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by Stephanie Manley, Last Updated Leave a Comment
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Girl Scout Samoas are a scrumptious combination of chocolate, caramel, coconut, and butter cookies. There’s no need to get cookies from the local Girl Scouts when you can make them at home.
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Table of Contents
What Makes the Girl Scout Samoa Cookies So Good?
Samoas may not be as popular as Thin Mints, but these sticky-sweet cookies with a hole in the middle take the top spot for many folks. The shredded coconut, dark chocolate, and chewy caramel topping with a soft cookie center is an incredible flavor combination you just need to try.
Why You Should Try This Recipe
This Samoa cookie recipe may take a little longer to make, and they may leave behind a little bigger mess than when you bake other cookies: But they are so worth it.
These homemade Samoas taste just like the originals (and some people even think they are better!) If you are a huge fan of Samoas (or Caramel DeLites, the version some Girl Scout troops sell), you will love these cookies.
Ingredients You Will Need
For the cookies, you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Half & Half
For the topping, you’ll need:
- Shredded sweetened coconut flakes
- Caramel chews
- Evaporated milk
- Dark chocolate melting wafers
- Vegetable oil
Ingredient Notes
Use the thinnest sweetened coconut flakes you can find.
Make sure to use softcaramel chews, not hard caramel candy. Although unwrapping individual caramel chews can seem like an extra step, caramel sauce doesn’t have the right consistency for these cookies. However, you can purchase acaramel loafif you want to save time or bakea lotof cookies.
If you can’t find dark chocolate melting wafers, you can use chocolate chips but they may not melt as well as the wafers.
How to Make This Samoas Recipe
To prepare the cookie batter:
- Place the butter on the counter to soften.
- Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- Combine the sugar and the softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium until the color of the mixture lightens. You can use a hand mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer.
- Pour the Half & Half and vanilla extract into the bowl with the creamed butter and mix until it’s fully incorporated.
- While the mixer is on medium, add half the flour mixture to the creamed butter. Once half the flour is mixed in, repeat with the rest of the flour. The cookie dough will be very thick.
- Transfer the cookie dough to the parchment paper-lined baking tray.
- Wet your hands and roughly spread out the dough on the baking tray. Use a rolling pin dusted with flour to smooth out the dough to about a quarter-inch thickness.
- Cover the top of the baking tray loosely with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for about an hour.
To bake the cookies and toast the coconut:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- After chilling, remove the baking tray from the fridge.
- Use a three-inch round cookie cutter to punch out cookies. Then use a one-inch round cookie cutter to punch out a hole in the middle of each cookie. Re-roll any leftover cookie dough to make more cookies.
- Carefully transfer the cookie rings to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan.
- While the cookies are cooling, spread the shredded coconut on a baking tray.
- Place in the oven and toast for 8 to 10, stirring frequently.Transfer the toasted coconut to a plate to cool.
Finishing the cookies:
- Unwrap the caramel candies.
- Add the unwrapped caramel candies and the evaporated milk to a large non-stick pan over medium-low heat.
- Stir the caramels and evaporated milk with a silicone spatula until the candy melts. Reduce the heat to as low as possible.
- Use a spoon orsilicone brushto lightly coat the top and sides of the cooled cookies with the caramel sauce.
- Add the toasted shredded coconut to the pan of caramel sauce. Stir with a silicone spatula to combine.
- Wet your fingers and use them to spread the warm caramel sauce and toasted coconut on the top of each cookie.
- Place the cookies in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Just before you take out the cookies from the refrigerator, melt the chocolate.
- Put the dark chocolate wafers in a microwave-safe bowl and heat at 50 percent power for a minute. Stir in the vegetable oil and continue heating in 30-second intervals until the chocolate is smooth.
- Use a dipping tool or a fork to dip the bottom of the cookies into the chocolate. Place the dipped cookies back on the parchment paper-lined baking tray.
- After dipping all the cookies, rewarm the chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds. Dip a chopstick or the tines of a fork into the melted chocolate and drizzle the chocolate across the top of the cookies.
- Chill the cookies for 30 minutes before serving.
What to Serve With Them
Sip on a glass of ice-cold milk or your favorite hot beverage while enjoying these homemade Samoas.
Pop a few in the freezer and try them frozen for something different.
How to Store Samoas
Keep the cookies in an airtight container in the fridge.
Can You Freeze the Cookies?
Yes! Samoas stay fresh inside a bag in the freezer for up to two months.
How Long Do Samoa Cookies Last?
Store the cookies in the fridge for up five days or in the freezer for up to two months.
More Girl Scout Cookie Recipes
- Lemonades
- S’mores
- Tagalongs (Peanut Butter Patties)
- Thin Mints
Favorite Cookie Recipes
- Almond Shortbread Cookies
- Black and White Cookies
- Chocolate Butterscotch Haystacks
- Coconut Macaroons
- Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies
- Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
Popular Caramel and Coconut Desserts
- Marie Callender’s Coconut Cream Pie
- Turtle Brownies
- Turtle Pie
Check out more of my easy cookie recipes and the best DIY recipes on CopyKat!
Girl Scout Samoas
You can make delicious samoas Girl Scout cookies with this easy copycat recipe.
5 from 5 votes
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Girl Scout Cookies
Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Chilling: 2 hours hours
Total Time: 3 hours hours 5 minutes minutes
Servings: 14
Calories: 259kcal
Author: Stephanie Manley
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons half and half
Topping
- 1 14-ounce bag shredded sweetened coconut flakes
- 3 10-ounce bags caramels
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup dark chocolate melting wafers
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or shortening
Instructions
Cookies
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt with a fork. Mix well and set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using an electric hand or stand mixer. Mix until smooth and fully combined.
Add vanilla and half and half. Mix again until smooth.
Add flour mixture, half at a time, and mix until fully combined and dough-like. It will be thick.
Remove dough from the bowl and place it on the baking sheet with parchment paper. Using your hands, flatten the dough onto the baking sheet pressing downward.
Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to about ¼ – ½ inch thick.
Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to chill the dough for 1 hour.
When the chilling time is complete, proceed with cutting your dough. Remove the cookie dough from the baking sheet and use a 2½ or 3-inch cookie cutter to cut rounds out from the dough.
Use a 1-inch round cookie cutter to cut the center out of each round.
Line the baking sheet with a fresh piece of parchment paper.
Place the cutouts on the baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown.
Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the pan. Keep the oven on.
Place coconut on a separate baking sheet, spread it out evenly.
Bake the coconut to bake for 8 to 12 minutes, checking and stirring often. Bake until the coconut is golden brown. Be sure to check often near the end of the bake time, as coconut burns quickly! When done, remove it from the oven and set aside.
When the cookies have cooled completely, begin preparing your caramel.
Topping
Add unwrapped caramels and evaporated milk to a large non-stick skillet over low-medium heat. Using a silicone spatula, stir caramel occasionally until they begin to break down and become smooth.
Remove about ½ cup of caramel sauce from the skillet and reduce heat to simmer/low.
Spoon out caramel sauce over the tops of the cookies, spreading gently. This layer of caramel will act as “glue” for the caramel and coconut mixture.
Add the toasted coconut flakes to the skillet with the remaining caramel and mix using a rubber spatula until fully combined. Remove from heat.
Using a spoon or your fingers, add the caramel and coconut mixture onto the caramel ring. Do this for each cookie, working one at a time.
When all of the cookies have the caramel and coconut layer added, place the baking sheet inside the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Near the end of the chill time, begin to prepare your melting chocolate.
Add the chocolate wafers to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on 50% power for 1 minute.
When done, stir well and add the vegetable oil. Microwave on 50% powder for 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is silky smooth.
Using two forks or dipping tools, lower the bottom of each cookie into the melted chocolate, coating until where the caramel and coconut begin.
When done, place the dipped cookie back on the baking sheet. Repeat this process one cookie at a time.
Add the remaining melted chocolate to a piping bag with a small round attachment. Pipe small chocolate lines back and forth over each cookie.
Place baking sheet back into the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour before serving.
Notes
You will have leftover caramel/coconut mixture and chocolate mixture.
Cookie Cutting Tip: You can use various shaped cookie cutters for this recipe. However, you want to make the ring thickness about 1-inch. This will be best for applying the caramel and coconut.
Cookie Texture: Once the cookies are at room temperature, they should be able to stand up on their own, without folding over. The cookies will be firm on the outside and soft, chewy and moist on the inside.
These can get a little sloppy to make with the caramel but not as long as you’re neat.
You don’t need to spoon too much caramel out onto the shortbread cookie. Use your spoon to spread the caramel around evenly.
Don’t let too much time go by between adding the caramel and adding the coconut mixture.
Using your fingers to add the coconut mixer onto the caramel and cookie is easiest. The coconut and caramel mixture is malleable and you will be able to form the mixture where it needs to be, but using your fingers is absolutely the best bet. If you do, wash your hands every few cookies for best results.
After the cookies have chilled with the caramel and coconut mixture on for a few minutes, you can also use your hands to shape the top even more.
If you do not have a piping bag, use a small zip-top bag with a tiny hole in the corner (a very small hole, perhaps poke with a toothpick).
You may need to break off any excess chocolate from the piping process.
Girl Scout Cookie Trick: Girl Scout cookies are known to be most enjoyable when stored inside the refrigerator or even the freezer!
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 259kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 175mg | Potassium: 66mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 422IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
About Stephanie Manley
I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.
Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.
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