When one idea fails, turn to another…and be presently surprised with how it turns out. Today’s post was meant to be something entirely different, but here we are with these sweet little bites of chocolate and coconut! My original idea for today was a major fail, so I pivoted to these presents. And I could not love them more. These cookies are inspired by the very popular Samoas Girl Scout cookies. But with my little holiday twist, that honestly, I think makes them better. It’s the pretzels, they add a nice salty crunch that keeps everyone wanting more. These are so easy and perfect for packaging up as gifts or simply to have out at a holiday party. Great to pop in your mouth for a sweet little bite. The base starts with a pretzel. Then add a layer of homemade coconut caramel mix, top with another pretzel, dip into chocolate, and top with flaky sea salt. Simple and so cute.
Here are the details
Traditional Samoas cookies start out with a shortbread cookie, which is delicious, but I wanted to swap the cookies for pretzels. I love the saltiness along with the chocolate and sweetened coconut. Next up, the coconut caramel. Melt sugar on the stove until it caramelizes, then add butter and coconut milk to create a coconut caramel sauce. Then finish it up with vanilla and sea salt.
Once the sauce is made, stir in lots of shredded toasted coconut. I prefer to use unsweetened coconut, but use what you think you’ll love the most! Then simply sandwich the caramel mix between two pretzels, dip in the melted chocolate chips, and let the chocolate set up. So easy and delicious. Yummm. My mom says this recipe might be one of her favorites for the year. She’s a fan of anything with coconut and chocolate.
A couple tips for success…
Tip one, make sure the presents are thoroughly chilled in the freezer before dipping them into chocolate. This is probably my biggest tip. If the presents are frozen, the chocolate will quickly set up on the bars and be easier to work with. Trust me, freeze the presents, then dip them through the melted chocolate. Tip two, if you want a thick chocolate-coated present dip your bars once, re-freeze until set (which will only take a matter of minutes), then dip into chocolate again. This is not necessary by any means, but if you love double chocolate, do a double dip. My initial thought was that these chocolate presents would be great for our Christmas Cookie Boxes. And they are…but they’re also great for so much more. My recommendation – keep these in the fridge all season long to quickly serve to family and friends. Or package them up as gifts and hand them off as gifts. It’s December and we all need sweet treats! Just one thing…don’t skip that sprinkle of flaky sea salt at the end. Love a good salty-sweet, chocolate dessert.
Looking for other holiday dessert recipes? Here are my favorites: Brown Sugar Maple Ginger Cookies Salted Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter Blondies Chocolate Covered Brown Butter Millionaire’s Bars Lastly, if you make these Samoas Pretzel Presents be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
