies, but I have not seen a single Girl Scout selling cookies outside of a grocery store.  None of my coworkers have daughters in Girl Scouts.  I may go the entire year without eating a Girl Scout cookie.

That's really good for my health, but I feel like I am missing out on an important American event.  It may not be as important as Thanksgiving, but this time of year is always marked by St. Patricks day and Girl Scout cookies.  Even though I am missing out on buying expensive, addictive sugary cookies, I can embrace Girl Scout cookie themed desserts.  

The recipe for the shortbread crust came from Martha Stewart.  The ingredients for the crust are 4 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 egg yolk, 1 cup all-purpose flour, and 1 teaspoon salt.  The chocolate cream pie layer came from All Recipes.  The ingredients are 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 3 egg yolks, 1 1/3 cups white sugar, 1 12 ounce can evaporated milk, and 3 tablespoons butter.  The coconut caramel topic used 1 1/2 cup coconut, 1/2 cup caramel, 4 ounces dark chocolate, and a splash of milk.

I began by making the crust.  I stirred the soft butter and sugar together.

I stirred in the egg yolk.  I still have four egg whites in my fridge waiting to be made into healthy scrambled eggs.

I added the flour and salt.

I pressed this into a pie pan and put in the freezer for 20 minutes while the oven preheated to 375 degrees.  I baked it for 18 minutes and rotated it after 9 minutes.  The original recipe said to bake the crust for 20 minutes.  I wasn't crazy about the crust.  It was dry.  I appreciate that shortbread is dry, but this was too dry.  It was also very difficult to remove from the pan.

While the pie baked I prepared the filling.  I combined the coco powder and flour.

In another bowl I combined the egg yolks and sugar.

When I started whisking the sugar and eggs together, I realized my bowl was too small.  It's always fun to get more dishes dirty than necessary.  

I gradually added the evaporated milk while whisking constantly.

I added the sugary milk mixture to the pan and whisked.

I cooked this mixture over medium heat until it had thickened.  The recipe states this may take about 15 minutes.  Many reviewers said to cook it a little longer than you think is necessary because that ensures the pie sets firmly.

Once the chocolate filling is thick, I removed it from the heat and added the butter.

I poured the chocolate into the crust once the butter melted.

I combined the caramel and coconut.  I ended up adding a little extra caramel.

I placed gobs of the caramel coconut mixture on top of the chocolate cream.  

I baked the pie for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.  I am sure this step was unnecessary.  The original recipe has a meringue top, which needed to be browned.

I melted the dark chocolate and milk together in the microwave.  I stirred every twenty minutes and took care not to burn the chocolate.

I drizzled the chocolate ganache over the pie.

This pie was on the verge of greatness.  It should have been the best think I have posted on the blog yet.  I baked it shortly before serving it, and the chocolate cream layer didn't have time to solidify.  It was a chocolaty, gooey mess.   It was a delicious mess, but messes are never good.  I wish I had made it the day before and let it chill in the fridge.  As I mentioned before, I wasn't crazy about the crust.  It stuck to the pan, and I'm not sure why.

 The filling was delicious.  It was rich, decadent, and creamy.  It has rave reviews on All Recipes.  Adding coconut, caramel, and ganache only mades it more fabulous.  If I was a better food blogger, I would have made this again.  The second time around I would have used a different crust recipe and allowed more time to chill.  If I had, I'm sure this would have been one of the best recipes on my blog.