Try these recipes for gluten-free, vegan Girl Scout-style cookies at home, including Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs. You won’t believe how close the taste comes to the real deal!
Who doesn’t love those classic confections pedaled by perhaps the most adorable salespeople on the planet? Unless you have dietary restrictions, of course, and aren’t able to indulge when cookie time comes around. Here, the creator of the popular site Fork and Beans, which presents creative gluten-, egg-, and dairy-free recipes and provides a forum for those living with dietary restrictions, shares three recipes from her new cookbook for gluten-free, vegan versions of Girl Scout-style Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs. Don’t worry—you can still send the Scouts a charitable donation!
Cara’s All-Purpose Blend
Substitute for regular flour on a one-to-one basis.
Makes 9 cups
3 cups superfine brown rice flour
3 cu[s superfine sorghum flour
1½ cups potato starch, not flour
1½ cups arrowroot powder
With a spoon, scoop the flours into a measuring cup. Level with a knife and throw everything into a gallon-sized plastic baggie, seal tightly, and shake vigorously until well combined. Keep stored in an airtight container.
Thin Mints
One of the main reasons I do what I do is because it gives me so much joy and satisfaction to know that the special people in my life are able to safely enjoy the foods everyone else around them enjoys. The best day of my baking career was when I was able to make these Thin Mints with my (at the time) 7-year-old niece Cambria, who is severely allergic to dairy and eggs. The excitement she got from being able to eat the cookies she sells with her troop was one of the best feelings I have ever experienced.
Makes approximately 30 cookies
Ingredients
1¼ cups Cara’s All-Purpose Blend (see recipe above)
¼ cup cocoa powder
3 Tbsp maple syrup
3 Tbsp non-hydrogenated shortening
1 Tbsp nondairy milk
2 tsp unsulphured molasses
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
For Chocolate Coating:
1 cup nondairy chocolate chips
1 Tbsp non-hydrogenated shortening
½ tsp (or more, based on preference) peppermint oil
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix everything but the chocolate coating ingredients together with a fork in a medium bowl until a dough begins to form. It might be a bit crumbly; simply place the dough on a piece of parchment paper and gently knead until a smooth ball is formed. Roll the ball between two pieces of parchment paper until 1/8-inch thick. Cut into circles with 2-inch cookie cutter.
3. Place cookies on baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to fully cool.
4. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Every 30 seconds, stop and stir, and then heat up again until the chocolate is completely melted. Add shortening and peppermint oil and stir until smooth.
5. Dip each cookie into the bowl of chocolate and coat evenly. Freeze for 10 minutes until set. Best if kept in fridge or freezer.
Samoas
Despite the fact that they always come in second behind the triumphant Thin Mints, Samoas will always remain my favorite Girl Scout cookie. A crispy cookie bottom coated with chocolate and topped with caramel and coconut is, in my opinion, neck and neck with chocolate and mint. One of my favorite ways to eat Samoas is by breaking them apart and throwing them into a big bowl of nondairy ice cream.
Makes approximately 30 cookies
Ingredients
For the cookie base:
1¼ cup Cara’s All-Purpose Blend (see recipe above)
3 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp non-hydrogenated shortening
2 Tbsp vegan butter
1 Tbsp nondairy milk
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
For the chocolate coating:
2 cups nondairy chocolate chips, melted
1 Tbsp non-hydrogenated shortening or coconut oil, melted
For the caramel and coconut:
Date Caramel Sauce (see box)
1½ cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix everything for the cookie base together with a fork in a medium bowl until dough begins to form. It might be a bit crumbly; simply place the dough on a piece of parchment paper and gently knead until a smooth ball is formed. Roll the ball between two pieces of parchment paper until ? inch thick. Cut into circles with 2-inch cookie cutter. Using a ½-inch circle cutter, make a hole in the middle of each cookie.
3. Place the cookies on the baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to fully cool.
4. Dip each cookie bottom into the melted chocolate and coconut oil. Allow to set on a piece of parchment paper.
5. Mix together the caramel sauce and coconut in a small bowl. Spoon approximately 1 Tbsp of the mixture onto each cookie and spread around so it covers it completely.
6. Place the leftover melted chocolate in a plastic bag, cut a tiny hole in the corner, and drizzle lines of chocolate on the top of each cookie. Freeze the cookies for 10 minutes to completely set.
Cara’s Tip: You might have leftover Date Caramel Sauce from this recipe, and you are better for it! Simply place into an airtight jar and store in the refrigerator for up to one week. Drizzle over nondairy ice cream or a slice of pie, or spoon it right out of the jar for a sweet treat.
Tagalongs
A decadent mountain of fluffy peanut butter smothered in chocolate, these Tagalongs are bursting with deliciousness. Dare I say to chop a bunch of them up and add them to a bowl of nondairy ice cream? Talk about a sugared-up brain freeze!
Makes approximately 30 cookies
Ingredients
1¼ cups Cara’s All-Purpose Blend (see above)
3 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp non-hydrogenated shortening
2 Tbsp vegan butter
1 Tbsp nondairy milk
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
For the peanut butter filling:
½ cup peanut butter
6 Tbsp non-hydrogenated shortening
1 cup powdered sugar
For the chocolate:
2 cups nondairy chocolate chips
2 Tbsp shortening or coconut oil, solid
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix everything but the filling and chocolate together with a fork in a medium bowl until dough begins to form. It might be a bit crumbly; simply place the dough on a piece of parchment paper and gently knead until a smooth ball is formed. Roll the ball between two pieces of parchment paper until ? inch thick. Cut into circles with 2-inch cookie cutter.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to fully cool.
To make the filling:
Using an electric mixer, combine peanut butter and shortening until fully mixed. Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
To assemble:
1. Place approximately 1 Tbsp peanut butter onto fully cooled cookie. Make a small mountain-like hump.
2. Freeze cookies with filling for 15-20 minutes just so the filling doesn’t melt into the chocolate. Remove from freezer and allow cookies to sit and breathe for a couple of minutes.
To make the chocolate:
1. Place the nondairy chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes, but stop every 30 seconds to stir. Once they are almost completely melted (it might not even take the full 2 minutes), mix in the shortening or oil and stir until smooth.
2. Place a frozen cookie (with peanut butter on it) onto a fork and dip it into the chocolate, bottom-side in first. Using a spoon, coat the top with chocolate until it is fully coated. Place on a piece of parchment paper and complete all cookies. Freeze for 10 minutes just to set.
Cara’s Tip: If you have a nut allergy, simply replace the peanut butter with a homemade or store-bought SunButter for a very comparable cookie.
These recipes were excerpted with permission from Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan Baking by Cara Reed (Page Street Publishing; August 2014; $19.99).
