Gosh, I love cookies! And if you love Tagalongs from the Girl Scouts, you will love these Healthy Homemade Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies more. Why? Unlike the OG Girl Scout Cookies, these copycat Tagalongs are made with real, whole food ingredients, and they are both gluten-free and vegan, too. The peanut butter literally pours right out, and I was squealing with excitement when I hit ‘publish’ on this recipe, because they are that good!
Though it would be great for my SEO, I know you guys don’t want to read paragraphs upon paragraphs about my childhood and growing up as a Girl Scout, so we will just breeze on by all of that and get straight to the recipe – you’re welcome.
But before we get into the recipe, I do have to tell you that if you’re looking for more delicious, healthy, gluten-free (and vegan optional) cookie recipes, then you need to try my Life Changing Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies. Just like this recipe, they will *literally* change your life. After all, they’re my most popular cookie recipe to date!
Those of you who have been following me on Instagram for a while, know that I am a proponent of enjoying all foods; not demonizing foods or calling them “good” or “bad” based on the ingredients used. I feel like that assigns morality to food, when food is simply food. I like to refer to foods as “nutritious” and “less nutritious,” so when I have a chance to make a favorite treat more nutritious than a store bought version, I will do just that.
Here are the ingredients found in traditional Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies: Peanut Butter (Peanuts, sugar, hydrogenated palm oil, salt), sugar, enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, vitamin B1 [thiamin mononitrate[, vitamin B2 [riboflavin], folic acid), vegetable oil, (palm kernel, palm, and soybean oil), cocoa, contains 2% or less of invert sugar, cornstarch, salt, sorbitran tristearate, soy lecithin, leavening (baking soda, monocalcium phosphate), natural and artificial flavors, whey, partially defatted peanut flour.
What are all these questionable ingredients?
Ingredients needed to make MY healthy homemade tagalong cookies
To make my version, you need just 7 super simple ingredients – nothing questionable here, friends!
- Almond flour: I haven’t tested this recipe with any other flour besides almond flour, so if you do, you are doing that at your own risk. But please report back on how it turns out.
- Coconut oil: I like using refined coconut oil in this recipe.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract is always must to give these cookies a nice flavor burst.
- Maple syrup: You can use maple syrup or honey in this recipe, but note that honey is not vegan, so if you are trying to keep this recipe vegan, please stick to the maple syrup or other liquid sweetener.
- Baking soda: We are only using a touch of baking soda in this recipe because we don’t want these cookies to rise too much; just enough!
- Peanut butter: The peanut butter you use in this recipe is very important.
- Dairy-free chocolate chips: I like using dairy-free chocolate chips, but you can use what ever you have on hand!
How to make healthy homemade Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies
To make these cookies, it is surprisingly easy!
- First, preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Next, in a medium bowl, mix together the almond flour, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, maple syrup, baking soda, and sea salt, until well combined.
- Form 12-14 round balls (about 1 tablespoon of dough) and place each one on the baking sheet. Flatten each cookie and then use your thumb to create a small dent in the middle of each cookie (Because this is where the peanut butter goes after they come out of the oven).
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, until cookies are slightly golden brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and once slightly cooled, use your thumb to reinforce the small dent you created. The cookies need to cool completely before moving on to the next step.
- Once the cookies have cooled, use a teaspoon to scoop some creamy peanut butter into the center of each cookie.
- Place the tray of cookies into the refrigerator for 45 minutes (or freeze for 15 minutes), so that the peanut butter hardens a bit.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil – I do this in a microwave, but you can do this using a double boiler method, if preferred.
- Take the tray out of the refrigerator. Quickly dip each cookie into the melted chocolate. I find it easiest to do this using a fork, so that the excess chocolate just drips off.
- Return the cookies to the baking sheet.
- Refrigerate for another 20 minutes so the chocolate sets, and enjoy!
How to store your Tagalongs!
It’s best to store these cookies in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Because these cookies don’t contain any preservatives, they will melt easily, so it’s best to keep them nice and firm. They will stay fresh in the refrigerator for almost 2 weeks. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating below. This really helps others decide whether to make this recipe and it also helps it appear in Google searches! And, since I practically live on Instagram, take me in your creations so I can see them and repost on my IG stories. Enjoy! xx
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups almond flour
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup creamy natural peanut butter, mixed together well
- 1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, maple syrup, baking soda, and sea salt, until well combined.
- Form 12-14 round balls (about 1 tablespoon of dough) and place each one on the baking sheet. Flatten each cookie and then use your thumb to create a small dent in the middle of each cookie (Because this is where the peanut butter goes after they come out of the oven).
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, until cookies are slightly golden brown on the edges.
- Remove from the oven and once slightly cooled, use your thumb to reinforce the small dent you created.
- The cookies need to cool completely before moving on to the next step.
- Once the cookies have cooled, use a teaspoon to scoop some peanut butter into the center of each cookie.
- Place the tray of cookies in the refrigerator for 45 minutes (or freeze for 15 minutes), so that the peanut butter hardens a bit.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil – I do this in a microwave, but you can do this using a double boiler method, if preferred.
- Quickly dip each cookie into the chocolate mixture and cover the entire thing. I find it easiest to do this using a fork, so that the excess chocolate just drips off.
- Return them to the baking sheet.
- Refrigerate for another 20 minutes so the chocolate sets.
- Enjoy!
Rate & review
SELECT A RATING and tell me what you think!
What others are saying
This tecipe iscthe bomb!!!! Came out beautiful
Thanks
Yay! So happy to hear that! Thank you so much, Mary!
These were so good and easy to make! I used almond butter instead and they turned out perfect! I made some all dipped in chocolate, some half dipped and others drizzled with chocolate. My toddler had one without chocolate and he loved it!!
Next time I make these, I will put more of an effort to shape them well so they can look better.
That sounds amazing! I am so happy they were a success with your toddler. Thank you so much for the review!
Love that these are gluten free – think I’ll add coconut flour as well!
That sounds delicious, Anthony!