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    Home » Desserts » Cookies, Pies & Tarts » Samoa Cookies

    Samoa Cookies

    Jan 2, 2022 · Updated: Jan 12, 2023 by Dee Dine · Affliate links disclosure.

    Jump to Recipe

    Samoa Cookies, a delicious no bake copycat with only 5 ingredients, sweet and chewy and full of fiber, iron and potassium, supporting hair, skin, nails and providing energy.

    Samoa Cookies
    Samoa cookies are melt-in-your-mouth wonders, with a buttery shortbread base, melted chocolate and fresh coconut. They are easy to make, use only a few ingredients and are full of healthy benefits. If you like healthy homemade versions of popular cookies like my milano cookies and my thin mint cookies, than you'll love these Samoas! I make them in a mini donut pan mold but you can also make them without the hole in a cupcake pan.

    Samoa Cookies

    Table of Contents
    • What Is a Samoa Cookie?
    • Main Ingredients
    • How to Make
    • Recipe Tips
    • FAQS
    • Other Healthy Chocolate Treats
    • Samoa Cookies

    What Is a Samoa Cookie?

    A Samoa cookie is a round, buttery shortbread base topped with a creamy caramel, sprinkled with toasted coconut and dipped and drizzled with dark chocolate. The cookie was made famous in 1970s by the Girl Scouts, a youth girls organization, when they included the cookie during their annual food drive.

    Samoa Cookies

    Main Ingredients

    Dates: Full of iron and fiber, as well as add sweet flavor and binding. I used Medjool, but you can use the kind you can find. Look in your grocer's produce area for packaged dates, not dried.

    Maple Syrup: A sweetener with a healthier panel than sugar so we can use less brown sugar.

    Nut Butter or sunflower seed butter: This ingredient is important as a binder and instead of processed oil. I have made these with nut butter as well as Sunbutter, an excellent sunflower seed butter if you want to make these cookies nut-free.

    Shredded coconut: Use shredded coconut that is unsweetened and as fresh as you can buy it.

    Chocolate: I use chocolate chips but you can also chop chocolate. I use Enjoylife chips for their clean ingredient panel, or HU gems if you don't want cane sugar in your chocolate.

    steps to make samoa cookies

    How to Make

    Step 1: Bake the shredded coconut for 5 minutes until brown. Drop the dates in just boiled water for 3 minutes to soften enough to pit them.

    Step 2: Make the cookies by processing the browned shredded coconut and dates into a sticky mixture. I used a food processor but a blender will also work.

    Step 3: Press the mixture into a mold or the bottom of a cupcake pan. Chill while you make the caramel center.

    Step 4: Put the nut butter and maple syrup in a pyrex measuring cup and microwave for 15 seconds, stir until smooth. Pour on chilled cookies.

    Step 5: Sprinkle more browned coconut on cookies and drizzle with chocolate.

    Step 6: Store Cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for 4 days or freeze for three months.

    Recipe Tips

    Tip #1: Make sure the dates are fresh and soft. I buy them packaged in the produce section of the grocery store, and always check the date (haha). But at home, before use, I boil them for about 5 minutes to soften them up, then pit.

    Tip #2: Make sure the shredded coconut is fresh and from a reputable company. If it's not fresh, the taste will reflect a stale quality. Bob's Red Mill and Let's Do Organic are always fresh in my experience.

    Tip #3: To produce a flat chocolate base on the cookie, dip and place the cookie immediately on wax paper. Parchment paper might work but I find wax works better. Once the chocolate is set, peel the cookie off the paper.

    Samoa Cookies

    FAQS

    How Healthy Are Homemade Samoa Cookies

    Samoa cookies are relatively healthy as cookies go with 2 grams of protein and fiber each, and only 4 grams of sugar. The sweet flavor and texture of the cookie comes primarily from fresh dates which have a highly nutritious composition, including potassium and iron, and antioxidants which fight off disease. [source]

    The other prominent ingredient in samoa cookies is shredded coconut. The shredded nature helps the cookie bind the dates into the soft chewy texture found identical to the processed commercial version. And raw coconut brings an extraordinarily nutritious profile to the cookie, including cholesterol control, weight loss support, digestion help and blood sugar stablization. [source]

    Girl Scout Cookie Changes Name

    A little fun trivia for you. The Girl Scout's made this Samoa cookie famous, but recently had to change the name to Caramel Delites because the Girl Scouts switched manufacturers, and the original manufacturer of Samoa cookies had a federal trademark on the name.

    Samoa Cookies

    Other Healthy Chocolate Treats

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    Chocolate Brownie Protein Bars

    Rocky Road Fudge

    Swiss Roll Cake

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    Samoa Cookies

    Samoa Cookies

    Created by Dee Dine
    Samoa Cookies, a delicious no bake copycat with only 5 ingredients, sweet and chewy and full of fiber, iron and potassium, supporting hair, skin, nails and providing energy.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 45 mins
    Total Time 50 mins
    Course Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12
    Calories 74 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    Cookie base

    • 8 dates soaked and pitted
    • ¾ cup shredded coconut unsweetened

    Caramel filling

    • 4 tablespoon nut butter or sunflower seed butter to make nut-free
    • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

    Coconut sprinkles

    • ¼ cup shredded coconut, unsweetened

    Chocolate coating

    • 1 cup chocolate chips melted
    • 1 tablespoon coconut oil

    Equipment

    • 1 mini donut mold pan
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    Prep

    • Preheat your oven to 375 F.
    • Line quarter cookie sheet with parchment paper
    • Drop the dates in just boiled water for 3 minutes to soften enough to pit them.
      Samoa Cookies

    Make Cookie base

    • Toast coconut by spreading 1 cup on to the parchment paper and bake for 5 minutes or until browned.
      ¾ cup shredded coconut
      Samoa Cookies
    • Add ¾ cup browned shredded coconut and pitted dates to a food processor and process mixture until sticky.
      8 dates, ¾ cup shredded coconut
      Samoa Cookies
    • Press 1 tablespoon per well into a mini donut mold. If you don't have a mold, press into a paper-lined cupcake pan.
      Samoa Cookies
    • Freeze while you make caramel center
      Samoa Cookies

    Make Caramel Center

    • Mix the nut butter (or sunflower seed butter) and maple syrup in a pyrex measuring cup, microwaving for 15 seconds to make it smooth.
      4 tablespoon nut butter, 1 tablespoon maple syrup
      Samoa Cookies
    • Spread over the cooled cookies while still in the mold (or cupcake pan).
      Samoa Cookies
    • Sprinkle tops with fresh shredded coconut.
      ¼ cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
      Samoa Cookies
    • Place the mold (or cupcake pan) in the freezer for 30 minutes to allow the caramel to set.

    Dip the Cookies

    • Remove the cookies from molds.
    • Melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in the microwave for 1 minute.
      1 cup chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon coconut oil
      Samoa Cookies
    • Dip the cookies bottoms until coated. Because they are frozen, the chocolate should set fast but set them on a cooling rack up side down until that chocolate bottom is set.
      Samoa Cookies

    Drizzle the tops

    • When the bottoms are set, drizzle the tops with melted chocolate. I use a frosting bag with the tip cut off but you can use a ziplock sandwich bag as well with the tip cut off.
      Samoa Cookies

    Store Cookies

    • Store in a sealed container at room temperature for 4 days or freeze for three months.
      Samoa Cookies

    Video

     

    Notes

    Tip #1: Make sure the dates are fresh and soft. I buy them packaged in the produce section of the grocery store, and always check the date (haha). But at home, before use, I boil them for about 5 minutes to soften them up, then pit.
    Tip #2: Make sure the shredded coconut is fresh and from a reputable company. If it's not fresh, the taste will reflect a stale quality. Bob's Red Mill and Let's Do Organic are always fresh in my experience.
    Tip #3: To produce a flat chocolate base on the cookie, dip and place the cookie immediately on wax paper. Parchment paper might work but I find wax works better. Once the chocolate is set, peel the cookie off the paper.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 74kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 2gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 15mgPotassium: 89mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword healthy samoa cookies, samoa cookies, samoas
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    About Dee

    Chocolate and ginger enthusiast. Dog and bird lover. I'm probably chopping chocolate in my Washington DC kitchen right now. More about Dee and Green Smoothie Gourmet »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Peter Angles

      June 30, 2022 at 1:09 pm

      5 stars
      No bake and the ingredients are so healthy and delicious!

      Reply
      • Dee Dine

        June 30, 2022 at 1:10 pm

        Thank you!

        Reply
    2. Rochelle Joanne Gettings

      April 06, 2022 at 3:38 am

      5 stars
      Hello I am going to make Samoa Cookies . Can you advise of the type of baking mould you have used please?

      Reply
      • Dee Dine

        April 07, 2022 at 12:27 pm

        I used a mini donut mold, linked in my ingredients and here .

        Reply

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    Dee Dine of Green Smoothie Gourmet

    I'm Dee, sharing delicious, science-centric recipes using nourishing plant-based foods laser-focused on nutritional impact. No matter your tastes, I hope you'll find a recipe to love. About Dee →

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