A lot has changed since my days as a Girl Scout in my youth, but one thing has not: my undeniable weakness for Samoas! The crisp cookie base, made chewy by the addition of caramel and finished with scrumptious toasted coconut and drizzles of dark chocolate, is utterly irresistible. If ever a cookie was made to match my taste buds, this one is it.
They are a once a year treat, a splurge to be sure, and quite frankly, it never occurred to me to do anything with them other than eat them straight out of the box with a side of milk. That was until I received an email a few weeks ago from the Girl Scouts of Western Washington announcing a recipe contest among area food bloggers. I have an unofficial personal policy not to do these types of contests (which is in place for the prime objective of preserving my sanity), but for my beloved Samoas, I’m making an exception.
My original thought was to go a more complicated route, creating a Samoa panna cotta with fresh orange gelee. Though it all sounded great in my mind, my recipe testing reminded me of something I already knew but apparently needed to learn again: complicated techniques do not always lead to superior results. And actually, in this case it resulted in a gloopy mess that I had to throw out. Oops.
With that, I went back to the drawing board and decided to focus on the two flavors that I wanted to shine: the Samoas, of course, and orange. The decadence of this Girl Scout cookie is definitely one of its assets, but I thought offsetting it with a fresh punch of citrus would be just the ticket.
Here’s what we’ve got: a couldn’t-get-any-easier recipe for a coconut milk-based ice cream that’s scented with fresh orange zest and studded with chewy morsels of Samoas. The high fat content of the coconut milk makes it perfect for churning straight out of the can (no eggs or complicated cooking techniques needed here!), and using sugar instead of maple syrup or honey allows for sweetening of the base without adding additional flavors that could muddle the mix.
The result is a late winter treat that, if I may be so bold, is even more satisfying than the cookies alone!
Girl Scout cookies will be available for sale to the public March 1st through the 17th. Use the Cookie Locator (or the mobile app) to find where they are being sold in your area. Contest finalists will be selected shortlly. The results are in, and I am a finalist! Please take a minute to VOTE FOR MY RECIPE. Thank you!
Voting is open through 4pm PST on March 1st. Winners will be announced March 4th.
Ingredients
- 2 14-ounce cans full fat coconut milk, chilled
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lightly packed freshly grated orange zest
- 1 package Samoas (15 cookies), chopped
Instructions
- In the jar of a blender, combine the coconut milk (though they will separate after chilling, both the cream and lighter portion of the coconut milk should be added), granulated sugar, and orange zest. Blend on medium speed for 20 seconds, then pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- When the ice cream is just about done churning, slowly add in the chopped Samoas, and churn until they are evenly incorporated into the ice cream.
- Serve immediately or transfer the ice cream to a resealable container and freeze for several hours until firm.
Tips and Tidbits
- The fat in the coconut milk will help keep this ice cream from freezing too hard, but you’ll have an easier time scooping firmly frozen ice cream if you let it sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes prior to serving. Alternatively, trying adding a tablespoon of light rum to the ice cream toward the end of churning, which will help keep it soft in the freezer.
- Canned coconut milk is a versatile ingredient to keep on hand for whenever the ice cream craving strikes (I love being able to make a frozen treat from pantry staples!). In addition to the Samoa Orange flavor combo, one of my favorites is a simple Chocolate Maple ice cream. 1 can of coconut milk + 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder + 3 tablespoons maple syrup = a dangerously delicious treat that’s ready to eat in less than 20 minutes!
ENJOY!
Just so you know, the Girl Scouts of Western Washington is sponsoring this recipe contest and provided me with 5 boxes of Samoas at no charge to me. All opinions are my own.
I was never in Girl Scouts but the cookies are always a big favorite around here. I think I may just have to sneak some into ice cream once our boxes come in!
Oh yes, Heather! Now I’m dreaming up other combinations. Methinks Thin Mints were made for ice cream, too.
Those are my favorites, too! And you’re right, Thin Mints ice cream should be next on your to-do list. I am a huge coconut milk fan and it never occurred to me to freeze it in ice cream, so that’s now on my to-do list. I think that orange is such a versatile flavor, so you came up with the perfect combo. The panna cotta and gelee sounds great, too bad it didn’t work out.
Thank you, Jody! I might work on the panna cotta idea more in the future…the problem was cookie base of the Samoas. Everything was fine at first, but once I incorporated them into coconut milk with the gelatin and allowed time for it to set, the texture became gummy (which I think was due to the flour in the cookie).
You’re truffles look amazing, btw! I might have to try those with the leftover Samoas that are in my pantry.
Somoas are my favorite Girl Scout cookie. I could eat them by the box full. I’ll make sure to get two boxes so I can give this ice cream recipe a try! Thanks for sharing!
Oh yes, Mike, it’s way too easy to eat through an entire box! It’s probably a good thing they only come around once a year. I hope you enjoy!
Beautiful, Christie! Samoas are by far my favorite Girl Scout cookie and this ice cream you created looks incredibly scrumptious. It’s wonderful you used coconut milk, too. I’m going to give this a try!
Thank you, Hannah! I hope you enjoy the coconut milk – once I discovered how easy coconut milk ice cream is, it’s hard to find the motivation to go through all the work of making a custard!
What a great combination! I love the addition of the orange. I have to admit I always went for the chocolate covered pb cookies, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t enjoyed my fair share of Samoas.
Thank you, Lori! Oh yes, the Tagalongs are tasty, too. In my top 3 for sure.
Congrats on making it to the final. I voted for you. This just sounds too good. . .
Thank you so much!
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Hi there. The current Food on Friday on Carole’s Chatter is collecting links to posts about ice cream and sorbets – or anything similar like gelato. I do hope you link this in. This is the link . Please do check out some of the other links – there are a lot of good ones already. Have a great week.
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