Homemade Girl Scout Cookies: Samoas Bars February 2
I love the look of the original Samoas Girl Scout Cookies, but making them from scratch can be a little bit time consuming. This is largely because the dough must be rolled out, cut out and then each of the cookies has to be handled individually for topping. The results are well worth it, in my opinion, but we don’t always have time to make a labor-intensive recipe - no matter how bad a craving for Girl Scout cookies gets.
Bar cookies are the perfect solution.
This is basically a shortcut recipe that still delivers all the great samoas flavor without some of the more tedious parts of cooking making. These bars have a buttery shortbread base that is topped with the caramel-coconut samoas topping and chocolate. It is made in three stages. First, the shortbread is baked and cooled. Then, the coconut topping is applied. Put the coconut on while it is hot, so it will be fairly easy to push it around. It’s a thick mixture, but a spatula is all you need to press it into an even layer. The bars should be cut after the topping has been applied, and even though the shortbread has a melt-in-your mouth quality to it, the topping holds the bars together well. I recommend using a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice up the bars easily and neatly; small knives don’t work quite as well.
The final step is to dip these in chocolate once the topping has set. Since samoas have chocolate on the bottom and a chocolate drizzle on top, I kept that same look for my bar cookies. If you want something a bit simpler, just dip half that bars in chocolate - or skip the dipping in favor of a drizzle. The important thing is that all the flavors get into the batch. And that you have some friends to share these with, because they can be quite addictive.
Homemade Samoas Bars
Cookie Base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
First, make the crust.
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepapred pan and press into an even layer.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.
Topping
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)
Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.
When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping).
Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.
Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.
Makes 30 bar cookies.
Note: You can simply drizzle chocolate on top of the bars before slicing them up if you’re looking for yet an easier way to finish these off. You won’t need quite as much chocolate as noted above, and you won’t quite get the Samoas look, but the results will still be tasty.
Hayley Feb 2
These look amazing! I just drooled on my keyboard
Kim U Feb 2
Oh, yum! Thanks so much for posting this!
Katrina Feb 2
Yummy deliciousness! What a simple, fun way to make these.
eiluj Feb 2
Thank you! I have made the samoas a couple of times and they have become my husband’s favourite.
Now I can whip up a batch in no time.
CaSaundra Feb 2
I love the idea of this! I have a feeling my college floormates will adore them =) Yummmy
Linda Feb 2
Oh, sure, NOW you post this one after I just did the cookies this morning and mumbled to myself that rolling out cookies and all the other parts were a little too busy for me. The bar would have been perfect! Oh, well, I know now I will prefer the bar but keep the cookie for special occasions. LOL
Dani Feb 2
looking good!!!!
Lisa Feb 2
Oh.my.god.
You mean I can eat these at any time of year now, not just when Girl Scout cookies come out?
It’s the end of my skinny pants, I tell you!
MrsPointless Feb 2
omg those look divine.
Kara Feb 2
WOW - a perfect way to simplify an otherwise perfect cookie. YUM YUM YUM
merlotmom Feb 2
My daughter will love me! Thank you!
Elyse Feb 2
Oh wow! Those Samoa bars look even better than their Girl Scout counterparts–and I love their Girl Scout counterparts. Your blog is just wonderful, and I always look forward to seeing your new posts! Cannot wait to make these little treasures.
Squash Blossom Mom Feb 2
These look wonderful - can’t wait to try them!!
Becky Feb 2
Oh good grief! I may have to pretend I didn’t see this recipe! I won’t tell my husband either! I can tell what I’ll be making these little gems this month! Thanks for posting!
Kate Feb 2
Those look absolutely amazing! A weekend project - yay!
Dusty Feb 3
Mmmmm…..this is my most favorite kind of girl scout cookies. Thank you for posting this!
Patricia Scarpin Feb 3
These look so good, Nic. I love the layers!
Emma Feb 3
Thanks so much! I was about to make your samoas the other day but they looked too time consuming. I’ll have to try these out this weekend!
colleen Feb 3
Oh my, I need to make these very soon! They look fabulous!
Denise Feb 3
Wow. These look good!
I WAS holding off because the cookie recipe did seem a little time consuming … but now, wow.
Carol Feb 3
OH MY GOSH! I about went over backwards in the computer chair! The picture took my breath away! These are on my to try soon list for sure!!!!!!!!!!!
Stephanie Feb 4
I recently made the Samoa cookies, and they tasted quite amazing! The only problem I had in making them was that the coconut/caramel mixture had issues in sticking to the actual cookie…did anyone else have problems with this and how did you get around it? Thanks!
Talita Feb 4
Wow! What a perfection! I love it!
Kulby Feb 4
OMG! I just made these and they are amazing. I didn’t have caramels but I did have Hershey’s caramel topping so I just skipped the combining the melted caramels, milk, and salt step and just used about 3/4 cup of the caramel topping instead…and they still taste wonderful! I might do this next time I make them too because it definitely saves some time. I also roasted the coconut in the oven while the cookie base was baking…I was just sure to check it often because the oven was at 350 and not 300. Thanks so much for this amazing recipe!
youri Feb 4
This might be a silly question but can I make these using a 9×13 pyrex baking dish? Not sure if you need to use a metal one. Thanks!
heather Feb 4
these bar-homemade Samoas are GENIUS!! I can’t wait to try this. These always were my favorites!
The Food Hunter Feb 5
Samoas are my favorite. Thanks
Miyami Tamaki Feb 5
Wow that’s delicious
chef barbie Feb 6
and are those made with real girl scouts?
Sara Feb 7
These were fabulous - genius idea! I actually quartered the recipe and just made 8 in a loaf pan. I added an extra caramel and a touch extra milk to the topping to make it sticky enough to stick to the base.
Sarah Feb 7
Mmm.. I shouldn’t be looking at these sites when I’m hungry… time to wipe the drool off my fave.. these look SO good…
Brownies for Dinner Feb 8
Yum! Samoas are my favorite girl scout cookie. And these bar cookies look delicious and un-fussy enough for me to try sometime soon. Thanks
Jess Feb 8
DELICIOUS. Made them this weekend and have been enjoying daily.
Mandy Feb 9
I made these today, and they were great!
I used a pyrex pan, placed a layer of chocolate chips in the bottom of the pan, put them in the oven for a minute (while it was preheating), spread it to a thin layer, then placed the cookie base on top. It worked ok, but didn’t work great, the chocolate got a little too hot. It was still easier than dipping the cookies.
Next time, I am going to cook the cookie base, then spread a thin layer of chocolate on top, then add the coconut-caramel mixture. I’m hoping that will help it adhere to the cookie base a little better.
kim Feb 10
having made both the bar and cookie version i will say the bar version saves a lot of time. however, the cookies have a much cleaner presentation. also, the shortbread/cookie crust was very crumbly compared to the cookie. we’ll see which my fiance likes better
Jenna Feb 11
I thought the cookie was a bit thick in comparison to the topping and made it seem a little off-balance to me, but I can’t deny that they were still delicious! Thanks so much for this recipe!
Wendy Feb 12
Just the pictures alone make me want to get in my car RIGHT NOW and drive to the grocery store for the ingredients! Too bad it’s the middle of the night, but OH - they look delish!!!
Agirlhastoeat Feb 13
I love the pictures. Those cookies look fantastic!
colleen Feb 13
What kind of chocolate do you use to dip or drizzle the bars or cookie sin?? Are chocolate baking bars ok ??
sara Feb 13
why not just temper the chocolate and spread it on a sheet and while the short bread is still hot out of the oven transferred it on top of the chocolate? Thats how I do mine no messy dipping involved
collen I recommend getting a toll house melting chocolates they are in most grocers baking section and they can be microwaved
sir jorge Feb 16
that is truly impressive
meg Feb 17
Hi nicole! I made this and OMG!!!! Everybody loved them! It was crazy! just a few things tough: my cookie base wasn´t like wet sand but more like really thick and kinda hard to spread, eventoughit did turn out perfect after baking. also it didn´t yield so many bars as your so i ended up using only half the caramels with double the milk listed…added half the coconut as well and that addeud up to a silky smooth topping that was awwwwwwsome
Margie Feb 18
I had made your other recipe for these, and there were fantastic! I can’t wait to try this in a bar cookie. Thanks!
Mariah Feb 22
I am curious, did you use the sweetened or unsweetened coconut for testing purposes….and would you reccomend that one, or the other?
Thanks so much!
amy Feb 22
I made these this weekend. My children loved them. My neighbors loved them. I only wish I got some of them to tell if I liked them.
Laura Feb 22
I made these today. Yummy. I put the layer of chocolate on top of the warm cookie then added the coconut layer once it was cooled. It was much easier than dipping each piece. Thanks for the great recipe! Will make these again for sure!!
Wendy Feb 23
I made these this weekend too - and wow!! The flavor is PERFECT!! I personally thought the cookie layer was a bit too thick, but everyone in my family said - NO NO NO!! They love them like they are! (I’m just a perfectionist - that’s all!) They really are fabulous, and I’m thinkin’ I might even try just using a cookie scoop, flattening by hand - and go from there. But Laura had a good idea too - chocolate layer instead of dipping! HMMMM…. darn, I might just have to keep making these OVER and OVER and OVER!!
dessertchick Feb 23
I just made these today with my best friend and they are delicious! The only adjustment I made was that I added toasted almonds on top. Her father ate half the pan instead of eating dinner =)
lisette Feb 24
i love these cookies!!!!! i been looking for the recipe everywhere… thx for posting it…
bayu Feb 25
i think is delicious, i very like about cake specifically for chocolate
Michelle Feb 26
Thank you so much for posting all the GS Cookie recipes- they all look WONERFUL and I definitely want to try these bars!! You do a wonderful job- love your blog.
deewani Mar 1
I “googled” samoas to find a recipe and this is the first one I looked at. Made them tonight, have not tasted them yet, waiting for the caramel to cool so I can do the final part, but I can tell already that I am going to love them. Thanks very much, my brother is going to love these.
Tammi Mar 2
I was all set to love these and want to make them again and again. I did make them this weekend and was not as impressed as I thought I would be. They were too thick and chewy. I love to bake and usually bake once a week, but this recipe took way too long, took too many ingredients and made too many dirty dishes. I think I will just buy one box of the real thing a year and enjoy them that way. I really wanted to love these, but I didn’t.
Shanda Mar 6
I made these yesterday for a dinner party & everyone went NUTS! Thank you for creating this recipe! I thought they were fabulous & just sent my husband back out to buy more carmel & coconut to make more!
Mara @ What’s For Dinner? Mar 6
OH MY GOD!!!! Those look AMAZING!
Ciaochowlinda Mar 8
You should win a prize for these cookies that looks so fantastic and I’ll bet taste even better. I’m sure I would eat the whole batch if I made these.
One Shot Beyond Photography Mar 10
these are my favorite girl scout cookies too. I’m so glad you made these…and I am saving them!
Karin @ MadeByK Mar 11
Found your Samoas cookie recipe a while back but I’m glad I procrastinated because easy bars are even better! I wrote a post about Samoas on my blog, used two of your photos (loaded onto my photosharing site), attributed them to you, and also linked to your recipes - this one and the cookie version. If that’s not OK, please let me know. : )
By the way, LOVE these! So glad I have a recipe to make my own. Only thing I will do differently next time is to try milk chocolate instead of dark or semi-sweet; mine seemed a little too cocoa-y compared to the Girl Scout ones. (But still delicious, regardless of chocolate used.)
Steve Mar 23
This actually looks very easy to make. I think I will give it a try as I have all the ingredients already.
Mike Mar 24
I did the bars and like someone else above, my shortbread was way way too crumbly (one section even separated, half stayed on my pan, half came up with the caramel), and if it weren’t for the chocolate would be too fragile to support the caramel layer during a bite. I think I’ll try again with another egg added. Do you think that will change anything?
Rocio Mar 25
Hi,
I absolutely love your blog!I made these on Sunday and they were so good! I will tweek the recipe to my family’s taste (less chocolaty) and will also try the chocolate layer instead of dipped in it. I couldn’t handle the mess of dipping it, lol.
Keep sharing your delicious recipes
All Things Frugal For You & Me Mar 27
I’m linking to these and wishing for Taste A Vision:)
Leslie Mar 31
I tried making these last night–unfortunately, my cookie layer fell apart when trying to cut the bars, and the topping just wouldn’t stick. The cookie layer seemed too thick to me, too…I’d love to try making them again if someone can fix these issues!
Jenn Apr 1
WHOEVER MADE/POSTED THIS…OH MY GOD YOU ARE MY SAVIOR. LOL i love love loove samoas and being that they are seasonal im always bummed when i ram through the box that day…i mean i’m only 18 and being a college student this sounds like the best munchies everr..haha i am trying these out tomorrow! this is awesome!
Shane Apr 2
OMG! I think i just creamed my pants!
Kelly Apr 2
Me too, Shane! =]
Sarah Apr 2
What caramels do you use?
jess38288 Apr 3
Made these this morning/afternoon. They were great, but I have to agree with some of the comments. Next time I will make the cookie part thinner (that shortbread tasted awesome though). Also, I would highly suggest some other chocolate for drizzling and dipping - I used the Nestle Tollhouse Semi-Sweet Morsels and I too had a problem with the chocolate not hardening. There’s a chocolate in a paper tub that is specifically for dipping things & hardening (it has pictures of bananas & strawberries) - it’s usually in the produce section at Ralphs. That has always worked great for anything that I’ve needed hardened chocolate for. Hmm… I just may try this with white chocolate next time!
kristin Apr 6
I made these last nite for friends and we liked them. BUT i wanted to LOVE them, especially after all that work!!
The topping of caramel and coconut was definitely the best part although it did not want to stick to the shortbread base. I solved this by greasing up my fingers and spatula with shortening and pressing it into the cookies. My friend ended up just picking the caramel/coconut topping off the cookie and eating that straight. The shortbread was not very flavorful and too crumbly. The cookie bits fell into the chocolate as i was dipping the bottoms of the bars. I think next time i will make butter cookies and put the topping on that or just make the topping and eat that like candy.
Mike May 4
WOW! These stopped me dead in my tracks. Bummer my corner grocer is closed right now. Found you on stumbleupon and so glad I did. Thanks for sharing, saves me more money for buying the tagalongs and thin mints…he he
Melanie May 6
I made these and didn’t have time to dip the base of the bar in chocolate and instead just drizzled the chocolate over the top. They were so tasty. Thanks! I posted about them on my blog with a link to you.
Bill May 7
My daughter is with the girl scouts and this would be a nice spin to put on a popular cookie. Although girl scout cookies are great, you can get tired of the same flavors after awhile!
KS May 28
Just made these last week! Took a long time to make but worth it! Make sure you don’t over mix the dough for the shortbread. My first attempt did not look like “wet sand” and when I baked it it looked spongy. I also used only 2 cups of the toasted coconut and spread the melted chocolate on the base of the cookies with a knife instead of dipping them. This was less messy and I had more control of how much I put on. I put them in the fridge after topping them with the coconut/caramel topping for a few minutes just to set then after spreading them with chocolate I put them in there for another few minutes. Then drizzled them with chocolate. My husband loved them! He said they definitely taste better at room temperature. They remind me a little of a Twix bar because of the caramel and the cookie part. Going to try to make the Thin Mints next. Thanks Nicole!!!
kellirc Jun 10
I made these yesterday and they were absolutely delicious! My nieces loved them. I must say that I think they are better than the Samoa cookies because you get a lot more caramel and chocolate. Thanks for the great recipe.
Gabrielle Jun 18
I just made these yesterday and they were FABULOUS. I did what was suggested earlier and put the layer of melted chocolate on the shortbread instead of dipping, and also so the coconut would adhere better. Also, my grocery store didn’t have caramels, so I used a jar of smuckers caramel sauce/ice cream topping, and it worked very well. Thanks for such a great recipe! I’ll definitely make these again!
Stacy Jul 2
Did you happen to use sweetened or unsweetened coconut?
jamesly Jul 21
me too!
I made these yesterday and they were absolutely delicious!
Neally82 Jul 31
I LOVE your website. I come here all the time when I want a good homemade recipe for something. I’ve used lots and they’ve been fantastic every time. I’ll be back!
jmacheljordan Aug 1
wow. nice looking, thanks for sharing, we will try it a.s.a.p.
Coafuri mirese Sep 15
his recipe was great. I omitted the cocoa powder, as the cookies I sold in the 80’s were white on the inside. Dough sliced easily. I added more extract to the dough, and added extract to the melted chocolate. Served at a party last night and they disappeared within minutes.
Wendi Oct 3
I made these and they were the bomb.
Steph Oct 11
I love the shortbread/caramel/coconut combo, these were a definite hit.
Used BMW M3 Oct 12
I’m making these with my sister on thanksgiving, thanks. That’s a good tip about drizzling the chocolate on top of the bars before slicing them up. Great looking recipe … can’t wait!
Cartuse imprimanta Nov 4
Wow… such a good idea! And I guess I’m in the minority, but tagalongs are totally my favorite!
Tracy Nov 11
Love this recipe but found the dipping to be time consuming and the cookie layer didn’t take the handling too well. My solution? As soon as you take the shortbread out of the oven, spread the chocolote bits over the entire surface and allow it to melt. Cut into bars and allow to chocolate to set. Once chocolate has set, remove bars and place together tightly- CHOCOLATE SIDE DOWN from pan and top with the carmel/coconut mixture.
CasinoClub Nov 12
hose Samoa bars look even better than their Girl Scout counterparts–and I love their Girl Scout counterparts. Your blog is just wonderful, and I always look forward to seeing your new posts! Cannot wait to make these little treasures.
Catt Nov 19
These are beautiful. Thank you so much for your effort to provide two wondrous recipes that satisfy our Girl Scout cookie cravings all year long. The photos are brilliant BTW. Thanks again! I think this recipe can smooth over even the worst of family disputes. My son is SO excited!
Catt Nov 20
Update on the yummy bars: I cut them up into even smaller squares and packed them up for my hubby to take to work. They have gotten amazing reviews. About 50 web designers are going to be on your website this weekend digging up the recipe. Thanks so much!