Ghoul Scout Cookie Pie: Samoa

 
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It’s that wonderful time of year again! That time when hoards of undead children roam the streets trying to convince you to buy their delicious confectionary treats. That’s right….IT’S GHOUL SCOUT COOKIE SEASON! So grab all the cash you have on hand, because obtaining those $5 boxes of magic are the only sure way to get these undead monsters to leave you alone.

Jokes aside, ghoul scout cookies are probably one of the best seasons on the planet and this time of year is almost as good as halloween (my other favorite holiday involving all things undead). I’m going to do a whole series of Ghoul Scout Cookie Pies, starting with this one based on the delightful coconut-y, caramel-y, chocolate-y, dreamy….you get the idea…Samoa (aka Caramel Delight).

This is another one of those pretty involved pies but I’m not going to go into too much detail here. There are aspects of this pie that I have done in more detail on other posts like the coconut cream pudding is basically the same process as the peanut butter on from the avalanche pie so if this doesn’t really make any sense to you, check that post out because I go through the process in detail and there will be pictures!

Alright! time to get down to it and show those ghouls who’s boss! The first part of this pie that you’ll want to make is the crust. It’s a “shortbread” cookie crust. I put it in quotes because it’s not a typical short bread, I browned my butter first and just used that instead of room-temp soft butter. It makes the texture a bit firmer and adds a delightfully nutty taste that compliments the coconut and caramel really well.

Start by browning your butter. While that browns, in a medium/small bowl, combine your sugar and salt. The moment the butter starts to brown, remove it from the heat and pour it over the sugar and butter. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot so all the browned butter fat gets into the cookie dough. whisk that together and throw it into the fridge for a little bit to help it cool down a little. Chill it like 5 mins tops you still want it to be soft just not boiling hot.

Next take it back out of the fridge and whisk it together again (it will have separated a little). Sift in your flour and mix it together using a spatula or your CLEAN or gloved hands. Once everything is combined, it’ll still look pretty dry and crumbly….that’s ok, you’re going to pour it into a greased pie tin and press it down and up the sides like you would with a graham cracker crust. **don’t let the corner between the bottom/sides get too thick or else it’ll be super hard to cut. I made this mistake.

Anyways, once your crust is all set into place, put it into the freezer for about 10 minutes and pre-heat your oven to 350ºF.

Once the crust is solid, remove it from the freezer and line it with a piece of parchment paper. Fill the parchment lined pie with either dried beans, dry rice, or pie weights. Blind bake your crust for about 15 minutes then remove the parchment/beans and continue to bake for another 15 ish minutes or until the edges start to SLIGHTLY brown. The crust wont really get much color, so one the edge starts to brown it’s time to pull it out. Let it cool COMPLETELY before completing the next steps.

While the crust is in the oven, throw about 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut onto a cookie sheet and toast that until golden brown. Then let that cool and set it aside in an air tight container.

Once your crust is cool, it’s time to make the ganache layer. Ganache is really easy to make. I don’t have a microwave, but I’ve also found that this method is the best way to make a consistently shiny and smooth ganache. In a medium bowl measure out your dark chocolate and butter and set that aside. Next, measure your cream into a small pot and heat that on the stove until it reaches 175ºF or is too hot to the touch. Don’t let it boil.

Once the cream is at temp, pour it over the chocolate and butter and let it rest for about 5 minutes.

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Use a rubber spatula to mix the chocolate/cream until a nice smooth ganache is formed. If it separates or looks lumpy, use an immersion blender to smooth it out.

Reserve about 1/4 cup of ganache to use as garnish later and pour the rest into the cooled pie crust (remove the parchment/beans etc first!). Put the crust/ganache into the fridge to set while you make the caramel coconut cream filling.

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The coconut filling is basically a simple pastry cream flavored with toasted coconut and caramel. With any pastry cream, I like to measure out all of my ingredients before heating the cream/milk. Here’s what you should combine:

  • In a medium pot combine your cream/coconut milk/sugar/salt

  • In a medium bowl separate out your egg yolks.

  • In a separate small bowl combine your corn starch and water.

  • Set aside another medium bowl with a fine strainer over it.

Once all of that is prepared, put your milk/sugar etc over medium heat and stir it ever so often so nothing settles to the bottom/burns. Bring that to 170ºF or until the milk is too hot to touch, then turn the heat off.

While the milk heats, combine your corn starch/water into your yolks and whisk those together. Once the milk is hot, pour 2/3 of the milk into the bowl with the eggs and whisk until combined. Pour all of that back into the pot and return it to a medium heat on the stove. Whisk continuously until thickened. There will be a bunch of bubbles and you’ll know it’s ready to take off the heat when those bubbles disappear and it’s nice and smooth/thick.

Pour your cream through the strainer into the bowl you set aside earlier. Add in your caramel, toasted coconut, and coconut extract. Cover the top of the pie with plastic wrap, make sure that the wrap is up against the custard or else a gross skin will form. Then, chill all of that together over night if you can! If over night isn’t doable, it should chill for at least 3 hours.

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When you’re ready to chow down on that pie like those ghoulies are chowing down on the flesh of the living, make some plain whipped cream and cover the top of your pie with that. Sprinkle some of the extra toasted coconut on top, THEN warm up your reserved ganache and either place it into a piping bag or whatever you’d like to drizzle it on top.

Then you’re ready to go! Enjoy!

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Ghoul Scout Samoa Pie

  • cook time: 1 hour 30 mins
  • total time: 4+ hours

Servings: 1 Pie

"Shortbread" Crust:

Ingredients:

  • 1 c. Butter Browned (240g.)
  • ½ c. Sugar (120 g.)
  • ¼ tsp. Salt
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla
  • 1 ½ c. AP Flour (360 g.)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325ºF
  2. Sift together AP flour into a medium sized bowl, and set aside.
  3. Brown your butter and remove from heat the moment it starts to turn a golden color.
  4. Measure your sugar, salt and vanilla into the browned butter and whisk to combine.
  5. Let that all cool slightly.
  6. Whisk the butter/sugar together again once it’s cooled but is still liquid.
  7. Pour butter into the bowl with flour mix together initially with a spoon then switch to just gently mixing it with your hands (make sure they’re washed or that you wear gloves!!)
  8. Pour about ¾ of the dough into a pie tin that’s sprayed with non-stick spray. (the dough should look pretty dry and be like a bunch of pebbles and sand, but it should stick together when pressed)
  9. Pack the extra dough into a rectangle and either bake on it's own or keep in the freezer for up to 3 months for a little shortbread cookie treat.
  10. Press dough evenly across the bottom of the pan and up the sides.
  11. Poke a fork into the flat part of the dough along the bottom (this will help keep it from rising when it bakes).
  12. Cover the dough with a piece of parchment paper and pour either dried beans or pie weights on top of the parchment to help hold the dough’s shape while it bakes.
  13. Bake at 325ºF for about 15 minutes.
  14. remove the parchment/weights and bake for another 15 or until the edges are golden brown.
  15. Let crust cool completely.

Dark Chocolate Ganache:

Ingredients:

  • 1c. Dark chocolate
  • ¾ c. Heavy Cream
  • 2T Corn Syrup
  • 1T Butter

Instructions:

  1. In a medium bowl, put your chocolate and butter and set it aside.
  2. In a small/medium pot on the stove, combine heavy cream, and corn syrup and mix together.
  3. Heat cream to a scald (about 170ºF)
  4. Pour cream over the chocolate/butter and let rest for about 5 minutes
  5. Using a rubber spatula, stir everything together until a smooth silky ganache is formed.
  6. If you have it, finish the ganache with an immersion blender to make sure it has that delicious smooth silky texture.
  7. Reserve about ¼ c. of the ganache to use as garnish on the top of the pie, but pour the rest into the baked AND COOLED pie crust.
  8. Chill everything in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Caramel Coconut Cream Filling:

Ingredients:

  • 1 c. Coconut Milk
  • 1 c. Heavy Cream
  • 100 g. Sugar
  • ¼ tsp. Salt
  • 30 g. Corn starch (2T)
  • 2 T Water
  • 4 ea Yolks
  • 35 g. Butter
  • 1 c. Toasted Coconut (+ ¼ c. for garnish later) I toast my coconut when I cook the crust but if you don't do it then, just toast it for about 5-8 minutes at 325ºF until some of it's golden brown
  • ½ c. Caramel Sauce (make your own or just use ice cream topping caramel)
  • <¼ data-preserve-html-node="true" tsp Coconut Extract (I just used about a 1 container cap full)

Instructions:

  1. Combine your coconut milk, heavy cream, sugar and salt in a pot but don’t put it over heat yet.
  2. Separate your yolks into a medium bowl and set aside.
  3. In a small bowl weight the corn starch, then mix in the water until smooth, then set it aside.
  4. Put the milks etc over a medium heat and mix every so often so the fats in the milk don’t burn on the bottom of the pan.
  5. Bring that to 170ºF or a scald.
  6. While the milk heats, pour the corn starch slurry into the egg yolks and mix together completely.
  7. Once the milk is hot, turn the heat off and pour ⅔ of the milk into the egg bowl, making sure to mix the whole time you’re pouring it in.
  8. Return the milk/egg mixture to the pot on the stove and return that to the heat.
  9. Making sure to MIX CONTINUOUSLY, heat everything until it thickens. It’s going to be kind of frothy/bubbly and once it smooths out and the bubbles go away, that’s when it’s starting to thicken. At this point continue mixing for 15 seconds, then turn the heat off and mix for another 15 seconds.
  10. Strain your custard into a large bowl.
  11. Add in the coconut, caramel, extract, and butter and mix until combined and silky smooth.
  12. Pour into your pie and spread out evenly over the ganache.
  13. Wrap the top in cling wrap (making sure to press onto the top of the custard so a skin doesn’t form.
  14. Chill for 3-4 hours or overnight if you can.

Whipped Cream / Garnish:

Ingredients:

whip:

  • ½ c. Heavy Cream
  • 2 T Powdered Sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla

Instructions:

  1. Whip everything together until stiff peaks.
  2. Spread over the top of the custard layer of the pie (make sure to take the plastic wrap off first)
  3. Sprinkle the top of the whipped cream with more toasted coconut.
  4. Heat up the remainder of the ganache and drizzle on top (I used a piping bag but you could just use a spoon or whatever works best for you)
  5. ENJOY!
 
Lindsay MillerComment