If you love Samoas (or Caramel Delites!), but you want to keep it vegan, these bars are it! They’ve got the buttery shortbread base, the sticky caramel coconut topping, and that iconic dark chocolate drizzle, all completely dairy-free and surprisingly easy to make.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you’ve ever rationed your Girl Scout Samoas one precious cookie at a time, these bars are about to make your whole week. They’ve got all the classic flavors: toasty coconut, gooey caramel, crisp shortbread, and rich dark chocolate. But these are made in bar form so they’re quicker to make!
You get the same nostalgic flavor with fewer steps, no tricky caramel work, and no need to wait for cookie season. Plus, the shortbread base is sturdier and a little less sweet than the traditional cookie, which balances the caramel topping perfectly. They freeze beautifully, slice cleanly, and deliver that unmistakable Samoa flavor in every bite.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-purpose flour: This gives the base its classic shortbread texture — tender, crumbly, and lightly crisp.
- Powdered sugar: This sweetens the base while keeping the shortbread soft and delicate.
- Coconut oil: This replaces butter and adds richness without any dairy. This also helps melt the chocolate into a smooth consistency.
- Baking powder: This adds just a touch of lift so the base doesn’t feel heavy.
- Salt: This balances the sweetness and keeps the cookie from tasting overly sugary.
- Vanilla extract: This adds warmth and depth to the shortbread.
- Vegan caramel sauce: This forms the gooey binder for the coconut topping, and any thick, dairy-free caramel works well here.
- Sweetened shredded coconut, toasted: This creates the signature Samoa chew and aroma, and using sweetened coconut keeps the topping soft and sticky instead of dry.
- Salt (optional): This helps balance the sweetness if you’re not using a salted caramel.
- Dark chocolate: This is essential for dipping the base and creating the classic Samoa drizzle. I prefer to use a chopped chocolate bar for the smoothest melt since chocolate chips contain stabilizers. But chocolate chips can work, too. Just be sure they’re dairy free!
How to Make Vegan Samoas Bars
Fold in the toasted coconut (and salt, if your caramel isn’t already salted).
Tips for Perfect Samoas Bars
- Toast your coconut carefully. It’s done the moment it turns golden, pull it early and let it finish toasting from the pan’s heat.
- Use a caramel that’s thick enough to hold the coconut. If it’s too runny, the topping won’t set, but if it’s too thick, and it’ll get hard once cooled.
- Cut the bars before dipping. Much easier (and neater!) than trying to slice through chocolate.
- Dip with a fork. Gently tap to shake off excess chocolate for clean edges.
- Let them cool completely. Warm bars + warm chocolate = sliding toppings and chocolate streaks.
Storage Tips
Store your bars at cool room temperature for up to five days, or freeze them for up to a month. If frozen, let them thaw for 10–15 minutes before eating. (Though honestly, they’re pretty great straight from the freezer too.)
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Vegan Samoa Bars
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
If you love Samoas (or Caramel Delites!), but you want to keep it vegan, these bars are it! They’ve got the buttery shortbread base, the sticky caramel coconut topping, and that iconic dark chocolate drizzle, all completely dairy-free and surprisingly easy to make.
Ingredients
Base:
- 1 cup/120g all-purpose flour
- 6 tbsp/45g powdered sugar
- 5 tbsp/75ml coconut oil, melted
- 1 tbsp/15ml water
- 1/2 tsp/2g baking powder
- ¼ tsp/2g salt
- 1 tsp/5ml vanilla extract
Filling:
- 3/4 cup/180ml vegan caramel sauce
- 2 cups/200g sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
- 1/4 tsp/2g salt if not using salted caramel
Chocolate:
- 6 oz/170g dark chocolate (vegan)
- 2 tsp/10ml coconut oil
Instructions
- Grease or line an 8” x 8”/20 x 20cm baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350° F/175C.
- Make base:
- In a large bowl, combine flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add the coconut oil, water, and vanilla. Stir until a crumbly mixture forms.
- Press mixture into pan. Pat into an even layer. Prick with a fork so it doesn’t rise unevenly.
- Bake for 15-16 minutes until golden brown on the edges and firm to the touch.
- Make the coconut caramel:
- Toast coconut: Spread in a thin layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 4-7 minutes, monitoring closely until just starting to turn golden. Residual heat from the pan will continue cooking the coconut after it is removed from the oven.
- In a medium pot, heat the caramel over medium until gently bubbling. Do not walk away from the caramel as it is prone to burning. Cook for one (1) minute at a boil, swirling gently. Do not over cook or caramel will be too hard.
- Remove from heat and fold in the toasted coconut (and salt if using). Stir gently until the coconut is completely coated.
- Scrap the coconut onto the hot baked shortbread and press into an even layer.
- Set aside to cool completely.
- Once cool, cut into 16-20 bars.
- Melt the chocolate:
- Chop chocolate finely and place in a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water until mostly melted. Alternatively, melt in the microwave in blasts of 15 seconds or less, stirring after each one. Allow residual heat to finish melting chocolate.
- Add the coconut oil and stir until smooth.
- Have parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet ready.
- Dip the base of each bar into chocolate (resting on a fork can help) and shake off excess. Place on the line baking sheet.
- Drizzle thin stripes of chocolate over the tops of each bar. Allow to solidify.
