My favorite Girl Scout Cookie – copy cat samoas – the shortbread cookies with all that caramel, chocolate, and coconut goodness toppings.
When I was a little girl, I think maybe 5 or 6 (or maybe even 7 or 8) I was in Girl Scouts. I was in the program with one of my best friends, and I don’t remember who the other girls were. We were first “daisies” and then “brownies” and I’m not sure why we quit after that.
It’s funny because I don’t remember a lot about being in Girl Scouts, but I do remember we were going to have one activity, I have no clue what it was, and I got chicken pox and I couldn’t go! My best friend’s younger brother also got the chicken pox them, so I got stuck at home with him because they didn’t want it to spread. I just remember being so bummed, I missed out on the activity AND I had to stay home with the younger brother.
I also remember there was a song that we would sing, but now that I’m looking through a list of girl scout songs I can’t figure out which one it was. I don’t even remember selling girl scout cookies, at least not like they do now, sitting outside the grocery store making you break your Grocery/Food Budget because you can’t help but be tempted to buy some. (I think we went door to door in our neighborhood, but that’s all)
Anyway, my favorite and by far the best girl scout cookie ever are the Samoas (or sometimes referred to as Caramel deLites).
I’ve never had a huge problem with how expensive the boxes are, I mean 3.50 for 14 cookies is a little steep, but I just limit myself to 1 box of Samoas and 1 box of thin mints. But what if I want Girl Scout Cookies all year long and not just in the spring season?
Now we have a solution. Homemade Samoas (soon I’m going to try thin mints too). The short bread cookie is seriously spot on, although my cookies turned out much bigger than normal samoas. I used a Pam lid and a vanilla lid as my two sizes for the cookie cutters. But, I think I put a little too much coconut and not quite enough caramel. Still delicious, but a little off on the texture. So I’m going to post the recipe that I will make next time with the caramel/coconut changes added. And I used semi sweet and milk chocolate for the dip instead of dark chocolate (because I think they’re better and if I know its dark dark I won’t like it as much)
Copy Cat Samoas – Girl Scout Cookies
Makes about 46 cookies
Copy Cat Samoas – Girl Scout Cookies
Ingredients
Copycat Samoas
- 2 sticks butter (1 cup butter, softened)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 TBS milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Coconut Caramel Topping
- 3 cups shredded sweeten coconut flakes (divided)
- 18 oz caramels (storebought or homemade)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
Chocolate Dip Topping
- 2 - 2 1/2 cups chocolate chips (milk, semi, or dark)
- 1 TBS coconut oil
Equipment
Instructions
Copycat Samoas
- In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder and salt.
- In three increments add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Completely mixing in between each addition.
- Add the milk and vanilla extra, blending until the dough begins to come together (its still pretty flaky dough).
- Separate the dough into 2 and press it together to make 2 compact disks. Wrap each with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Roll each disk out onto a lightly floured surface. Flour your rolling pin, and roll dough to 1/8 inch thick.
- Cut out as many cookies as you can using two round cookie cutters, 1 about 2 inches and the smaller about 3/4-1 inch. Re roll dough and cut out more cookies until all dough is used.
- Place cookies on a baking pan lined with parchment paper.
- Bake cookies for about 10 minutes, rotating the baking after 5 minutes until the cookies are a very light golden brown color.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire wrack immediately and allow to completely cool.
Caramel Coconut Topping
- Spread 2 cups of the coconut flakes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes until coconut is golden brown. Stir often to keep flakes from burning. Combine in a medium sized bowl with the other 1 cup of the coconut flakes.
- Melt your caramels, milk and salt in a double boiler, or a medium sauce pan over a large sauce pan of simmering water.
- Cook until the caramels are fully melted, stirring continually.
- Remove the caramel from the heat. Pour about 2/3 of the caramel into the bowl of coconut flakes, stir well to combine.
- Take a cooled cookie and spread caramel on top and the sides of the cookie.
- Press coconut caramel mixture on top of the caramel.
- Repeat for all cookies. Reheat caramel or coconut caramel over double boiler if it becomes too thick.
- Allow coconut caramel topping to harden and cool completely.
Chocolate Dip Topping
- Melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil in a double boiler. Or in your microwave for 2 minutes on low heat and then additional 30 second increments until fully melted.
- Dip the bottoms of the cookies in the chocolate and place them on waxed or parchment paper.
- Use a spoon to drizzle the tops with chocolate.
- Allow the cookies to sit until the chocolate fully hardens (or put in them in the freezer for about 15 minutes to harden).
Enjoy these delicious girl scout cookies all year long!!!
Shreyaa Anand Sharma says
It’s very good and nice
Ellen Garrett says
It was “make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold”
banditsmom (@banditsmom) says
Although I haven’t made these in a while, I don’t cut out the shortbread, I score the shortbread then I use the caramel sheets that you get in the fall to make caramel apples with. Top with coconut and chocolate chips. Bake and finish cutting the shortbread as soon as it leaves the oven. Let cook and then dip the bottoms in chocolate. The square shape seems easier to handle with my arthritic hands. The caramel sheets allow me to have a thin layer of caramel instead of the thicker version when pouring it by hand.
Aimee Berrett says
Sounds like a great idea!
Cathy@LemonTreeDwelling says
These look amazing, ladies!!
Teresa @SassySuburbanite says
Oh good Lord this looks good. Now I’ve got a craving…thank you very much!
aimeeberrett says
Thank you Teresa! Aren’t girl scout cookies delicious? You definitely need to go make these now! 😉
CateyLou says
Samoas were always my favorite too! I wasn’t lucky enough to have a girlscout visit me this year, so I will just have to make my own Samoas! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
aimeeberrett says
I grabbed one box when they were outside the grocery store, but needed more. This is a perfect substitute, so let me know if you try it out!
Bunny Eats Design says
Lovely photos! Girl Scout cookies here are very plain. The fancy ones are simply plain biscuits dipped in chocolate. We don’t have any biscuits called Samoas. I wonder if it is because we are located close to Samoa? We have a candy called Eskimos and a cookie called an Afghan. Both of which might not be considered PC if we had more Inuit and Afghani people here.
aimeeberrett says
I think they are trying to change the names to be more politically correct, because I have seen the samoa cookies be called “caramel delights” and a couple others with name changes as well. But I think everyone already knows the names so well, its hard to change. Afghan and Eskimo seem like interesting cookie name choices to me though!
Bunny Eats Design says
Interesting! I don’t think Eskimos could be anything other than those as they are moulded into Eskimo shapes. Afghans might do with a rebrand but unfortunately, I don’t think the new name would stick.
ang says
oh yes my friend, oh yes! favorite cookies ever!! thanks for this great recipe – pinning now 🙂
aimeeberrett says
Aren’t they so delicious?! Let me know if you try them!
summerscraps says
Oh yum!!!
Kate @ And They Cooked Happily Ever After says
They’re here! (and I’m drooling) Can’t wait to try these!