Chocolate covered coconut balls are a recipe from my childhood. My mom would make them every year for Christmas to take around to our friends and neighbors. I didn’t like them at all. Haha! Oh how things change!
Is there an age you reach that you start looking backward instead of forward or is this just a me thing? I’ve been very nostalgic lately and it seems to grow more and more so as the years move on.
Yes, I still hope and dream. I still am loving life and where it’s taking me, but I’ve found this fondness for time and our stories. As a little girl I had no idea that the past little moments would one day be big ones to me. Coconut chocolate balls were absolutely not on my radar as ever mattering. In fact, I hated them, but there’s a reason they are here.
Home was a Safe Haven
I grew up on a very small private road in Vancouver, Washington. Our street was shaped like the letter T. You entered at what would be the bottom of the T and drove down until you had to go left or right. I was off to the right and I can still see our big rhododendron bushes lining our yard and the way the fog hung in the air as we walked to school each morning.
Every Christmas, lights would appear on houses and Christmas trees in windows and as I wandered home from school careful to not walk too close on the right where the huge mean poodles lived, and quick to walk past a field on the left where occasionally the rottweilers got out of their fence and would chase us barking and nipping at our buns (it was horrifying to say the least) I would picture all of the goodies Mom would be standing at the kitchen island making.
As a kid you don’t really think about other kids and their homes. I just assumed all families were doing what we were. All kids were safe and happy. All moms were full time at home cleaning house and preparing wonderful meals and goodies. I know better now. I grew up in a safe haven. A place of love and peace. I find myself looking back as the mother of children now and understanding what I am to create and who I am to be because of these memories of my family.
Connecting in the Kitchen
Peanut butter balls were my favorite. All dipped in chocolate like a Reese’s peanut butter cup. But every year Mom made a batch of the dreaded coconut balls too. GAG!! Ugh, all those stringy strands of pungent coconut like you’re eating a hairball from our little Tabby cat.
But remember, I’m nostalgic, and looking back all while I’m circling my arms around my little ones so one day I found myself wanting to connect with our teenager and realized, she adores coconut and I have just the recipe to make with her. A grandmother’s love entered that kitchen as we rolled ball after ball of coconut. I was able to weave generations and hearts together and suddenly the hated coconut balls weren’t hated at all, but instead they became a treasure between a mother and a daughter.
What Ingredients Do I Need for Chocolate Covered Coconut Balls?
Sometimes all you need is a few simple ingredients
Creamy coconut milk ice cream is richly loaded with vanilla bean flavor and just happens to be dairy free and fully vegan. It’s insanely easy to make, too!
Coconut Milk Ice Cream
I’ve made this very simple coconut ice cream numerous times and it is worlds better than most commercially available dairy-free ice cream.
This ice cream is fantastic on its own, but as is the case with most ice cream, with fresh strawberries or homemade chocolate syrup it is even better.
Coconut Milk Ice Cream Recipe
To make this ice cream, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Coconut milk
- Sugar
- Kosher Salt
- Vanilla Beans, Vanilla Extract, or Vanilla Paste
It’s important to note that this recipe requires full fat coconut milk. You cannot get the same results from lite, or low, or reduced-fat coconut milk. I use Thai Kitchen’s unsweetened coconut milk.
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Strawberry crisp gets a little tropical glow up with a buttery, coconut studded, brown sugar crisp layered over an abundance of fresh strawberries. When summer strawberries are everywhere at their peak, you positively must try it!
Strawberry Crisp Recipe
There aren’t many recipes that scream summer quite as effectively as a strawberry crisp recipe. I bet if you think about it hard enough, you can even smell fresh strawberries in your mind.
Our recipe for strawberry crisp is a classic with a twist. The bubbling layer of fragrant, juicy strawberries is topped with a brown sugar crisp that gets a little extra boost in the chewy and crispy department from sweetened, shredded coconut.
This easy crowd pleaser had my husband, kids, and our friends all raving about it. If you don’t happen to be the fans of coconut that we are, you can swap it out with an additional ½ cup of oats and ½ cup of flour. The crisp works works well both ways.
Strawberry Crisp
This strawberry coconut crisp is delightful whether made with all-purpose flour and regular oats or gluten-free flour and gf oats. It’s one of the easiest desserts to make gluten free!
To make this berry crisp recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- fresh strawberries
- oats
- flour (or a gluten-free flour such as brown rice or oat flour)<
Girl scout cookie meets cupcake in these rich chocolatey, caramel, and toasted coconut Samoa Cupcakes!
I’m so thrilled that stores have started making knock off Girl Scout cookies so that I don’t have to wait until March to devour all my favorite Girl Scout cookie flavors. Keebler has a version of the Samoa cookie and Walmart even has it’s own Great Value version. So you can make these Samoa cupcakes all year round!
Samoa Cookie Inspiration
I love cupcakes and Samoa cookies so why not mash the two together?! Voila! It’s seriously a party in your mouth. I chose to use a yellow cake for the cupcake to mimic the shortbread in the cookie and then I dipped it in ganache similar to how the bottom of a Samoa is covered in chocolate.
I was going to top the cupcake with just a caramel/coconut mix but what kind of cupcake would that be without a buttery frosting?! The caramel buttercream is divine! I could eat it by the spoonful! And we top it with a sprinkle of toasted coconut!
Oh and for extra good measure I drizzled more caramel and ganache on top of the cupcakes creating a delicious mess. These Samoa Cupcakes are going to blow your minds! Enjoy!
Ingredients for Samoa Cupcakes
There are a few steps that go into making this cupcake recipe, but don’t worry, every ingredients and step is worth it! Here are the ingredients you will need:
Cupcakes:
- Dry Ingredients: All-Purpose Flour, Cornstarch, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt
- Wet Ingredients: Butter, Sugar, Eggs, Vanilla and Sour Cream
Ganache:
- Milk Chocolate Chips
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Heavy Whipping Cream
Caramel Frosting:
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Caramel Sauce
- Vanilla
Topping:
- Samoa Girl Scout Cookies
- Sweetened Coconut Flakes
- Caramel Sauce
The measurements for each ingredients can be found in the recipe at the end of this post. Keep scrolling down for all the details!
How to Make Samoa Cupcakes
Now that you know all the ingredients you need, here is the step-by-step guide to making them:
Cupcakes:
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line muffin tins with paper liners.
- Combine: Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix to combine.
- Beat: Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat until light and creamy.
- Mix: Add the eggs one at a time mixing thoroughly between each egg. Then mix in the vanilla and sour cream.
- Combine: Add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Bake: Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners