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Easy homemade Samoa Cookie Bars. Lightly sweetened, buttery, whole grain shortbread, topped with a toasted coconut and maple syrup-based “caramel” and drizzled in sweet chocolate. Each cookie bar is sweet, coconutty, swirled with caramel, chocolatey, and so DELICIOUS. Boxed cookies have nothing on these easy bars!
Something we all love around here but that I don’t use enough of is coconut. I use coconut milk in a lot of recipes, but shredded coconut in sweets isn’t something I often use.
That changes today with these Samoa Cookie Bars. Have you ever had a Samoa Cookie? If you’re unfamiliar with them, they are round cookies with cutouts in the middle. They’re topped with shredded coconut that’s usually mixed with a caramel-like sauce. Then each cute cookie is dipped and drizzled in chocolate.
If your town has a Girl Scout troop, you’ve likely had these cookies. I think they even sell them in most major grocery stores these days too!
Funny enough, I was never a Girl Scout, so I didn’t grow up with these cookies like my mom did, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love them!
Both Mom and I really adore these. Everything from the salty shortbread to the sweet coconut and chocolate! A while back, I made the classic cookie, but this cookie bar is so much easier. The ratio of chocolate to cookie is much better! And I think we actually love the bars even more.
These bars will be great for upcoming game day festivities. They’re also pretty cute for Valentine’s Day! You could drop them off with your little ones for a school party. Share them with someone to let them know they’re appreciated. Or find a cute box and package them up to send them off to a loved one! Homemade gifts are the best!
Ok, here are the details
Ingredients
- salted butter
- maple syrup
- vanilla extract
- an egg yolk
- whole wheat flour, or you can use a gluten-free blend
- baking powder
- mini chocolate chips
- canned coconut milk
- unsweetened shredded coconut – I like to toast mine
- melted dark chocolate
Special Tools
You need a mixer for this recipe, as well as a square baking pan. I used this pan.
Steps
Step 1: make the shortbread
In a bowl, cream together the butter and maple syrup. Then add an egg yolk and vanilla. I like to use an egg yolk to ensure the cookie doesn’t get too crumbly.
Now add in the whole wheat flour. You could also use all-purpose flour or a gluten-free flour blend (I like King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill). Add baking powder and salt.
Step 2: bake
Next, take the dough and press it into a 9×9 inch square baking dish fitted with parchment paper.
Bake the cookie until it’s golden and set. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the shortbread and return to the oven for another minute, but no longer! You just want to give the chocolate a head start on melting. If you bake too long, the chocolate could get scorched.
Step 3: spread on the chocolate and chill
Now, spread the chocolate over the shortbread and place this in either the fridge or freezer to set.
Step 4: make the coconut
I use maple for sweetness and coconut milk for creaminess.
Boil both the maple and coconut milk on the stove until it thickens into a caramel-like sauce. Then stir in vanilla, a pinch of salt, and toasted coconut. It’s delicious and so simple to throw together.
Step 5: finish
Spread the coconut mix over the layer of chocolate. Drizzle the coconut with melted dark chocolate.
Chill the bars, then cut them up and enjoy!
Everyone will love these! They’re perfect for snacking and gifting!
Looking for other dessert recipes? Here are my favorites:
5 Ingredient Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies
Healthier Homemade Nutter Butter Cookies
Healthy…ish Homemade Samoas Cookies
Tahini Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Salted Tahini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lastly, if you make these Samoa Cookie Bars, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Samoa Cookie Bars
Servings: 16 bars
Calories Per Serving: 330 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
Cookie
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup real maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 cups mini chocolate chips
Coconut Layer
- 3/4 cup real maple syrup
- 3/4 cup canned coconut milk
- 3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3.2 ounces dark chocolate, melted
- flaky sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×9 inch baking dish with parchment paper. 2. In a bowl, cream together the butter, 1/4 cup maple syrup, and vanilla until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined and the dough begins to form a ball. If the dough is crumbly, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together.3. Press the dough into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and bake for another minute to melt. Spread the chocolate evenly and chill until set. 4. In a medium pot, combine 3/4 cup maple syrup and the coconut milk. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 5-8 minutes or until thickened to a caramel-like sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and a pinch of salt. Then, stir in the toasted coconut. 5. Press the coconut over the chocolate. Freeze for 20 minutes to chill.6. Use a fork to drizzle the top with chocolate. Return to the freezer to let the chocolate set up, about 10 minutes. Cut into bars. Keep stored in the fridge or at room temperature for up to 1 week.
This post was originally published on January 10, 2025
These are delicious, will definitely make these again.
I used half all purpose flour and half whole wheat. My caramel also took about 18 mins to thicken-I assume it depends on how watery your coconut milk is. Most delicious served room temperature! Another hit from HBH
Hey Kaleena,
Awesome! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Have a nice Sunday:) xx
Made these tonight for the first time – everyone loved them but they didn’t turn out as perfect as I’d like… the chocolate layer stuck to the coconut layer above, but didn’t really bond to the cookie base. Is there anything I can do to make that happen a bit better so they don’t fall apart? the mini chocolate chips were all melted as instructed.
All of the flavours were delicious together regardless!
Hi Caitlin,
Amazing! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! I would try letting the chocolate melt for a minute more in the oven to see if that helps. XxT
made these yesterday and they turned out so good!! I did have to cook the coconut caramel a little longer- 12 min for me. and I actually left off the dark chocolate drizzle and it doesn’t feel like something is missing! I genuinely don’t understand why people are so mean on here. I make HBH desserts all the time and they turn out great- literally the best desserts ever and everyone always raves about them! I’m an avid baker and caramel can be finicky – & in my experience coconut caramel is even more finicky- sometimes taking shorter/longer to thicken up. Don’t let the mean reviews keep you from making these! They are really yummy and were simple to throw together!
Thanks so much, Malyri:) I appreciate you trying this recipe and so many others. Love to hear these bars turned out well for you! Have a great Sunday! xx
I absolutely LOVED these and so did everyone else in my house! I did add an extra tablespoon of water to the dough because it seemed a little too crumbly at first, and it came out perfect. Also, full disclosure: I make Tieghan’s “healthy-ish samoa cookies” recipe often, so much so that I typically keep cans of coconut cream in the house just in case the mood strikes. I ended up also using coconut cream (just the cream part, like in the cookie recipe) for these bars instead of coconut milk. The caramel consistency was great and thick, but I’m not sure if it would have been different if I used coconut milk instead.
Hi Alexandra,
Wonderful! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your feedback, love to hear it turned out well! Have a beautiful Sunday! xx
Does Gluten free flour work?
Hi Lisa,
Yes, that will work nicely for you. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I don’t have whole wheat flour, is it okay to just use white flour?
Hi Johanna,
Yes, that would be just fine for you to do. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Wow! I had high expectations for these (Samoas are my favorite) and this recipe delivered! The maple caramel was just the right consistency, the bars were the right texture….. heaven. Had to steal a few for myself before everyone else finished them off. Will make again!
I did boil the caramel mixture until it looked thick and had a caramel consistency, which did take longer than the 8 minutes.
Hi there,
Love to hear this! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and your comment! So glad it turned out well! xT
These turned out great for me. I had no issues with the caramel like most of the reviews. I just watched to see when it look right and the texture seemed like it worked for me. I boiled for about 9 minutes stirring for the first 4 which slowed down the caramelization process. I received feedback that the crust was a bit bland and dry from my testers, but I personally enjoyed it especially with the whole wheat flour. Next time I make them, I’m planning on playing around with the proportion of the layers. The biggest barrier to making these is the cost of the ingredients which is very high in my area due to the massive amount of maple syrup in the recipe.
If you have an Aldi near you, that’s where I got my pure maple syrup. It’s under 6 dollars for the bottle and I still have half of it left.
Hi Jo,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Have the best week! xxT
This one was a miss, sadly. Not really worth the ingredients I used to make them.
Hi Kelly,
So sorry to hear this! Was there anything specific that I can help with? Please let me know how I can help! xx
I made this today and they were perfect. I saw comments about people not getting the proper caramel sauce. I used 1 cup of pure maple syrup and 3/4 cup of Goya coconut milk. I boiled on high and stirred with. Whisk for 15ish minutes. I just kept it going until the sauce steamed off most of the water. Hope this helps
Hi Anna,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I’m so glad to hear it turned out well for you! Thanks for sharing what worked best for you. Happy Sunday! xT
The coconut caramel layer did not stick together, it kinda just fell apart. The instructions say 5-8 min and I cooked about 7. Probably thinking I should have done 5. Other than that they were just ok, nothing amazing. Just buy the Girl Scout cookies!
Hi Joanie,
Thanks for trying this recipe and your comment. I’m so sorry to hear that these were not enjoyed. It sounds like your caramel was cooked just a touch too long, I think 5 minutes would have been better for you. Again, my apologies! xx
Multiple other comments say they boiled the caramel more time than you suggest (9 and 15 minutes) so I don’t think reducing the time to 5 minutes would’ve helped. It would be a lot more helpful if you describe the consistency that people were looking for and/or used a thermometer for your caramel since there can be quite a lot of factors that could affect how quickly the caramel gets to the right consistency.
The second I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it. Anything coconut and or chocolate sign me up. Everything turned out great the only thing is I thought the crust was a little bland. But the coconut center did work well for me.
Hi Alex,
Wonderful!! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for making it! Have the best weekend!☃️
I think this recipe might need a temperature or other detail added about the caramel because this did not turn out right and was a bit of a mess. Also, what are the flower petals? I did not see those included in the recipe.
Hi Tessa,
Thanks for sharing your feedback and sorry to hear you had issues. How long did you boil the caramel for? The flower petals are for decor and not needed:) Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
These look so good. I love the flavor of those Girl Scout cookies. Your recipe posts this week are a nice distraction from the devastation happening in California. Hoping you will use your platform to make a statement on this food blog and provide your followers with some organizations they can support or make donations. And hoping you will also support these causes for these poor people.
This is the third baked square I’ve tried from your site. I’ve had to alter your recipes immensely or throw the whole thing out. You need a much better test kitchen.
Every dessert I’ve made from
This site has failed horribly, and is a total waste of ingredients. I think she’s a great cook but baking desserts is different and NOTHING turns out as she has listed here. If you read the comments on her desserts they all say the same thing too. Like the food but desserts don’t work out.
The maple coconut milk caramel needs more specific instructions in terms of how long to cook. I cooked it to about 220 degrees to get what I thought was caramelly but it was obviously too long as the coconut didn’t stick together and when completed, the bar just fell apart and the coconut was all over the place. Flavours good and neat idea but end result was disappointing and a waste of good ingredients.
Hi Barbara,
Sorry to hear you had issues with this recipe. Step 4 specifically states to boil for 5-8 minutes. How long did you boil for? I didn’t use a thermometer, so I wouldn’t use that next time, I would just go based on the time. I hope this helps! xx
This is one of the worst pieces of advice you can give, and it’s evidence you don’t know what you’re doing.
Temperature is more reliable. You live in the mountains, your fans may be at sea level or even higher than you are, and this MATTERS. Please understand that there is actual science at work here.
A thermometer is the only way to accurately judge and create consistent results for caramel, toffee, etc.
Also – saying “specifically” and then providing a range of 5-8 minutes is a direct contradiction. 3 minutes might not seem like a wide range, but in recipes like this, it could mean the difference between a successful bake and a complete waste of money spent on ingredients.