These healthier, grain free and vegan samoa cookies are a delicious treat that everyone can enjoy! Made from simple, wholesome ingredients – your family will love these no-bake cookies!
Are you jealous of all the people ordering Girl Scout Cookies? Me, too…remember that time I made Thin Mints?
Homemade Thin Mints are yummy, and so I started to think of other possibilities. Like Tagalongs, and Trefoils, and then what used to be my favorite one, way back when I was in elementary school…Samoas.
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Chewy, caramel, coconutty Samoas. Why not make a healthier version? Then you won’t feel bad if you eat two or four or five of these treats.
These Samoas are made from date caramel (Medjool dates blended with a little water and a bit of salt), toasted coconut, and chocolate chips. To keep these grain free and no-bake, I didn’t include the butter cookie. But, you could definitely modify this recipe by making a sugar cookie base, baking it, and then adding the chocolate, caramel, and coconut.
Wondering about allergy friendly dates?
As always, please do your own research about what is safe for your family.
There are many brands of dates, and each company has different policies and procedures. However, Made in Nature is a brand that is produced in a fruit only facility and has a detailed allergen statement on their website. They do not carry Medjool dates, but they do carry Deglet Noor dates (affiliate link) which will also work well. Every family has different comfort levels, so please read carefully and find a brand that works for you.
Healthy No-Bake Cookies (Grain Free, Vegan).
Ingredients
- 8 Medjool dates You can also use Deglet Noor, pitted
- 2 teaspoons water
- pinch salt
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes toasted*
- 3/4 cup dairy free chocolate chips
Instructions
- If your dates are a bit dry, place them in warm water for a few minutes to soften them before proceeding.
- Place the pitted Medjool dates in the food processor. Add the pinch of salt and a little water. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides and add a little more water if needed.
- Add the toasted coconut and stir with a spoon.
- Roll the mixture into balls, and flatten with your hand. Place the cookies on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Use a straw to poke a hole in the middle of each cookie.
- Place the cookies in the freezer for about one hour.
- Melt the dairy free chocolate chips either in the microwave or on the stove.
- Dip the chilled cookies in the melted chocolate, coating the bottom with chocolate. Place on the cookie sheet again.
- Drizzle the tops of the cookies with the remaining chocolate. (You can use a spoon for this, or put the chocolate into a ziploc bag with the tip cut off.
- Store the finished cookies in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
*If the coconut flakes are not toasted, you can toast them by placing them on a cookie sheet and baking them at 300 degrees for about 5-8 minutes. Don't wander too far off, they can easily burn. They are done when they are fragrant and lightly golden brown.
Hi: It’s GS cookie season and I’m looking for healthier options. Your Samoas look so easy and delicious. Is the calorie/nutritional breakdown for one cookie? Thanks.
My son is allergic to dates, is there something else I can use to substitute?
I can’t think of anything that would work as far as a dried fruit goes. You could make caramel and use that instead!
Wondering how many cookies are considered a ‘serving’, regarding the nutritional content? Thank you!
Thank you! They were absolutely delicious.
Okay, what am I missing? I have tried to make these twice now and have had so many issues. Which makes me sad because they look amazing!!! What kind of food processor do you use to make these? Even when I use the small bowl on my food processor it’s impossible to get a date paste out of 8 dates. The dates just fly up the sides of the bowl.
Maybe a mini food processor would work better? I didn’t have trouble with my regular one, but a mini might be easier. What type of dates are you using? Medjool is best, and if they seem hard, they need to be soaked first.
Yeah I’m having the same problem. I gave up with the food processor and just mashed it with a fork. My “paste” still has chunks in it but it tastes good :)
These look good. Can’t wait to try them.
What is the serving size for 20gms of carbs per serving?
OMG these are to die for!!!!! They taste JUST like the real deal!!! And are SO easy to make. Thank you!
Yay! So glad you liked these! Thanks for letting me know!
Do you have the nutrition content for them?
I just updated the recipe to include the nutrtion info!
I love this idea Kelly! I was a Girl Scout for many years and samoas were always my favorite cookie. I like using dates in no bake recipes too, perfect cause they don’t require any added sweetener and no bake treats are always a plus on hot summer days. I love that these cookies only have 4 ingredients (one of which is water!) Such a healthy treat! I’m going to have to make these for my family this week. I bet my kids will love them. Thanks for the recipe!
These are amazing! I eat gluten free and don’t like added sugar so making these using the Enjoy Life brand of chocolate chips was amazing. I put a little extra sea salt in the date mix because I like sweet and salty together and it was great. My husband who doesn’t even like Samoas or coconut told me that he liked these….. and better than the GS version. My jaw dropped ! Looks like I will need to buy more dates because I’m going to be making these on a monthly basis. THANKS!
PS. I had no idea it was so easy to toast coconut flakes. I almost went to the store to by toasted ones but quickly toasted my own.
YAY! That makes me really happy. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for the recipe! I’ve made these twice now and they are the delicious! I ate the entire thing myself the first time that I made them, so I knew I had to make them again. The second time that I made them was for my cousins. My 10 year old cousin exclaimed, “These could stop a war!” after he took his first bite. LOL. I will have to try the thin mints recipe.
If you melt the chocolate chips in a bain-marie, you will be sure it doesn’t coagulate. Otherwise it’s quite probable that it will do so on the stove.
Hi,
I don’t like dates very much. Do you ha some advice for substitutions?
maybe glacéed fruit you like?
I don’t know what else would work because the dates are unique in that they become very creamy when pureed with water. I don’t know of another fruit that will get that creamy, caramel texture. Sorry!
I loved this! I toasted the coconut using a pan and used almond milk instead of water. It tasted wonderful and like healthy, guilt-free somoas!
Yay! So glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know!
I love that these only have 5 ingredients! so easy and delish :)
I LOVE how easy and delicious these sound! It is a total added bonus that they are Paleo-friendly. Scheduling a pin for later right now :)
Samoas are definitely one of my favorite girl scout cookies! I LOVE that your version is naturally sweet. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks, Lisa!
I love, Love, LOVE that these are no-bake!
Thanks! Makes it easier!
Somoas were my FAV!!! I can’t wait to try these cookies!!!
I hope you like them!
You just made the easiest samoa recipe I’ve seen! Fabulous!
Thank you, Rebecca!
My gosh, these look perfect! Thin Mints and Samoas are my favorite girl scout cookies, so this post is a huge win for me – Now I know what sweet treats I’ll be fashioning up this week! My hats off to you for creating a healthier version of one of my classic faves!
Thank you, Julia! I hope you like them!
These look awesome! I can hardly wait to try them!
I hope you love them!
Oh man, I could EASILY eat all of these gorgeous little samoas, Kelly! I can hardly believe you were able to make these grain-free, vegan, and completely guilt-less! Sooooo, I can have the entire batch right??
Go for it! :) They are addictive! :)
How fun are these cookies?! Samoas are one of my favorites, so this version looks fantastic. I think I would devour the entire batch in no time!
Thanks, Gayle!
Don’t mind me keeping a whole batch to myself ;) These look SO so good! Maybe it’s a good thing I’m the only one in the house who likes coconut, ha!
Thanks, Kristy!