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If you love the famous Girl Scout Samoa Cookies but are looking for a healthier, homemade version, look no further! These no-bake, chewy Samoas are like a cookie crossed with an energy ball, featuring pecans, coconut and date dough dipped and drizzled with chocolate. They’re super easy and quick to make for the perfect sweet snack.
These fun cookies use soft, sticky medjool dates for their caramel-like flavor to bind the dough and mimic that chewy caramel layer you find in a classic Samoa cookie. I use pecans and coconut in the dough too which are simply blended together in the food processor. The pecans have a buttery, toasty flavor to bring the shortbread flavor and give the cookie base a bit more bulk.
By shaping patties of dough into rings and then decorating them with chocolate, the simple blended dough is transformed into a treat that looks and tastes remarkably like the original, but with added protein and fiber.
For more no-bake treats, try my Protein Energy Bites and my Healthy Brownie Bites.
Recipe Overview
Before You Get Started
- The dates are used to bind the dough together, so it’s best to buy ones that come with the pits still in them (and remove the pits yourself) as they tend to be stickier and softer than the pre-pitted ones.
- If you find the dough isn’t sticky enough to hold together, you can add a little splash of hot water to the food processor and blend again to help soften it up. Alternatively, you can add a couple more soaked dates and blitz them in.
- If the dough is too soft, mix in a little more coconut to help dry it out a bit.
- Chilling the shaped cookies before dipping makes it easier to handle them and helps the chocolate set faster once it’s on the cookies.
- These are naturally gluten-free and vegan! Just check the label on the chocolate you’re using to ensure it’s certified to be vegan, if needed.
Common Questions
You could use a high-speed blender instead of a food processor for these. However, you’ll probably need to ‘pulse’ the blender so that the mixture doesn’t become too fine. You’ll also likely need to stop the blender and scrape down the sides a few times so that the mixture can reach the blades.
Yes! These last well in the freezer, stored in an airtight container. They’ll firm up but stay slightly soft when frozen (they actually get extra chewy!) so you can enjoy them straight from the freezer if you like.
These cookies will last up to 10 days in a container and stored in the fridge.
To make these Samoa cookies vegan, you can use a dairy-free chocolate instead.
Ingredients Needed
Below are the ingredients you’ll need to make these Samoa Cookies. The full quantities can be found in the recipe card further down the post.
- Pitted large medjool dates: I like using medjool dates here as they’re soft and sticky with a light caramel flavor, which makes them perfect for binding the dough.
- Chopped pecans: These add a toasty, buttery, cookie-like flavor to the no-bake dough. You can change them up for different nuts (like walnuts or raw cashews) if you prefer.
- Kosher salt: This helps to balance the sweetness of the dough.
- Unsweetened shredded coconut: This is vital to bringing the flavor of those classic Girl Scout cookies to this recipe.
- Dark chocolate: I prefer dark chocolate for this recipe as it works well with the sweet, caramel-flavored dough. You can use milk or white chocolate if you prefer, though.
- Coconut oil: This helps to make the melted chocolate more fluid, which makes it easier to dip the cookies.
How to Make Samoa Cookies
Here’s how you can make these cookies perfectly each time.
1️⃣ Soak the dates
Pitted medjool dates are soaked in hot water for 10 minutes.
✏️ Soaking the dates in water softens them up, making them easier to blend.
2️⃣ Blend up the dough
Softened dates are blended in a food processor with the pecans, a pinch of salt and half of the coconut.
✏️ By blending the ingredients, the dates form a paste which holds the pecans and coconut together into a slightly sticky dough.
3️⃣ Form the cookies
The dough is divided into 16 balls, dipped in the remaining coconut, and slightly flattened into a patty shape. A hole is poked in each patty using a metal straw or chopstick. These can be chilled in the freezer to help them firm up.
✏️ If a crack forms when the hole is poked in the ball, the dough can be pressed back together easily.
4️⃣ Decorate with chocolate
The base of the cookies is dipped in melted chocolate. The remaining melted chocolate can be used to drizzle a decoration on top of each cookie. You can leave these to set at room temperature or in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
✏️ Adding a bit of coconut oil to the melted chocolate makes it more fluid when melted, which makes it easier to dip the cookies in it.
Variations & Substitutions
- Alternative nuts: You can use walnuts, peanuts, raw cashews, raw almonds, or even pistachios instead of the pecans for a different flavor.
- Change up the chocolate: If you’re not a fan of dark chocolate, you could use white or milk chocolate for these cookies instead.
- Double chocolate Samoas: Add 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder to the ingredients in the food processor to get a chocolatey dough.
Samoa Cookies
Ingredients
- 12 large pitted medjool dates
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, or walnuts
- Pinch kosher salt
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, divided
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate, melted, dairy-free for vegan option
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Soak the 12 large pitted medjool dates in hot water for 10 minutes until they soften.
- Drain, and place the softened dates in a food processor together with the 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, Pinch kosher salt, and 1/2 cup shredded coconut. Blend until you have a dough-like texture that's a bit sticky.
- Take 1.5 tablespoons of the mixture and roll into a ball, then roll the ball into the remaining 1/2 cup shredded coconut while gently pressing and forming into a 2 and 1/3-inch patty.
- Place the coated patty-cookies on a lined sheet pan. Using a thick aluminum/glass straw, make a hole in the middle. Then, using your index finger, gently make the hole a bit larger. Don't worry if the cookie breaks; it can easily stick together by pressing on the rupture. Repeat until all the dough is used up. You should have about 16 cookies.
- Place them into the freezer for a bit so they can firm up.
- Melt the 1/3 cup dark chocolate and mix with the 1 teaspoon coconut oil. Dip each cookie into the melted chocolate to coat the bottom, then place it chocolate-side up on the sheet pan to harden. You may refrigerate for 5 minutes to speed up the process.
- Once the chocolate is set, flip the cookies, chocolate-side down and drizzle with the remaining melted chocolate.
Notes
- You may use any other nuts of your choice, like walnuts or raw cashews.
- For a vegan option, use dairy-free chocolate chips
- Store in a container in the fridge for up to 10 days. Storing in the fridge is better since it is no-bake. It will help keep the cookies firm and not melty.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Storage & Make Ahead Tips
Fridge: These will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Freezer: Place the cookies on a lined tray in the freezer until solid (around 3 hours), then transfer to an airtight container and return to the freezer for up to 3 months.
You May Also Like
- No-Bake Chocolate Cookies
- Coconut Cake
- Carrot Cake Balls
- Pumpkin Spice Energy Bites
- Paleo Walnut Energy Balls
- No-Bake Peanut Oatmeal Chocolate Squares
- Healthy Buckeye Balls
- Funfetti Protein Balls
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