These vegan samoa cookie bars have all the flavors of samoa/caramel delites Girl Scout cookies in a vegan bar form. A lightly sweeten shortbread base is loaded with a sticky caramel and a toasted coconut blend, then dipped and drizzled in dark chocolate. The thicker, crumbly shortbread base balances out the sweetness of the topping for those easily overwhelmed by sugar and are easier to construct than pressing caramel coated coconut to individual shortbread circles. They have all the same great flavors, but are so much easier to make. If you’re looking for vegan cookie bars, vegan desserts, or vegan Girl Scout cookies, this is a great recipe to make!
And, if you’re looking for more vegan Girl Scout cookies, try these vegan thin mints! They’re thin, snappy, deeply chocolaty, and refreshing all at once, making them incredibly hard to stop eating.
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What You’ll Need For These Vegan Samoa Cookie Bars
Tools You’ll Need
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How To Make Vegan Samoa Cookie Bars
Grease or line an 8” x 8”/20 x 20cm baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350° F/175C.
In a large bowl, combine flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
Add the coconut oil, water, and vanilla. Stir until a crumbly mixture forms.
Press mixture into pan. Pat into an even layer. Prick with a fork so it doesn’t rise unevenly.
Bake for 15-16 minutes until golden brown on the edges and firm to the touch.
Toast coconut: Spread in a thin layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 4-7 minutes, monitoring closely until just starting to turn golden. Residual heat from the pan will continue cooking the coconut after it is removed from the oven.
In a medium pot, heat the caramel over medium until gently bubbling. Do not walk away from the caramel as it is prone to burning. Cook for one (1) minute at a boil, swirling gently. Do not over cook or caramel will be too hard.
Remove from heat and fold in the toasted coconut (and salt if using). Stir gently until the coconut is completely coated.
Scrap the coconut onto the hot baked shortbread and press into an even layer.
Set aside to cool completely.
Once cool, cut into 16-20 bars.
Chop chocolate finely and place in a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water until mostly melted. Alternatively, melt in the microwave in blasts of 15 seconds or less, stirring after each one. Allow residual heat to finish melting chocolate.
Add the coconut oil and stir until smooth.
Have parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet ready.
Dip the base of each bar into chocolate (resting on a fork can help) and shake off excess. Place on the line baking sheet.
Drizzle thin stripes of chocolate over the tops of each bar. Allow to solidify.
These vegan samoa cookie bars can be stored at cool room temperature for five (5) days or in the freezer for up to one (1) month. Bring to room temperature before eating.
Important Recipe Notes
Use dark chocolate bars, not chocolate chips to coat bars. Chocolate chips contain extra ingredients which will have a different mouthfeel and not be glossy.
Sweetened vs unsweetened coconut: Sweetened coconut retains more moisture than unsweetened shredded coconut. The caramel coconut topping is very sweet, but salted caramel and toasted coconut will balance out the flavor.
Vegan Dessert Recipes
Spiced Vegan Chocolate Cookies– These chocolate cookies have just the right amount of spice. They are deeply chocolatey, lightly crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and warmed with cinnamon, ginger, and just a hint of cayenne.
Lemon Blueberry Thumbprint Cookies– These thumbprint cookies are a delicious vegan dessert that combines the sweet taste of blueberries with the slightly sour and acidic taste of lemon.
Vegan Samoa Cookie Bars
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Ingredients
- 1 cup/120g all-purpose flour
- 6 tbsp/45g powdered sugar
- 5 tbsp/75ml coconut oil melted
- 1 tbsp/15ml water
- 1/2 tsp/2g baking powder
- ¼ tsp/2g salt
- 1 tsp/5ml vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup/180ml vegan caramel sauce
- 2 cups/200g sweetened shredded coconut toasted
- 1/4 tsp/2g salt if not using salted caramel
- 6 oz/170g dark chocolate vegan
- 2 tsp/10ml coconut oil
Method
- Grease or line an 8” x 8”/20 x 20cm baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350° F/175C.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add the coconut oil, water, and vanilla. Stir until a crumbly mixture forms.
- Press mixture into pan. Pat into an even layer. Prick with a fork so it doesn’t rise unevenly.
- Bake for 15-16 minutes until golden brown on the edges and firm to the touch.
- Toast coconut: Spread in a thin layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 4-7 minutes, monitoring closely until just starting to turn golden. Residual heat from the pan will continue cooking the coconut after it is removed from the oven.
- In a medium pot, heat the caramel over medium until gently bubbling. Do not walk away from the caramel as it is prone to burning. Cook for one (1) minute at a boil, swirling gently. Do not over cook or caramel will be too hard.
- Remove from heat and fold in the toasted coconut (and salt if using). Stir gently until the coconut is completely coated.
- Scrap the coconut onto the hot baked shortbread and press into an even layer.
- Set aside to cool completely.
- Once cool, cut into 16-20 bars.
- Chop chocolate finely and place in a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water until mostly melted. Alternatively, melt in the microwave in blasts of 15 seconds or less, stirring after each one. Allow residual heat to finish melting chocolate.
- Add the coconut oil and stir until smooth.
- Have parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet ready.
- Dip the base of each bar into chocolate (resting on a fork can help) and shake off excess. Place on the line baking sheet.
- Drizzle thin stripes of chocolate over the tops of each bar. Allow to solidify.
- Can be stored at cool room temperature for five (5) days or in the freezer for up to one (1) month. Bring to room temperature before eating.
Notes
Sweetened vs unsweetened coconut: Sweetened coconut retains more moisture than unsweetened shredded coconut. The caramel coconut topping is very sweet, but salted caramel and toasted coconut will balance out the flavor.
