You can have these gluten free vegan Samoa Girl Scout cookies all year long! crunchy gluten free shortbread with sweet coconut caramel and chocolate.
recipe originally published March 7, 2012
Vegan Girl Scout Cookies
I was a Girl Scout.
First, a brownie. I wore the uniform (even though brown and orange are not my best colors), earned badges, sold cookies. Fun stuff.
As a brownie, I looked forward to graduating to a Junior. New uniforms – in green and more choices! I had visions of camping and all the fun adventures we would have. and camping. I really wanted to go camping.
I remember the “graduation ceremony” like it was yesterday. We had to “walk the bridge” from Brownie to Junior status, and… well… ours was a makeshift bridge.
A bridge made from magazines, over a reflective river of aluminum foil.
We rarely went camping. Those few camping trips are still the best scouts memories I have. After participating in events and earned badges for another year as a junior, I became a girl scout dropout.
If I could still earn badges, I’d try to earn all the cooking and baking badges.
My mom would still have to sew them for me – I never did earn a sewing badge.
Sweet Caramel Coconut Cookies
As any good childhood cookie salesman would attest, girl scout cookie season is a glorious time of year.
In recent years, the two bakeries handling the regional demand each year have also begun to answer the alternative diet question. Whether their aim is to fill an allergy demand or a lifestyle, there are more vegan and gluten free choices each year.
However...
My own favorite cookie has yet to surface on the vegan list. OR the gluten free list.
What is a cookie enthusiast to do?
Make their own vegan gluten free girl scout cookies.
These cookies really are easy. Several steps, yes - but easy and oh so worth it.
and you don't have to wait for girl scout cookie season.
More vegan dessert recipes
- Sugared Vanilla Snickerdoodle Bread
- Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Cookies
- Vegan Vanilla Crescent Cookies
- Vegan Caramel Twix Cookie Bars
- Caramelized Almond Rocky Road Bark
- Frosted Soft Sugar Cookies
- Pumpkin Caramel Chocolates
Were you a Scout?
What is your favorite Girl Scout cookie?
Did you make this recipe?
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Vegan Samoa Girl Scout Cookies
You can have these gluten free vegan Samoa Girl Scout cookies all year long! Crunchy gluten free shortbread with sweet coconut caramel and chocolate.
Ingredients
Shortbread Cookie
- ¾ cup dairy free butter
- ¼ cup vegan granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract or paste
- 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup dairy free milk, as needed
Caramel Coconut Layer
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup canned coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons dairy free butter
Chocolate Drizzle
- 3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line baking sheets with parchment, set aside.
Shortbread Cookie
- Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla.
- Stir in flour ½ cup at a time. Add salt with one of the rounds of flour.
- Add milk by the tablespoon as necessary.
- Combine until dough forms, do not over mix.
- Knead dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and cool in refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- On a floured surface, roll dough to ¼ to ⅓ inch thickness.
- Cut dough into circle shapes (I used a glass about 2 ½ inches diameter). Cut a small circle in the middle of each cookie. Carefully transfer cookie rounds to prepared baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 °F for 10 - 12 minutes, until just golden brown on edges. Cool completely and set aside. Keep oven set to 350 °F.
Caramel Coconut Layer
- Spread coconut in even layer on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 °F for 3 minutes. Remove from oven, stir, and return to oven. Bake for another 3-4 minutes or until toasted, watching closely so the coconut does not burn.
- In saucepan over medium low heat, combine sugar, coconut milk and cornstarch. Stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Add butter, stirring until melted and combined. Let cool.
- Combine toasted coconut and caramel sauce, top each cookie with about a tablespoon.
- Transfer to refrigerator to set.
Chocolate Drizzle
- Once caramel coconut layer is set, melt chopped chocolate in a double boiler.
- Transfer to piping bag (or plastic sandwich baggie) and slice a very small hole at the tip.
- While cookies are still on parchment, drizzle melted chocolate across each cookie.
- Allow chocolate to set before storing.
Notes
Shortbread cookie recipe based on Vegan Caramel Twix Bar recipe.
Store in a covered container for up to 7 days.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 86Total Fat: 8gSodium: 107mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 2gSugar: 15gProtein: 2g
nutrition calculations results vary by calculator, are for informational purposes only, and are not intended to replace medical advice or treatment.
about Kristina:
Kristina is spabettie! She found cooking at an early age, and created spabettie in 2010 to share vegan recipes. Kristina turned her culinary training into sharing vibrant vegan food! Read more...
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sandra says
best ones I have seen, sound delicous
Lara says
I love this cookie part along, best Ive ever made vegan. very impressed than you!!
EA-The Spicy RD says
Fabulous! These were my favorite Girl Scout cookies in my pre- gluten-free days. Now I am a Girl Scout troop leader, and I have to keep cartons of these in my garage during cookie season and not touch them...Definitely going to give your yummy looking cookies a try!
spabettie says
oh my, that would be difficult to avoid, a garage full of cookies! I hope you try these, they are pretty darn close, I think! 🙂
Gina says
beautiful and so fun, can't wait to try these
Nicole says
these look so good, can't wait to try them!
susan says
I need to do a little vegan something for someone and these are it! They look divine! When opening the coconut milk, will it last a long time in the fridge, similar to almond milk?
spabettie says
yes, I believe they have a pretty decent shelf life. they are the cartons in the cold section, with regular milk, so perhaps not AS long as one of the shelf stable milks... you *might* be able to sub a different milk you already have? since you are mixing the caramel with the coconut, the caramel consistency doesn't have to be perfect. Enjoy, Susan - I hope you love them!
Kath (My Funny Little Life) says
I never even was a girl scout at all ... 😉 I went camping a lot with my family as a child, though. And I was afraid of other children anyway. 😉
The cookies look ... awesome! 🙂
spabettie says
lucky! my family never went camping... probably why I did so often once I had my own car! 😉
Tracy @ Commit to Fit says
I wish we had cookies like this in Canada. I was in Guiding for many years and really enjoyed it, but we only have 3 kinds of cookies: Chocolate (not a big fan), vanilla and mint. I am making these for sure!
Francine says
these will be better than the original, I know! beautiful pictures too