Description
These gluten-free samoas cookies are a homemade version of the beloved coconut Girl Scouts cookies that we know and love. Totally dairy-free too, these gluten-free caramel delites are a great snack everyone will love. Go bake a big batch today!
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough:
- 1 stick unsalted vegan butter, softened
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your gluten-free flour blend already includes it)
For the Topping:
- 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 1/2 cups dairy-free caramel sauce
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat and Line: Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
- Blend Butter and Salt: In a large mixing bowl blend together the vegan butter and salt for about a minute.
- Add Sugar and Whisk: Add the sugar and mix together and whisk again until combined.
- Add Egg and Vanilla: Add the egg and vanilla extract to the mixture and mix once again.
- Add Flour and Mix to Get Cookie Dough: Measure the gluten-free measure-for-measure flour into the bowl and mix together until a homogeneous dough forms. The dough shouldn’t be super stiff, but also should not be sticky at all.
- Cut Dough into “O” Shapes: Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a silpat or piece of parchment paper. Cut out as many cookies as you can with a letter O cookie cutter.
- Place Dough Pieces on Baking Sheet: Place the cut out dough on the prepared cookie sheet. Take away the excess and repeat the rolling out process to finish cutting out the rest of the cookies.
- Bake Until Golden: Bake cookie dough in the oven for 10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are slightly browned.
- Let Cookies Cool: Once the cookies are out of the oven, let cool for about 10 minutes.
- Melt Chocolate Chips: Heat half the melting chocolates in a bowl in the microwave at 30 second intervals until completely melted. Place the melted chocolate in a small bowl.
- Coat Bottom of Cookies with Chocolate: Then drop each cookie into the melted chocolate so the bottom halves are coated with chocolate, then place back on the parchment paper.
- Chill Until Chocolate Sets: Place the pan in the refrigerator for 5 minutes to harden.
- Prepare Caramel-Coconut Topping: While the cookies are baking, combine the caramel sauce and shredded coconut in a large bowl and mix well until the coconut is completely coated and combined.
- Pipe Caramel-Coconut Mixture on Cookies: Transfer the mixture into a piping bag, thenpipe the caramel coconut mixture around the circle of each cookie. Slightly press down with clean hands to mold the topping to cover the face of the cookie completely.
- Melt Remaining Chocolate Chips: Heat the vegan chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave at 30 second intervals until completely melted. Place the melted chocolate in a small piping bag.
- Drizzle Chocolate Over Cookies: Lastly, cut the tip of the melted chocolate-filled piping bag and drizzle chocolate over each cookie to emulate the girl scout samoas.
- Transfer to Another Parchment-Lined Sheet: Transfer to another parchment sheet so when the cookies are in the fridge hardening the chocolate for the last time, you don’t have the hardened excess mess from the drizzling sticking to the cookies.
- Chill Until Set: Refrigerate for 5 minutes or until the chocolate is hardened and enjoy!
Notes
Vegan Butter: I used unsalted vegan butter to keep this recipe dairy-free. Alternatively, you can also use softened coconut oil instead. Alternatively, if you are not lactose-intolerant, feel free to use normal butter or ghee instead.
Sugar: I used white sugar, but you can also use light brown sugar, dark brown sugar or coconut sugar instead. If you are diabetic or insulin-resistant, I strongly recommend using granulated monkfruit sweetener (a 1:1 sugar substitute that is zero glycemic index and will not raise your blood sugar).
Egg: The egg helps to bind the ingredients better together. I have not tried making this recipe without egg, but if you are allergic to eggs, or would simply prefer to keep this recipe vegan, you can try using acquafaba or an egg-replacer. (If you do make this recipe egg-free, please let me know how it goes in the comments below, I’d love to know!)
Vanilla Extract: I like adding vanilla extract for flavor, but if you are not keen on the taste of vanilla, feel free to leave it out.
Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure Flour: This recipe is meant to be made using gluten-free measure-for-measure flour (a 1:1 substitute for wheat flour). If you are not Celiac or gluten-intolerant, feel free to use normal wheat flour instead.
Xanthan Gum: Xanthan gum helps to better bind the ingredients together and is the replacement for gluten in gluten-free flours. If your gluten-free flour blend does not already include xanthan gum, make sure to add it in.
Shredded Coconut: Make sure to use unsweetened shredded coconut as the recipe already includes sugar and the caramel is already sweet.
Caramel Sauce: I used vegan caramel to keep this recipe dairy-free. However, if you are not lactose-intolerant, feel free to use normal caramel instead.
Chocolate Chips: I used vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips to keep this recipe dairy-free. However, if you are not lactose-intolerant, feel free to use normal chocolate chips instead.
Storing/Freezing: To store, place the cookies in single layers separated by parchment paper in an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. To freeze, place the cookies in single layers separated by parchment paper in a freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to 2 months. Let the frozen gluten-free samoas cookies thaw at room temperature before serving.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cooling/Chilling Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
