Tagalong Cookies
Crunchy shortbread cookies topped with creamy peanut butter and covered in rich milk chocolate. Make your favorite Girl Scout cookie at home anytime when the craving hits.
I think I have a problem with Girl Scout cookies. First I buy them all from my local scouts. And then I make eat them all and have to bake them myself. I mean you can't buy from the grocery store scouts three times a week, can you?! Earlier I made homemade thin mints. Now we're making homemade tagalongs! These cookies feature a buttery shortbread cookie topped with creamy peanut butter and coated in rich milk chocolate. They're easy to make at home when you're craving them in the off-season, or need them for another recipe such as a cake.
The chocolate peanut butter combination is irresistible! Soon you'll be cooking your Girl Scout supplier to the curb with this copycat recipe.
Why I Love These Cookies
- Homemade Shortbread: There is nothing like rich and buttery homemade shortbread.
- Common Ingredients: These are made with pantry ingredients you may already have on hand.
- No Mixer Required: We mix up our batter with just a wooden spoon.
Ingredient Notes and Shopping Tips
- Peanut Butter: Tagalongs are made in the Girl Scout's factory with Peter Pan peanut butter. I used Jif. No matter what brand you choose avoid natural or low-fat varieties.
- Butter: Use softened butter not melted for the best results. To quickly soften butter cut it into smaller pieces or heat in the microwave on 50% power.
- Flour: Measure your flour by spooning it into the measuring. Don't dip your cup into the bag of flour, or you'll likely use too much.
- Chocolate Chips: You can also use chocolate Candiquik if you'd prefer.
Tips and Tricks
- No biscuit or cookie cutter? No problem, use a juice glass, small bowl, or even a cleaned tin can instead.
- Chill Dough: Don't skip the chilling step. Shortbread's texture comes from the cool butter slowly melting in the oven.
- Chocolate Chips: Chocolate chips will hold their shape until mixed, so be sure to stir when microwaving or you risk scorching your chocolate. Also, be sure to avoid any contact with water or oil, which can cause chocolate to seize up or to become too hard.
- Dip: Use a fork to easily dip the cookies into the chocolate.
- Wax Paper: Allow chocolate to harden on wax paper for a mess-free clean-up.
More Amazing Cookies To Try
Copycat Gideon's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Carrot Cake Cookies With Cream Cheese Frosting
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📖 Recipe
Tagalong Cookies
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Ingredients
For the Peanut Butter Filling
- 1 ¼ Cup Peanut Butter
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
For the Shortbread Cookie Base
- ¾ Pound Butter Softened
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 3 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour
- Pinch of Salt To Taste
For the Chocolate Coating
- 16 Ounces of Milk Chocolate Chips
Instructions
For the Peanut Butter Filling
- In a small mixing bowl, combine peanut butter and powdered sugar until incorporated.
- Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Fill a small cookie scoop ~½ way full of the peanut butter mixture. Place on prepared pan.
- Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes or until set.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the Shortbread Cookie Base
- Cream butter and sugar together.
- Stir in vanilla and salt.
- Add flour a little at a time until just combined, do not over mix.
- Form dough into one large disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30-45 minutes.
- Roll dough to ~½ inch thickness. Cut out circles with a small biscuit cutter.
- Bake on an un greased pan for 14-16 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Cool completely.
For the Milk Chocolate Coating
- Melt chocolate chips in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently until smooth.
- Place peanut butter balls onto cookies. Spread to edges with a knife.
- Use a fork to dip into chocolate until covered. Allow excess to drip off.
- Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper in the fridge until set.
Notes
- Peanut Butter: Tagalongs are made in the Girl Scout's factory with Peter Pan peanut butter. I used Jif. No matter what brand you choose avoid natural or low-fat varieties.
- Butter: Use softened butter not melted for the best results. To quickly soften butter cut it into smaller pieces or heat in the microwave on 50% power.
- Flour: Measure your flour by spooning it into the measuring. Don't dip your cup into the bag of flour, or you'll likely use too much.
- No biscuit or cookie cutter? No problem, use a juice glass, small bowl, or even a cleaned tin can instead.
- Chill Dough: Don't skip the chilling step. Shortbread's texture comes from the cool butter slowly melting in the oven.
- Chocolate Chips: Chocolate chips will hold their shape until mixed, so be sure to stir when microwaving or you risk scorching your chocolate. Also, be sure to avoid any contact with water or oil, which can cause chocolate to seize up or to become too hard.
- Dip: Use a fork to easily dip the cookies into the chocolate.
- Wax Paper: Allow chocolate to harden on wax paper for a mess-free clean-up.
Nutrition
Wonderful Recipe
My just two-year old grandson loves the Girl Scout Tagalong, which he calls “Choc Cake”. He was sick and wanted one but my daughter ran out of the GS version, so I made two batches of these. OMG, they came out delicious!! I delivered them to friends and family and the reviews were off the charts! This recipe is definitely the best cookie recipe that I’ve ever made, and is an instant family and friends favorite. If you’re looking for a Tagalong recipe you should stop searching, bookmark this page, and get to baking. This is it! Thank you Krystle for an amazing recipe!
I used Skippy peanut butter, Kerry Gold Butter, Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips (with a little vegetable oil) for one batch, and Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers (no oil) for the another batch. They were both excellent, but I personally liked the dark chocolate cookies because the chocolate set up harder and had a nice crisp snap to it after storing the cookies in a container in the fridge. Either chocolate thought produces a heavenly result. Next time I’ll do the same but will lightly drizzle the opposing chocolate over the main chocolate for a nice finishing touch.
So glad these were able to fulfill his craving. Thanks for your detailed review and ingredient breakdown Con!
Whaaaaa?! These are the best! Now these can hold me over until cookie season! Haha. Thank you!
Oh, wow! These are so good! Just like the GS cookies! And for a fraction of the cost! Love this!
What an amazing recipe! My daughter and I always have a craving for tagalong Girl Scout cookies! This is by far our all time favorite recipe!
You're so talented! Peanut butter and milk chocolate. Yumm!