Gluten Free Samoa Cookies (Paleo, Vegan)

These gluten free samoa cookies consist of a crunchy shortbread cookie that's topped with a date caramel, toasted coconut and then dipped and drizzled with dark chocolate. This samoas cookie recipe is paleo friendly, vegan, gluten free, dairy free and even nut free.

If you love Girl Scout Samoas, then you'll love these gluten free samoa cookies!

They consist of a crunchy shortbread cookie that's made with cassava flour and lightly sweetened with maple syrup. The cookie is topped with a date and sunbutter caramel, then toasted coconut. And lastly, the cookies are dipped and drizzled in dark chocolate.

These healthier samoa cookies are crispy and crunchy, yet chewy and gooey. Sweet and salty. Rich, but not so much that you'll want to stop at just one cookie!

Ingredients

The full recipe can be found in the recipe card below, but here's a lit of what you'll need to make these cookies:

• cassava flour - the shortbread cookies are made with cassava flour. This is a great nut free, paleo baking flour that I use frequently in my recipes. (Learn all about cassava flour HERE.) The best alternative would be a gluten free baking flour, subbed at a 1:1 ratio by weight. You can also swap my shortbread cookie recipe for any of your favorite cut out cookies.
• baking soda - for a slight rise in the cookies
• salt - enhances the flavors
• palm shortening or butter - I like using palm shortening in place of butter, but if you aren't dairy free, then butter will work.
• maple syrup - to sweeten the cookies
• vanilla extract - for flavor
• dates - these are used to make the caramel. I used Medjool dates, but any variety will work.
• sunflower seed butter - for the caramel, you can swap this ingredient for any nut or seed butter.
• coconut oil - for both the caramel and the chocolate topping. Coconut oil is added for texture purposes. It also helps thin the chocolate, making it easier to work with.
• coconut flour - thickens the caramel
• unsweetened, shredded coconut - for both the caramel and the topping. I toasted my coconut, but you can leave them raw if you prefer.
• dark chocolate - needed for the drizzle on top and the base

How to Make Gluten Free Samoa Cookies

Although these healthy samoas cookies do take a bit of work (since there are many components), they're easy to make and worth every bit of effort!

Here's what you need to do:

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Make the Shortbread Cookies

Next, make the shortbread cookies. To do this, combine the dry cookie ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add in the wet ingredients, mixing until the dough can be formed into a ball.

Dust a sheet of parchment paper with cassava flour, press the dough onto the parchment and then sprinkle more cassava flour on top of the dough. Grab another sheet of parchment paper and roll the cookie dough between the parchment sheets. You'll want to roll the dough between ⅛" and ¼" thick.

Use circular cookie cutters to cut out the cookie shapes. I purchased these circular cookie cutters and love them, but have also cut out shapes using a glass drinking cup and a shot glass.

Place the cut out cookies on the lined baking sheet and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes. After baking, transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack and cool to room temperature.

Re-roll the remaining dough to make more cookies. I made about 15 cookies, but the number you get will depend on the size of cookie cutters you use.

Make the Date Caramel

Next, make the date caramel.

First, soak the dates in hot water for 5 minutes to soften them up. To do this, place the pitted dates in a glass or ceramic bowl. Heat a pot of water (hot, not boiling), then pour the water over the dates so that they are fully submerged. After 5 minutes, drain the water from the dates, squeezing out as much of the moisture as you can.

Place the dates, sunflower seed butter and coconut oil in a food processor and blend until the mixture is fairly smooth and consistent. Add coconut flour to thicken the caramel. Start with 3 tablespoons and add more as needed, until the caramel reaches a sticky consistency that can be shaped and rolled.

Once you've reached the right consistency, pulse the shredded coconut into the mixture.

Scoop out one tablespoon of the date caramel and roll it into a rope (see photo below). Gently press the rope down on top of the shortbread cookie and use your hands to mold it to the cookie.

Top with Toasted Coconut

Then, top each cookie with toasted coconut. I found the easiest way to do this is to place the cookie on a plate or flat surface, sprinkle the coconut on top and then gently press it down so that it sticks to the date caramel. Turning the cookie upside down and pressing it into the coconut resulted in a few broken cookies...oops.

Freeze the cookies for at least 20 minutes to make dipping them into the chocolate a bit easier. (This step isn't required, but firms up the caramel and makes dipping the cookies in chocolate easier.)

Drizzle with Dark Chocolate

Lastly, melt the dark chocolate and coconut oil. Place the chocolate and coconut oil in a small sauce pan and melt over low heat on a small stove-top burner. (You may also melt the chocolate in the microwave or with a double boiler.)

Once melted, grab the cookies from the freezer and dip the base of the cookies into the chocolate. Place the dipped cookies onto a lined baking sheet to set. Once all the cookies have been dipped, drizzle the remaining chocolate over the cookies. You can drizzle the chocolate straight from the pan, or pipe the chocolate over the cookies in a small zip lock baggie.

Storage

Because these healthy homemade samoas cookies are preservative free, they are best stored in an air-tight container in the fridge or freezer.

They will last well up to two weeks in the fridge, or two months in the freezer.

More Healthy Girl Scout Cookie Recipes

Print