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Salted Samoas Pretzel Presents. Sweet coconut caramel, sandwiched between pretzel “cookies”, then dipped, dunked, and drizzled in sweet chocolate. Every last taste has a note of vanilla with sweet coconut, and extra chocolate. Salty-sweet, and so DELICIOUS. Absolutely nothing not to love about these fun and easy Samoas flavor inspired chocolate presents. Perfect for eating and holiday gifting.
When one idea fails, turn to another…and be presently surprised with how it turns out. Today’s post was meant to be something entirely different, but here we are with these sweet little bites of chocolate and coconut!
My original idea for today was a major fail, so I pivoted to these presents. And I could not love them more.
These cookies are inspired by the very popular Samoas Girl Scout cookies. But with my little holiday twist, that honestly, I think makes them better. It’s the pretzels, they add a nice salty crunch that keeps everyone wanting more.
These are so easy and perfect for packaging up as gifts or simply to have out at a holiday party. Great to pop in your mouth for a sweet little bite.
The base starts with a pretzel. Then add a layer of homemade coconut caramel mix, top with another pretzel, dip into chocolate, and top with flaky sea salt. Simple and so cute.
Here are the details
Traditional Samoas cookies start out with a shortbread cookie, which is delicious, but I wanted to swap the cookies for pretzels. I love the saltiness along with the chocolate and sweetened coconut.
Next up, the coconut caramel. Melt sugar on the stove until it caramelizes, then add butter and coconut milk to create a coconut caramel sauce. Then finish it up with vanilla and sea salt.
Once the sauce is made, stir in lots of shredded toasted coconut. I prefer to use unsweetened coconut, but use what you think you’ll love the most!
Then simply sandwich the caramel mix between two pretzels, dip in the melted chocolate chips, and let the chocolate set up.
So easy and delicious.
Yummm. My mom says this recipe might be one of her favorites for the year. She’s a fan of anything with coconut and chocolate.
A couple tips for success…
Tip one, make sure the presents are thoroughly chilled in the freezer before dipping them into chocolate. This is probably my biggest tip. If the presents are frozen, the chocolate will quickly set up on the bars and be easier to work with. Trust me, freeze the presents, then dip them through the melted chocolate.
Tip two, if you want a thick chocolate-coated present dip your bars once, re-freeze until set (which will only take a matter of minutes), then dip into chocolate again. This is not necessary by any means, but if you love double chocolate, do a double dip.
My initial thought was that these chocolate presents would be great for our Christmas Cookie Boxes. And they are…but they’re also great for so much more. My recommendation – keep these in the fridge all season long to quickly serve to family and friends. Or package them up as gifts and hand them off as gifts.
It’s December and we all need sweet treats! Just one thing…don’t skip that sprinkle of flaky sea salt at the end. Love a good salty-sweet, chocolate dessert.
Looking for other holiday dessert recipes? Here are my favorites:
Brown Sugar Maple Ginger Cookies
Salted Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter Blondies
Chocolate Covered Brown Butter Millionaire’s Bars
Lastly, if you make these Samoas Pretzel Presents 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!
Salted Pretzel Samoas Presents
Servings: 24 presents
Calories Per Serving: 258 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature, cut into chunks
- 3/4 cup canned coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean powder
- flaky sea salt
- 3 cups shredded coconut sweetened or unsweetened, toasted
- 3 cups mini waffle pretzels
- 14 ounces dark chocolate or semi-sweet, chopped
Instructions
- 1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. In a large pot, cook the sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has melted and turns a golden caramel, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add the chunks of butter, whisking until combined. Then, stir in the coconut milk. Return the pot to medium heat and cook the mixture, stirring until the caramel has thickened into a sauce, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool slightly, then stir in the vanilla and a pinch of salt. 3. Add the toasted coconut to the coconut caramel sauce and stir until coated. 4. Spoon 2 teaspoons of the coconut caramel mix onto each pretzel and then sandwich together with another pretzel, placing each on the prepared baking sheet. Freeze 15-30 minutes.5. Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Use a fork to dip each pretzel into the chocolate, letting the excess drizzle off. Place on the parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze until set, 15 minutes. Drizzle on more melted chocolate, if desired. Sprinkle the tops with sea salt.6. Store in the fridge or in a cool place for up to 2 weeks.
This post was originally published on December 10, 2021
Love you ? thanks so much
I hope you love the recipe!
Wasn’t able to find toasted coconut so I’ll have to do by hand- would you recommend the oven or a pan? How long and and at what temp?
Hey Laura! I made my own toasted coconut in a pan on the stove top. I used medium heat and stirred frequently until most of the coconut was light brown 🙂
Hi Laura,
I just toast over medium heat in a skillet until lightly golden. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Surprisingly easy to make and SO tasty. I love that they stay frozen so the family can enjoy whenever. YUM!
Hi Melissa,
Happy Sunday! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xTieghan
What tool do you use to get the pretzels out of the chocolate? Whenever I dip things in chocolate I feel like I have an excess and mess on the sheet.
Hi Lindsay,
I just use a spoon:) Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Question: why not melt the chocolate on the stove?
Hi Jordan,
I just find it easier to pop in the microwave, but melt it however you like:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Love Samoas Girl Scout cookies. Adding this recipe to the list of things I’m making this month. How long does it take to toast the coconut? Temp?
Thanks!
Hey Kitty,
I just toast in a skillet on the stove top, medium heat, until slightly browned through. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Hi, these look and sound amazing! Could I drizzle the top with the caramel once they’re dipped (imstead of chocolate) or will this not set?
Hey Monique,
I haven’t tried this, but let me know if you do! I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
What are mini waffle pretzels? Im not sure we can get those in Canada. Ive never heard of them. Thanks Deborah
Bulk Barn carries waffle pretzels and Loblaws may have a version too.
Hey Deborah,
It’s just a pretzel shape:)
https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwizl7C86Nv0AhUqJ0wKHSXgAqsYABAMGgJvYQ&sig=AOD64_1P_96qKSm–xRtKjyMw9fVI9RPdw&ctype=46&q=&ved=2ahUKEwiNnKe86Nv0AhW5kmoFHZIbBX0Q9aACegQIARBG&adurl=
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
These look amazing, plan to add them to my ever growing list of recipes. I have to say you always come up with interesting recipes and I have tried a number of them and all have been delicious, and the pictures are always great. My one comment would be I’d like to see more photos of the stages of putting the recipe together.
Thanks so much for your feedback Sandra! If you follow me on IG, I typically always do a video for reach recipe that I post so you can view the entire process there:) xTIeghan
Hi! Love everything about you and HBH! Do you think you could substitute this caramel with the one from your vegan Twix recipe to make this dessert non-dairy? My cousin has a dairy allergy and a sweet tooth, so I’m looking for yummy recipes we can make for the holidays! Thank you!
Hey Rana,
Sure! I bet that would work well for you! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
These sound absolutely delicious! How do the pretzels hold up in them – do they stay crunchy or do they get soggy after a few days? Also, for gift-giving, do they *need* to be refrigerated, or would they be okay at room temp for several hours?
Thank you for sharing your fantastic recipes with the world!
Hey Melanie,
The pretzels stay crunchy, they should be okay at room temp for a couple hours, but no longer:) Please let me know if you give the recipe a try! xTieghan
Where do you find waffle pretzels? I’ve never heard of these before.
Snyder’s Pretzel Snaps https://www.target.com/p/snyder-39-s-of-hanover-pretzel-snaps-16oz/-/A-12935821?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000012732781&CPNG=PLA_Grocery%2BShopping_Local%7CGrocery_Ecomm_Food_Bev&adgroup=SC_Grocery&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=m&location=9007391&targetid=pla-615728629881&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1248099&gbraid=0AAAAAD-5dfYz2jnqACpQL2uGpd8l6vBLI&gbraid=0AAAAAD-5dfYz2jnqACpQL2uGpd8l6vBLI&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIufmekbHZ9AIVRjizAB2R8g62EAQYAiABEgL6TPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Hey Ellie,
Your local grocery store should have them. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
I want to make these but have a gluten allergy…would the gf twist pretzels work you think?
Hey Christina,
Yes, those should work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
So deliciooous!!! I adore salty and sweet flavors!
Miki x
https://www.littletasteofbeauty.com/
Thanks so much!
To readily admit your failures is an admirable quality. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade! I have to try these delicious looking bundles of goodness. I’m guessing they will be five stars.
Thanks Patricia, I hope you love the recipe!! xTieghan