Girl scout cookies inspired dessert:

[Mr. Delicious]

I have a baking competition fundraiser for the girl scouts (Death by Chocolate), I am doing some sort of a samoas cheesecake, using milk chocolate, caramel, and samoas as a crust. What else goes with it? I dont want to use too much coconuts since most people think they dont like it. Last year I did a chocolate caramel oreo cheesecake and won "peoples choice." This year Susan Notter is a guest judge, so the pressure is on.

[chezcherie]

a little coconut milk might be subtle, and taste great, without giving the visual cue that makes people think "coconut"...?

[Tri2Cook]

Disclaimer: this is not criticism, just my personal thoughts.

You got your People's Choice last year, don't do the same thing with a different crust this year. Step outside the safe zone. Add some "wow" factor. Do something unpredictable and risky. But that's just me.

If I was going to do the cheesecake I wouldn't attempt to downplay what the cookie is all about on the assumption that "people don't like coconut". If the cookies are popular then people like them, I doubt they peel off the coconut. Some people don't love the texture of shredded coconut but that's easy to get around if that's your concern.

[Kouign Aman]

Two layer cheesecake:

caramel / coconut

chocolate. Go a bit darker than milk chocolate, because the cheese milks it up a lot.

Drizzle on top in a ring, with melted chocolate and caramel, and top with coconut flakes so that the whole thing looks like an oversized Samoa cookie from the top.

[Mr. Delicious]

Disclaimer: this is not criticism, just my personal thoughts.

You got your People's Choice last year, don't do the same thing with a different crust this year. Step outside the safe zone. Add some "wow" factor. Do something unpredictable and risky. But that's just me.

If I was going to do the cheesecake I wouldn't attempt to downplay what the cookie is all about on the assumption that "people don't like coconut". If the cookies are popular then people like them, I doubt they peel off the coconut. Some people don't love the texture of shredded coconut but that's easy to get around if that's your concern.

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It will be quite different than what I did last year. About stepping out of the safety zone, I do some wild cheesecakes (chocolate peanut butter bacon, strawberry green peppercorn) but this event has kids, and it is still North Dakota where peoples opinion of adventure is something new at Applebee's. I will do some additional coconut with maybe cream of coconut, and maybe a bit of toasted coconut over the top as a garnish. Of the cheesecakes I do with coconut only german chocolate is popular maybe because the coconut appears differently?

[Mr. Delicious]

Two layer cheesecake:

caramel / coconut

chocolate.  Go a bit darker than milk chocolate, because the cheese milks it up a lot.

Drizzle on top in a ring,  with melted chocolate and caramel, and top with coconut flakes so that the whole thing looks like an oversized Samoa cookie from the top.

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It will definately be two layers. I usually use dark chocolate with all the cheesecakes but I think milk chocolate is more fitting to the samoas. I will start to experiment today and have pictures tomorrow. But great call on the visuals, sounds amazing.

[Tri2Cook]

About stepping out of the safety zone, I do some wild cheesecakes (chocolate peanut butter bacon, strawberry green peppercorn) but this event has kids, and it is still North Dakota where peoples opinion of adventure is something new at Applebee's.

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I know where you're coming from, we don't even have Applebee's here. The closest McDonald's is over an hour away. People here are used to (and relatively happy with) the same old thing they've been eating for years. I really wasn't criticizing what you're doing. I just saw chocolate caramel oreo last year and chocolate caramel samosa this year. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing, it got you an award last year. I have a bad habit of saying "screw what they want to taste, I'm giving them what I want them to taste". Probably not the best way to win the awards. It sounds like fun, best of luck!

[Toliver]

What about something citrusy? Samoas, thanks to their marketing, make me think of the tropics or South Pacific. The acid in the citrus could provide a balance to the sweetness of the caramel, chocolate and coconut.

Perhaps a kiwi-lime tart, or pineapple-mango tart (with the crust being made from the Samoa ingredients)...

[CaliPoutine]

About stepping out of the safety zone, I do some wild cheesecakes (chocolate peanut butter bacon, strawberry green peppercorn) but this event has kids, and it is still North Dakota where peoples opinion of adventure is something new at Applebee's.

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I know where you're coming from, we don't even have Applebee's here. The closest McDonald's is over an hour away. People here are used to (and relatively happy with) the same old thing they've been eating for years. I really wasn't criticizing what you're doing. I just saw chocolate caramel oreo last year and chocolate caramel samosa this year. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing, it got you an award last year. I have a bad habit of saying "screw what they want to taste, I'm giving them what I want them to taste". Probably not the best way to win the awards. It sounds like fun, best of luck!

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I too know exactly where you're coming from, but we do have a Mcdonald's .

Tri2Cook, I actually saw samoa's in our grocery store( although they werent called that). They're a No Name product, but basically they look exactly like a samoa.

[KatieLoeb]

Best baking trick I ever learned was from the pastry chef at a former place of employ. Melt (unwrapped) Kraft caramels (light or dark) in the microwave at half power in a lightly oiled pyrex cup measure and then pour them over the bottom crust of your cheesecake. Let cool and then pour the cheesecake batter over the layer of caramel. When you bake the cheesecake the caramel layer gets gooey again. When you cut into the cheesecake with your fork you get a gooey bite of caramel. Delicious and couldn't be easier.

[Mr. Delicious]

My sample cheesecake is baking as we speak, I did a samoa crust, layer of milk chocolate cheesecake batter, then a layer of caramel and cream of coconut cheesecake batter. I will garnish with chopped samoas, toasted coconut, milk chocolate and some caramel. Sound good? I will report monday with pictures and my opinion.

Edited February 24, 2008 by Mr. Delicious (log)

[CanadianBakin']

Best baking trick I ever learned was from the pastry chef at a former place of employ.  Melt (unwrapped) Kraft caramels (light or dark) in the microwave at half power in a lightly oiled pyrex cup measure and then pour them over the bottom crust of your cheesecake.  Let cool and then pour the cheesecake batter over the layer of caramel.  When you bake the cheesecake the caramel layer gets gooey again.  When you cut into the cheesecake with your fork you get a gooey bite of caramel.  Delicious and couldn't be easier.

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I tried this once and ended up with a very firm layer of caramel that wasn't at all easy to eat. I'm hesitant to try it again.

[hummingbirdkiss]

Best baking trick I ever learned was from the pastry chef at a former place of employ.  Melt (unwrapped) Kraft caramels (light or dark) in the microwave at half power in a lightly oiled pyrex cup measure and then pour them over the bottom crust of your cheesecake.  Let cool and then pour the cheesecake batter over the layer of caramel.  When you bake the cheesecake the caramel layer gets gooey again.  When you cut into the cheesecake with your fork you get a gooey bite of caramel.  Delicious and couldn't be easier.

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I tried this once and ended up with a very firm layer of caramel that wasn't at all easy to eat. I'm hesitant to try it again.

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me too I have no idea what I did wrong but you needed a saw to cut the cheesecake when you got to the crust part!..the caramel hardened like a rock!

[K8memphis]

Just add a bit of cream to loosen the caramel up a tablesoon or two. But, Dude, I started a fire in my microwave doing that. I only use my stovetop for caramel melting.

[JeanneCake]

All this reminds me of the Chocolate Cheesecake Brownie in Maida Heatter's Book of Great American Desserts. This dessert is always a big hit and a nice change of pace from the usual stuff. It is a chocolate brownie with coconut and pecans topped with a chocolate cheesecake mixture also with coconut in it.

Having said that....

What if you created or used your favorite brownie recipe using the chopped cookies instead of the nuts - pour it in the pan, then pour over it your cheesecake mixture. Maybe even marble the two by spooning it over the brownie mixture in gobs. In the original, both layers are not too thick, but you know you're eating a brownie and you know it has the most delicious chocolate cheesecake on top of that. The book has it in a square brownie pan, but I make it in a round, removeable bottom cheesecake pan and use some cocoa on the top.

[Mr. Delicious]

All this reminds me of the Chocolate Cheesecake Brownie in Maida Heatter's Book of Great American Desserts. This dessert is always a big hit and a nice change of pace from the usual stuff.  It is a chocolate brownie with coconut and pecans topped with a chocolate cheesecake mixture also with coconut in it.

Having said that....

What if you created or used your favorite brownie recipe using the chopped cookies instead of the nuts - pour it in the pan, then pour over it your cheesecake mixture.  Maybe even marble the two by spooning it over the brownie mixture in gobs.  In the original, both layers are not too thick, but you know you're eating a brownie and you know it has the most delicious chocolate cheesecake on top of that.  The book has it in a square brownie pan, but I make it in a round, removeable bottom cheesecake pan and use some cocoa on the top.

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That sounds amazing, I will make one monday using brownies with chunks of samoas as crust and chopped samoa brownies in there as well, it ads extra chocolate which is always good for "death by chocolate"

Thanks everyone for all your recommendations. Very much appreciated.

[Mr. Delicious]

All this reminds me of the Chocolate Cheesecake Brownie in Maida Heatter's Book of Great American Desserts. This dessert is always a big hit and a nice change of pace from the usual stuff.  It is a chocolate brownie with coconut and pecans topped with a chocolate cheesecake mixture also with coconut in it.

Having said that....

What if you created or used your favorite brownie recipe using the chopped cookies instead of the nuts - pour it in the pan, then pour over it your cheesecake mixture.  Maybe even marble the two by spooning it over the brownie mixture in gobs.  In the original, both layers are not too thick, but you know you're eating a brownie and you know it has the most delicious chocolate cheesecake on top of that.  The book has it in a square brownie pan, but I make it in a round, removeable bottom cheesecake pan and use some cocoa on the top.

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That sounds amazing, I will make one monday using brownies with chunks of samoas as crust and chopped samoa brownies in there as well, it ads extra chocolate which is always good for "death by chocolate"

Thanks everyone for all your recommendations. Very much appreciated.

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I tried the cheesecake I made saturday and its quite good, but needs more chocolate. I then tried putting samoas in brownies as a crust, but no matter how much samoa's went in there it tasted just like brownies, so I think brownies are out.

[Darcie B]

I'm going to echo the idea of using a fruit, but I'm going to say pineapple. It pairs well with coconut. I would do a samoa crust, a layer of pineapple cheesecake, a layer of coconut cheesecake, and top it off with toasted coconut, caramel, and chocolate-dipped dried pineapples.

Edit to add: I'm originally from North Dakota, so I know about what people consider "exciting." I think what I've described might be tame enough. Good luck.

Edited February 25, 2008 by Darcie B (log)

[Mr. Delicious]

Yesterday's event was a blast. Susan Notter was our celebrity judge which is quite an honor. She My samoa cheesecake (pics coming soon) went over quite well, I recieved second in peoples choice and third overall by the judges. Today we just had a fondant lesson by Susan which was very informative, the class was attended by all our local cake decorators, and of course I was the only guy. I am quite glad the week is over, its been too long, one of the local TV stations did a live feed Wednesday morning, I had to be here at 4:30 am, I am also training my new employee so I havent really left my business in the last 2 weeks.

[Mr. Delicious]