Extra Creamy Homemade Grain-Free Paleo Samoas

If you’re like me, and you’re determined to stick to your Paleo diet, then the Girl Scout cookie season may be an incredibly hard temptation to resist. Many of these cookies contain ingredients that are simply not Paleo-approved and, as it is, they are not exactly the healthiest additions to any diet.

While the Girl Scouts’ Thin Mints, Trefoils, and Lemon Drops may be some folks’ cookie of choice, I prefer their Samoas, and that got me thinking – how can I continue to enjoy the taste of Samoas but do it in a way that is guilt-free and doesn’t sacrifice my diet? Why, make it myself, of course!

If you’re a fan of Girl Scout cookies, but not so much a fan of their sugar, salt, or cholesterol content, now you can know exactly what you’re putting into your mouth by making these fan favorites yourself! Even diabetics can enjoy these cookies, as they are grain-free, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free.

Extra Creamy Homemade Grain-Free Paleo Samoas ingredients Shortbread Butter Cookies ● 2 cups almond flour ● ¼ cup coconut flour ● ¼ cup coconut sugar ● 10 tbsp. butter, room temperature ● 2 tsp. vanilla extract ● ¼ tsp. baking soda Honey Caramel ● ½ cup raw honey ● 2 tbsp. unsalted nut butter (almond, pecan or cashew) ● 1 tsp. vanilla extract Chocolate Drizzle ● ½ cup cacao butter, chopped ● 5 tbsp. cacao powder ● 2 tbsp. raw honey ● ¼ cup unsweetened, toasted coconut flakes (for dusting)

make it

To make shortbread cookies:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Sift together dry cookie ingredients. Add softened butter and vanilla.
3. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in butter. The mixture will go from crumbly to smooth as you blend.
4. Wrap dough in parchment paper and chill in the refrigerator for one hour.
5. Place chilled dough between two large sheets of parchment paper.
6. Roll dough into a thin layer, between ¼ to ½-inch thick.
7. Use a 2 ½-inch cookie cutter to cut out round cookies. Roll extra scraps into a ball, roll out, and cut remaining cookies.
8. Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown.
9. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before assembling. This will help them firm up.

To make caramel and chocolate drizzle:
1. Add honey to a small saucepan placed on low to medium heat.
2. Heat the honey for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Small bubbles should rise from the pan, but be sure not to boil or burn the honey.
3. Remove from heat and stir in nut butter and vanilla. The caramel will still be mostly liquid but will firm up quickly as it cools.
4. In a second small saucepan, melt chopped cacao butter, cacao powder, and honey on low heat.
5. Stir just until the ingredients are melted into a smooth sauce—this will only take a few minutes. Set aside.

To assemble cookies:
1. Place caramel-frosted cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
2. Generously drizzle chocolate over the tops of the cookies. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.
3. Store remaining cookies in the refrigerator. Best served slightly chilled.