A copycat version of my favorite girl scout cookie, these homemade tagalongs are made healthier by using oat flour, coconut or avocado oil, and all natural creamy peanut butter. This copycat tagalong recipe is vegan, gluten free, and uses only 8 simple ingredients and tastes even better than the Girl Scout classic.
We are nearing the tail end of Girl Scout cookie season here, and my daughter is polishing off her last box from her stash and it’s really hard not to have miss out. I have been eating strictly gluten free for many months now (no cheats!), and I just don’t want to jeopardize feeling yucky just to have a few cookies.
Especially when I can make my own gluten free copycat girl scout cookies at home. My copy cat samoas cookie bars are a huge reader favorite, and I am obsessed with my homemade thin mints. But the real excitement can start now because I finally made a copycat Tagalongs cookie recipe that tastes every bit as good – or better- than my favorite childhood cookie!
Tagalongs, aka peanut butter patties – were the reason I stayed in Girl Scouts for 5 years as a kid, and I love that now I can make them at home whenever I get the craving!
Peanut Butter Patties vs Tagalongs
Growing up my favorite girl scout cookies were called Tagalongs – which is the crunchy shortbread cookie topped with peanut butter and covered in chocolate. This is not to be confused with Do-Si-Dos which are a peanut butter sandwich cookie, but I did also love those, too.
Fast foward to when my daughter became a girl scout, the cookies she was selling had different names and honestly tasted a little different, too. Samoas were now called Caramel Delights. Do-Si-Dos were Peanut Butter Sandwiches. And Tagalongs were known as Peanut Butter Patties. So confusing!
According to the Girl Scouts website, this is because there are two different bakeries that produce girl scout cookies – ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers. And which cookies your local girl scout is selling, will depends on your location and zip code. Our cookies came from ABC Bakers. #themoreyouknow
For the record, although the Peanut Butter Patties my daughter sold were good, they definitely have less peanut butter than Tagalongs, so another reason to make these homemade babies!
Why I love these Healthier Tagalongs
- They are made with oat flour which is my favorite way to add fiber to healthy treats
- They have the perfect crispy cookie base and perfect peanut butter to chocolate ratio
- I can pronounce all the ingredients, and they are made with things I keep in the house anyway
- They are vegan and gluten free, so my son and I can enjoy them without the bellyache afterwards
Equipment
For this cookie recipe, it’s helpful to have:
- parchment paper
- a cookie sheet
- cooling racks
- round cookie cutters or a small round juice glass
Ingredients you will need
The ingredients in the traditional Tagalong cookie contain processed foods such hydrogenated palm oil, soybean oil and other vegetable oil, emulsifiers – aka sorbitran tristearate – and artificial flavors.
My homemade tagalongs use real ingredients such as:
- Oat flour – You can make it at home by blending oats or use store bought. My favorite brand is Gold Medal Oat Flour – a great, inexpensive oat flour that works well in recipes.
- Raw or coconut sugar – Any sugar will work in this recipe.
- Avocado oil, coconut oil, or melted vegan butter – Any of these oils will work, but I prefer avocado oil.
- Vanilla extract – I love the flavor vanilla gives to chocolate treats!
- Natural peanut butter – I find that the drippy peanut butter works best for the creamy peanut butter filling, but any kind of creamy peanut butter will do it.
- Vegan chocolate chips – Enjoy Life is my favorite brand. I use their dark chocolate, but semisweet also works. If you are not vegan, you can sub milk chocolate chips.
- Flakey salt – The key to elevating your cookies is a tiny sprinkle of sea salt on your peanut butter
Instructions
- First, make the shortbread cookie base. In a medium-size bowl, mix oat flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder either by hand, with an electric mixer, or in a bowl of a stand mixer, until everything is well incorporated and there are no lumps of powder or flour.
- Next, mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until a thick dough forms. If you need water to make this happen, then add it.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Shape dough into a ball and place it between two pieces of parchment paper. Press it down with the palm of your hand and then use a rolling pin or can/jar to roll the dough out until it is about ¼ inch thick. Use a small glass (such as a shot glass) or circular cookie cutter (about 1-1.5 inch in diameter) to cut out circular cookies and place them on your parchment lined cookie sheet. Gather leftover cookie dough and repeat steps until all dough has been used (should make 30-40 cookies, depending on the size).
- Bake cookies at 350 F for 12-15 minutes until firm and a little crisp (they will crisp more after fully cooling). Transfer onto a plate or wire rack and let cool completely (you can place them in the freezer to cool faster, only takes about 5-10 minutes). Save your parchment paper!
- While the cookies are cooling, stir up the peanut butter to get it smooth, adding in the maple syrup, if using. If your peanut butter is cold or tough to stir, place in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave in 30 second increments and stir again.
- Place cooled cookies back on the cookie sheet and parchment paper.
- Add ½ -1 tsp of peanut butter on top of each cookie, spread it out, then sprinkle with sea salt. Chill cookies in the freezer again for 10-15 minutes, or until the peanut butter is set.
- Make the chocolate coating by melting chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small pot. Heat over low heat, stirring continuously. Remove from heat when almost all of the chips have melted and continue to stir until smooth.
- Using a fork (or your fingers – my method. Messy on your hands, but quicker), dip the chilled cookies in the melted chocolate. Let any excess chocolate drip off or scrape on the side of your bowl before placing them back on your parchment lined baking sheet.
- Chill Tagalongs in the refrigerator or freezer until the chocolate is set.
Recipe FAQs
These copycat tagalongs are vegan and gluten free, but Girl Scout Tagalongs are actually not vegan, as they contain milk ingredients. The cookie made by ABC baker – the Peanut Butter Pattie – is vegan, but not gluten free.
No, almost all girl scout cookies contain wheat ingredients and gluten, with the exception of the one special gluten free cookie per season.
You cannot sub oat flour for almond flour 1:1, so making this substitution will not work. Also, note, I tested this cookie with a variety of flours and the best flour to give the signature crunch to the shortbread cookie base was oat flour.
Storage
Store Homemade Tagalongs in an airtight container in a cool, dry location, or in the refrigerator. I also love to freeze these to enjoy when I get a craving. They can be frozen for up to three months.
Love Peanut Butter and Chocolate? Try one of these recipes:
Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating & a review in the comments section! We love hearing from you!
Healthier Homemade Tagalongs
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup oat flour Make it at home using oats and blending or using your food processor to blend into a fine flour – I also love Gold Medal Oat Flour – a great find at my market!
- 6 tablespoons raw or coconut sugar
- ¼ tsp salt omit if using vegan butter
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil, melted refined coconut oil, or melted vegan butter (unrefined coconut oil works, too, but you might get a tiny hint of coconut if you are sensitive to that)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 Tbsp warm water if needed (or a touch more if your dough needs it)
For the Peanut Butter Filling
- Flakey salt
- 1/2 cup peanut butter maybe more if needed
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup optional
For the Chocolate Coating
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips to cut calories, you could also use something like Lily’s chocolate
- 1 tsp refined coconut oil
Instructions
- First, make the shortbread cookie base. In a medium-size bowl, mix oat flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder by hand, with an electric mixer, or in a bowl of a stand mixer until everything is well incorporated and there are no lumps of powder or flour.
- Next, mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until a thick dough forms. If you need water to make this happen, then add it.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Shape dough into a ball and place it between two pieces of parchment paper. Press it down with the palm of your hand and then use a rolling pin or can/jar to roll the dough out until it is about ¼ inch thick. Use a small glass (such as a shot glass) or circular cookie cutter (about 1-1.5 inch in diameter) to cut out circular cookies and place them on your parchment-lined cookie sheet. Gather leftover cookie dough and repeat steps until all dough has been used (should make 30-40 cookies, depending on the size).
- Bake cookies at 350 F. for 12-15 minutes until firm and a little crisp (they will crisp more after fully cooling). Transfer onto a plate or wire rack and let cool completely (you can place them in the freezer to cool faster, only takes about 5-10 minutes). Save your parchment paper!
- While the cookies are cooling, stir up peanut butter to get it smooth, adding in the maple syrup, if using. If your peanut butter is cold or tough to stir, place in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave in 30 second increments and stir again.
- Place cookies back on the cookie sheet and parchment paper.
- Add ½ -1 tsp of peanut butter on top of each cookie, spread it out, then sprinkle with sea salt. Chill cookies in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, or until the peanut butter is set.
- Make the chocolate coating by melting chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small pot. Heat over low heat, stirring continuously. Remove from heat when almost all of the chips have melted and continue to stir until smooth.
- Using a fork (or your fingers – my method. Messy on your hands, but quicker), dip the chilled cookies in the melted chocolate. Let any excess chocolate drip off or scrape off the side of your bowl before placing them back on your parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Chill tagalongs in the refrigerator or freezer until the chocolate is set.
Jamie Hall says
Hi, love all these healthy recipes to choose from! Thanks for putting in so much work so we can all share in the goodness.
Do you think this recipe could be adapted into bars? Layered bars of course. RA limits how long I can use my hands. I’d never be able to pull off 40 cookies. LOL
Thanks
Nancylynn says
Hi Jamie! Thanks for your question! It’s not something I have tested before, but I think it could work!
As long as you press the tagalong dough into an 8×8 pan and bake first, completely cool, and then put the layers on top, it should work!
Let us know if you try it, please!
Sweta says
Are the measurements in this recipe correct? I could not reach a dough consistency.
Nancylynn says
Yes – my recipes are tested multiple times before publishing. What was the consistency of your dough? Did you make any changes?
Jennifer says
do you think cassava flour or coconut flour would work? I’m allergic to oats a d gluten intolerant.
thanks
Nancylynn says
Unfortunately, no. I have this peanut butter cookie made with coconut flour: https://confessionsofafitfoodie.com/no-bake-peanut-butter-cookies-vegan-gf/