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Just because they were that good, I thought I'd share the recipe for those homemade samoas I wrote about last week. My parents really enjoyed these this past weekend during their visit. Plus these are by far my favorite Girl Scout cookie so what could possibly be better than the homemade version?


Ingredients for Shortbread
 
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for Toppings
3 cups shredded coconut
3/4lb caramels
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips



The first step is to make the cookie base. It is a shortbread type base that is super quick and simple. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and vanilla and beat. Finally mix the flour and salt in with the rest of your ingredients. Flatten out the dough in a greased 9x13 baking pan and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until it is lightly browned.

While the shortbread cools, toast 3 cups of coconut on a parchment lined baking sheet for about 20 minutes at 300 degrees. Be sure to take the baking sheet out of the oven every 5 minutes and give the coconut a good stir so that it doesn't get too dark on one side.

Next, unwrap and melt 3/4lb of caramels along with 3 tablespoons of milk and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Melt the caramels in the microwave on high, stirring occasionally. It takes about three minutes for all of the caramel to melt.

Finally, stir in the toasted coconut and spread the caramel mixture on top of your shortbread. Cut out squares of your cookie to prepare for the chocolate. Melt one cup of chocolate chips in the microwave. I usually melt the chocolate chips for several 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Dip the bottoms of your cookies in the melted chocolate, reserving some chocolate to drizzle on top as well.

If you decided to make these, let me know how they turned out! Enjoy!

Half way through this crazy marathon of designing! I can't believe it! Today's design was inspired by this morning's weather. So cloudy and I was sure it was going to rain, but then the sun began peeking out of the clouds.






I decided to go out on a limb and try printing some color inside with dashed lines for writing. It added a bright flourish of color for the somewhat dreary design. I must say, I really love these! Such juxtaposition-- dreary rain and a bright sunny day!

I love this card. There is no other thing I could say about it, really. While I enjoy graphic design and making matching sets of note cards, I also really enjoy creating a one of a kind greeting card like this one.






Sure, I could reproduce this if I wanted to, but there is something to say for the fact that I could just leave it at this and only one person in the world will ever receive a card like this. This one of kind card features a hand cut pearlescent grass green card, yellow, blue, and gray abstract circles on an off-white linen backdrop. Yum. That is all.

Today's design is a set of four note cards in hues of blue. These cards features layer of paper, including fun glossy metallic plaid, and rounded corners. Somehow these cards remind me of the country cottage style. Maybe it is the combination of the blues, plaid, and the rustic kraft paper.






Kind of makes me want to move out of the city and into the countryside.

Just popping in quick before I head off to the farmers market. Today's design shares both traditional and retro details. Textured yellow damask cards paired with aqua and gray triangles are the agenda for today. Take a peek and let me know what you think.






This is definitely a bright and sunny design! Hope your day is just as bright!