Homemade Tagalongs
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Published Mar 27, 2019, Updated Jun 12, 2023
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Make Tagalongs at home with only 7 simple ingredients. We’re using almond flour cookies, peanut butter and melted chocolate chips to create a vegan and gluten-free version of this Girl Scout classic!
I am so dang excited to share this recipe because everyone has been obsessed with my Girl Scout cookie recreations. Both the healthy samoas and these thin mints were major hits so I know you’re going to love the Tagalongs.
Early taste-testers have said that they’re the best Girl Scout cookie recreation yet and given my love for all things peanut butter and chocolate, they’re definitely on the top of my list too!
I think another reason I’m obsessed with these cookies (besides the flavor) is the texture! The crunchy cookie center is soooo satisfying.
Don’t get me wrong, I love protein balls that taste like cookies, but sometimes they aren’t satisfying when I’m craving the real deal. My brain can tell when I’m eating a cookie and when I’m eating a cookie-wanna-be!
I’m so glad this recipe is finally in your hands. I know it will be hard to share these cookies with friends and family (you’ll want to save them all for yourself), but share the love!
Let’s make Girl Scout cookie season a little healthier for everyone. 🙂
Ingredients in Healthy Tagalongs
Traditional Tagalongs have lots of not-so-good-for-you ingredients like palm oil, white sugar and artificial flavors! In true EBF fashion I decided to skip all those ingredients and stick to seven healthy and simple ingredients to create a vegan and gluten-free version of this Girl Scout classic!
- almond flour – almond flour gives these cookies the perfect consistency. I have tested these cookies with both all-purpose flour and oat flour and the cookies turned out well with both. Note: If you do use all-purpose flour, you’ll need to add a touch of liquid as the dough turns out quite dry. I added 1 Tablespoon of almond milk and it worked perfectly. See more almond flour recipes here.
- coconut oil
- pure maple syrup – I love the flavor and sweetness this gives the cookies, but you can sub this for any liquid sweetener of your choice like honey, agave, monk fruit maple syrup, etc.
- vanilla
- sea salt
- peanut butter – Tagalongs are traditionally made with peanut butter, but feel free to use a different nut or seed butter instead.
- chocolate chips – I like to use Lily’s dark chocolate chips to keep this recipe lower in sugar, vegan and dairy-free.
Steps for Making the Tagalongs
These healthy Tagalongs are super simple to make… the hardest part might be waiting for the cookies to bake or maybe it’s waiting for the chocolate to set… either way, the whole process doesn’t take long so before you know it you’ll be diving in to these tasty peanut butter chocolate cookies.
Preheat oven: Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine ingredients: Add almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and sea salt in a medium bowl and mix together.
Form cookies: Scoop dough using a tablespoon and form into a round cookie shape, use your finger to create a small dent in the center of each cookie.
Bake: Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes or until cookies are slightly golden brown on the bottom. Let cool completely on the cookie sheet.
Spread peanut butter: Once cookies have cooled, add 1/2-1 teaspoon of peanut butter into the dent of each cookie and spread it a little over the top.
Chill: Place cookies in the fridge or freezer for about 15-30 minutes to let the peanut butter harden up a bit.
Melt chocolate: Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil in a double boiler or in the microwave. For the microwave method, add chips and coconut oil to a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute, stir and heat in 30 second increments until chocolate has melted.
Dip cookies: Remove cookies from the fridge/freezer and dip each into the melted chocolate, one by one. Use a fork to dip and remove the cookie from the chocolate, making sure to let the excess chocolate drip off before transferring back to the baking sheet lined with parchment.
Let chocolate set: Place chocolate covered cookies in the fridge or freezer for about 15-20 minutes to let chocolate set. Once hardened it’s time to enjoy!
How to Store Healthy Tagalongs
If you’re not eating these cookies right away I recommend storing them in an airtight container in your fridge for up to one week. You can also store them in your freezer and they should last 3 months… but I bet they’ll be gone before then! 😉
More Girl Scout Inspired Treats to Try:
- Samoas
- Thin Mints
- Do-Si-Dos
- Samoa Energy Balls
- Thin Mint Protein Balls
- Samoa Baked Oatmeal
- Apple Samoas
More Almond Flour Recipes to Try:
- Almond Flour Muffins
- Carrot Raisin Muffins
- Almond Flour Cookies
- Gluten-Free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
- Almond Flour Thumbprint Cookies
- Baked Almond Flour Donuts
- Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles
- Almond Flour Pancakes
Homemade Tagalongs
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil + 2 teaspoons for chocolate
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of sea salt
- about 7 teaspoons peanut butter
- 1 cup chocolate chips, I like use Lily’s Sweets stevia sweetened chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix ingredients: Add almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and sea salt in a medium bowl.
- Form cookies: Scoop dough using a tablespoon and form into a round cookie shape, use your finger to create a small dent in the center of each cookie.
- Bake: Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15-18 minutes, until cookies are slightly golden brown on the bottom. Let cool completely on the cookie sheet.
- Add peanut butter: Once cookies have cooled, add 1/2-1 teaspoon of peanut butter into the dent of each cookie and spread it a little over the top.
- Chill: Place cookies in the fridge or freezer for about 15-30 minutes to let the peanut butter harden up a bit.
- Melt chocolate: Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil in double boiler or in the microwave. For the microwave method, add chips and coconut oil to a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute, stir and heat in 30 second increments until chocolate has melted.
- Dip cookies: The peanut butter should be chilled at this point so you can remove cookies from the fridge/freezer and dip each into the melted chocolate, one by one. Use a fork to dip and remove the cookie from the chocolate, making sure to let the excess chocolate drip off before transferring back to the baking sheet lined with parchment.
- Let cookies set: Place chocolate covered cookies in the fridge or freezer for about 15-20 minutes to let chocolate set. Enjoy right away and store any leftovers in the fridge until ready to eat.
Video
Notes
- Almond flour: You can use all-purpose flour or oat flour as a substitute for the almond flour. If you do use all-purpose flour, you’ll need to add a touch of liquid as the dough turns out quite dry. I added 1 Tablespoon of almond milk and it worked perfectly.
- Maple syrup: You can swap the maple syrup with another liquid sweetener like honey, agave or monk fruit maple syrup to keep these cookies lower in sugar.
- Peanut butter: Feel free to use a different nut or seed butter instead.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Better than the real Girl Scout cookies! These Tagalongs are a new staple in our home! They are so delicious and easy to make.
Ahh yay!! That makes me so happy to hear, Adriana! So glad you’re loving these cookies. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment + star rating. It’s super helpful to other readers, so I appreciate it. <3
Oh my! These are SO good!! I only got 9 out of my dough so next time I’ll have to double it. The pre-cooked dough was good enough to eat on its own.😋 Super easy to make👍🏻👍🏻
Yay!! So glad you loved this recipe, Audra! You can never go wrong with a double batch. 🙂 Thanks for coming back to leave a comment and star rating, I so appreciate it.
These are so easy and delicious and basically guilt free! I think I made mine a little too big because my recipe only yielded 7.. but I actually am fine with that since I live alone and don’t want to waste food/feel pressured to eat a ton of cookies!
The bigger the cookie, the better, in my opinion! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed these cookies, Joanna. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I so appreciate it!
I’m looking forward to trying these cookies however, I will replace the peanut butter with almond butter 🙂 Thanks!
Can’t wait to hear what you think of them, Anita!!
Easy to follow recipe and great taste!
Thank you for this awesome recipe! I made it and what a treat! Love your site and your recipes!
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Tommi! So glad you enjoyed these cookies. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. It means the world to me. <3
Made these yesterday… Not hard to make, just a few simple steps- worth every minute it takes to make …and every single calorie 😊. Thanks for another fantastic recipe
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies, Lisa!! Thanks for trying my recipe and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. It means the world to me. <3
These looks so delicious! Do you think you could use a different nut flour, like hazelnut?
I bet another nut flour like hazelnut would work great. Let me know if you try it!
Can I use APF instead of Almond Flour? Will I need to add baking soda or baking powder?
I haven’t tried this recipe with APF. You could try it, but I’m not sure the flour to coconut oil ratio would be the same because almond flour has more fat than APF.
Made these tonight and they were GREAT! I am however wondering same thing as, Shana. Are the nutrition facts you provide for one cookie only? Girl Scout cookies are two cookies per serving and total 140 calories, 8g fat, 13g carbs and 3g protein.
Hey Jackie – Yes, the nutrition info listed is for one cookie. I know that might not seem “healthier” than the Girl Scout version, but in this recipe we’re using healthier ingredients and only 7. The GS tagalongs include artificial flavors, white sugar, palm oil and a bunch of other ingredients that aren’t the greatest. 🙂