These Paleo Vegan Samoa Cookies are easy, no-bake, and so delicious! A shortbread cookie topped with toasted coconut and caramel. Gluten free, dairy free, nut free, egg free and naturally sweetened.
I have these Paleo Samoa Cookie Bars that are delicious and a great treat. But these are nice because they're no bake, nut free, and easier. They still have that signature taste of the sweet shortbread and chewy caramel coconut. They aren't crunchy since they're no bake, but I don't think you'll mind.
Let's talk about how to make them and the layers. The shortbread is coconut flour, maple syrup, and coconut oil. It's mixed together and then you let it sit for a couple minutes to let the coconut flour absorb the moisture. This makes it easy to work with. The caramel topping is toasted coconut, dates, and SunButter blended together. It really does taste like caramel- it's amazing! Then the cookies are dipped and drizzled with chocolate. Enjoy Life is a good dairy free, soy free option or Eating Evolved is a great paleo, coconut sugar sweetened option.
Toasted Coconut
Toasting the coconut is so easy and really makes them taste like the traditional cookie. I did it in a pan, but you can also do it in the oven. Just place the unsweetened coconut in a dry pan, cook over medium, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn. It should take about 5 minutes. Bonus- it makes your house smell amazing!
Cookie Assembly
Take about 1 tablespoon of the chilled shortbread and roll into a ball. Press flat, about 2 inches wide. Place them on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Using the back of a wooden spoon, press a whole in the center. Take the caramel mixture, about 1 tablespoon, flatten it and place on top of the shortbread. Gently press the two layers together. Put in the fridge to help set. Once chilled, melt some dairy free chocolate and dip the shortbread layer and then drizzle chocolate on top. This really gives them their signature look.
These are best stored in the fridge because they will get a little soft at room temperature. They would still hold up for packing in a lunch or setting out at a get together, just make sure to store them in the fridge.
Here are my other copycat Girl Scout cookies: Paleo Thin Mints, Paleo Vegan Tagalong Cookies, and Paleo Samoa Cookie Bars.
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Paleo Vegan Samoa Cookies
Ingredients
Shortbread
- ¾ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil, refined for less coconut taste
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Coconut Caramel
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted*
- 1 cup dates, soaked (pits removed if needed)
- 2 tablespoons no sugar added SunButter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Chocolate Dip and Drizzle
Instructions
- Line a sheet tray with parchment paper. Make sure you have room in the fridge for it.
- Make the shortbread. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut flour, coconut oil, maple syrup and salt. Mix well and let sit for a couple minutes to let the coconut flour absorb the moisture. Divide into 11 portions, about 1 tablespoon each. Roll into balls, press flat (about 2 inched wide) and place on the sheet tray. Using the back of a wooden spoon, make a hole in the center.
- Blend the dates (drain first), SunButter, and vanilla a minute or two until combined. It won't be smooth. Add in the coconut and blend again until combined. Mixture will be thick. Divide the mixture into 11 portions, about 1 tablespoon each. Roll into balls and press down into the same size as the shortbread. Poke a hole in the center with the back of the wooden spoon and place on top of the shortbread. Gently press the two layers together. Place in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
- Once cookies have chilled a little, melt ¾ cup chocolate in a small bowl, stirring every 30 seconds. Mine took 2 minutes, but every microwave is different. Dip the bottoms of the cookies, covering the shortbread layer.
- Melt the ¼ cup chocolate in a small bowl and drizzle it over all the cookies. Place back in the fridge to harden.
- Best stored in the fridge, but can be at room temperature to serve or pack in a lunch.
Notes:
Nutrition Information
Amy says
I very rarely leave comments on recipes, but I had to on this one. Jessica's recipes are innovative, fresh, and actually delicious and this one made me jump up and down. They taste like samoas!!! Yayyyyy!!! I've made 4 of her cookie recipes now and they are each incredible. I see another review talking about how they're labor intensive for what you get and I'll politely disagree- the steps are quick and easy and although they're unusual, it's the exact thing that make her recipes stand out in the clutter of recipes out there that are really all twists on the same thing. Jessica, thank you for innovating and making something NEW! I'm happy to spend five minutes shaping these little delights! I am OBSESSED with this recipe! And, as the mother of a daughter with lots of food sensitivities I'm so grateful for your awesome recipes! One last thing- the hole in these cookies. At the very end, when they were all done, I had great success using an old school metal vegetable peeler- the tip part. I just carved out a quick hole in the middle of each, then drizzled the last of my melted chocolate around the edge. I bet it took less than a minute to do them all. Cheers!
Jessica DeMay says
Amy- thank you for the kind feedback. I'm so glad you enjoy my recipes and thank you for the tip for the hole. I'm so glad you like these and my other recipes. Thanks again for taking the time to leave this message! 🙂
Inez says
I am so sorry to leave a review that is not five stars but I feel I have to be honest. The end flavor was pretty good but I had issues along the way. When I was making the coconut-date mixture I was scared I was going to break my blender. I will say that I subbed almond butter instead of the sunbutter (which the Instagram post said you can do) so maybe sun butter has more liquid than nut butter. I wouldn’t know because I have never used sun butter. But with two tablespoons almond butter the mixture was so dry I was scared to break the blender. I then added a third tablespoon and that did not help. I ended up scrapping it out of the blender and mixing by hand. It was also hard to make holes in the cookies with the wooden spoon. I thought the cookies were too small for that. It was getting messy so I ended up using a plastic knife instead. I’m not sure I would try this recipe again. It felt labor intensive for a small batch of cookies. Maybe now that I know how to tweak it (mix by hand, and don’t bother with the wooden spoon) it would be easier, but I don’t know.
Jessica DeMay says
Thanks for the honest feedback, Inez! I'm sorry you had trouble with them. It sounds like your dates were not very soft maybe? They shouldn't break your blender. You can definitely use almond butter, but maybe a little water added was needed. Thanks for trying them and I hope you still enjoyed them.
Alison L says
How long do you soak the dates before they are ready to use?
Jessica DeMay says
Hi Alison- like 5-10 minutes in hot/warm water. Hope you try them!
Inez says
Would date sugar work instead of actual dates?
Jessica DeMay says
Hi Inez- unfortunately no. You need the stickiness of the dates to hold them together.
nina mckenna says
Cant wait to make😁you mean press a "hole" with back of wooden spoon ....
Jessica DeMay says
Thanks, Nina! I didn't catch that so I appreciate you letting me know. Hope you love these!
amanda says
I loved these, i tried with almond flour and they came out good but when i used coconut flour they were super hard?? also any tips for preventing the stickiness of the caramel topping?
Jessica DeMay says
Hi Amanda- thanks for trying them. I'm sorry about the difficulties. They shouldn't be hard with the coconut flour. Did you use the amount written? The caramel is a little sticky, wet your hands when working with it if needed.
Julia says
Do you have the nutritional facts for the cookies?
Jessica DeMay says
Hi Julia- I don't, I don't calculate facts for any of my food. If you need to know then you can use a site like My Fitness Pal to help figure it out. Hope you try them!
Anastasia says
Can you substitute the sunbutter for something else?
Jessica DeMay says
Hi Anastasia- yes! If you don't need nut free then use any nut butter you like
Becca Erickson says
I just made these and they are delicious! It's been 6 years since I've had the real ones but these seemed just like what I remebered! So yummy!
Jessica DeMay says
Thanks for trying them, Becca! I'm so glad you like them!
Sarah says
What kind of maple syrup and chocolate chips do you use for this that are naturally sweetened?
Jessica DeMay says
Hi Sarah- any pure maple syrup will work. I usually buy it from Costco or Trader Joes. I use Santa Barbara chocolate chips which are unsweetened and they also have a coconut sugar sweetened variety. Hope that helps!