Girl Scout Caramel DeLites / Samoa Cookies Copycat Recipe | Plant-Based, GF, No Refined Sugar
Rarely do I come across a recipe that checks all the boxes, and even when it comes close, I find myself altering things slightly based upon our tastes/dietary-needs. I prefer to stay away from Refined Sugar and sweeten our drinks & food with natural sources like: Local Raw Honey, Real Maple Syrup, Coconut Sugar & Dates… I used to be a big consumer of Monk Fruit back in my Keto days, but I’m no longer a fan and prefer to stick to foods as close to their natural state as possible.
I recently came across a post for 3 ingredient, raw Samoa cookies, and it got me craving them. Once I realized they wouldn’t have that familiar shortbread crust that I feel is an integral part of the Samoa Cookie Experience, though, I decided to look around. Below is the recipe I came up with after combining several recipes and techniques, and making a few of my own substitutions. I hope you enjoy! (I know I did, for breakfast too, the following day.)
Girl Scout Caramel DeLites / Samoa Cookies Copycat Recipe | Plant-Based, GF, No Refined Sugar
Ingredients
Coconut Caramel Sauce
- 1 can Full Fat Coconut Milk Check label for sneaky hidden ingredients
- 1/2 c Real Maple Syrup
- 3 Tbsp Coconut, Maple or Date Sugar
- pinch Himalayan Pink Salt
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 c Toasted Coconut Flakes (or desiccated coconut) toast them in a dry skillet over low heat, stirring and watching constantly – remove when golden brown so they stop cooking
Shortbread Cookies
- 200 grams Almond Flour just over two cups
- 30 grams Tapioca Flour (about 1/4 cup)
- 1/8 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt
- 1/3 c Coconut Oil melted
- 1/3 c Real Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Chocolate Dip / Drizzle
- 1/4 c Coconut Oil
- 3 Tbsp Real Maple Syrup
- 5 Tbsp Cacoa Powder
Instructions
Coconut Caramel Sauce (start first)
- *This takes awhile to cook down, so I always recommend starting it first, that way you're not standing around drooling while waiting for this to thicken fully.
- Make sure your coconut flakes are toasted and set aside.
- Add coconut milk, maple syrup, salt & coconut sugar to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk together until combined.
- Once it starts simmering rapidly, turn it down to a slow simmer.
- Whisk once every 3 minutes or so. You can start the cookies during this time, if you're able to keep an eye on the caramel sauce without burning either thing!
- After about 15-20 minutes the sauce should be ready. You want it to be golden and thick, it should resemble caramel sauce when ready.
- Remove from heat, add in the vanilla & let it sit for a few minutes to cool down, then add in toasted coconut flakes.
Shortbread Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl.
- Mix all wet ingredients in another bowl.
- Add ingredients together, using a wooden spoon or stand mixer.
- Form 1" balls and place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet. They don't really spread much so they don't need a ton of space.
- Flatten the balls so that the cookies are about 1/3" thick. Use a bamboo skewer to start a hole in the center and swirl it outwards to enlarge the inner circle, you can use your finger at this point to smooth it out.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes until just barely golden around the edges. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Chocolate Dip/Drizzle
- Combine all ingredients in a double broiler or saucepan and very gently over low heat stir until all melted and combined. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
Assembly
- Dip the bottoms of your cookies in the chocolate. Put back on parchment-lined cookie sheet & put in freezer to solidify (5min). Remove from freezer & using a spoon or offset spatula spread the Coconut Caramel mixture on top of the cookie. Drizzle with remaining chocolate and return to freezer to solidify. Store them in the refrigerator (<1 week) or freezer (6 weeks) in a sealed container.
Notes
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