The perfect chocolate, caramel and coconut cookie meets its cupcake match! Samoas cupcakes capture the chewy, crunchy and chocolaty-caramel-toasted coconut deliciousness of the classic Girl Scout cookie. They're a perfect tribute to a favorite cookie.
Are they Samoas or Caramel deLites? They're both heavenly bites of chocolate, caramel and coconut with a cookie crunch. But why are the names different? Well, the name depends on where you live as the Girl Scouts use two different bakers, serving different parts of the country, to produce their cookies. Since they have the same chocolate, caramel and coconut flavors, I'm just going to call them Samoas from here on out since I've mostly lived in places where these scrumptious cookies are called Samoas. And these Samoas cupcakes are a true tribute meant to highlight all the best parts of the Samoa cookies...the heavenly combination of chocolate, caramel, and toasted coconut. Coming next will be out my Samoas cheesecake recipe!
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Ingredients
- Samoas cookies
- Cake flour
- White sugar
- Salted butter
- Eggs
- Cocoa powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Powdered sugar
- Store bought or homemade salted caramel sauce
- Coconut milk
- Unsweetened coconut flakes
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions for toasting coconut
Toasting unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut completely transforms the coconut. It brings out a delicious nutty, caramelized flavor in the coconut. And it also takes the texture from chewy to crispy which is exactly what we need for topping cupcakes.
Stove Top Method: I prefer the stove top method for toasting unsweetened coconut as it's quicker, easier and there's less risk of burning. Use a non-stick pan and turn the heat to medium. DO NOT use any cooking spray, oil or butter. Add the shredded or flaked coconut in a single layer and STIR CONSTANTLY until over half of the coconut is light golden brown, approximately 3-5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately transfer the coconut to a plate to cool as it will continue cooking in the hot pan.
Substitutions
- Coconut milk - coconut milk adds a great layer of flavor to these Samoas cupcakes. However, you can substitute buttermilk in the cupcake base and heavy whipping cream in the buttercream frosting if you wish.
- Cake flour - you can substitute all purpose flour with corn starch for the cake flour. For this recipe, measure 1 ½ cups of all purpose flour. Remove 3 tablespoons of the flour and add 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Then sift the all purpose flour and cornstarch together twice to combine and aerate the mixture.
Variations
You can also add a chocolate drizzle by using a chocolate ganache or chocolate candy melts. However, I found that the decorations can start to look messy with multiple drizzles.
Equipment
When making standard size cupcakes, I highly recommend using a large cookie scoop. That way, the cupcakes all come out the same size and filling the muffin tins goes much quicker too. The large 4 tablespoon cookie scoop is the perfect size for making cupcakes. A hand or stand mixer is needed for these Samoas cupcakes as well.
Storage
Store Samoas cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Next Level Tips
- Use a high quality cocoa powder. Like I mentioned in my Chocolate Sweet Rolls recipe, my very favorite cocoa powder is the Valrhona brand found on Amazon and in the Whole Foods bulk section. After Valrhona, I'd recommend Guittard or Ghirardelli brands which can be found in regular grocery stores.
- For buttercream frosting, my favorite piping tips for frosting are the Wilton 1A for a round tip and a Wilton (or Ateco) 1M for a star tip. If you only have two piping tips, these are the two to own!
- Instead of disposable piping bags, I recommend reusable piping bags. They're easy to wash, you won't unexpectedly run out, it's less waste going to the landfill and it's cheaper in the long run.
- Girl Scout cookies aren't sold year round, but Samoas freeze really well. Buy a couple extra boxes so that you can make these Samoas cupcakes later in the year for a real treat!
- Check out my Thin Mints cupcakes for another tribute to a Girl Scouts fan favorite cookie.
FAQ
Yes. And if you are making multiple batches of cupcakes, I highly recommend baking the base cupcakes the day before and then frosting the cupcakes the day you will be eating them.
Organic unsweetened coconut is the best choice for coconut to top these Samoas cupcakes. Unsweetened coconut is more natural, and the texture of unsweetened coconut is better for toasting. Plus, the process of toasting the coconut brings out the naturally sweet flavor of coconut anyway.
No, decorative squeeze bottles are not necessary. Instead, you could wash out a used condiment bottle. [While I do own several Wilton squeeze bottles (meh), my very favorite decorative bottle for drizzle is actually an old balsamic glaze bottle.] Or you can also let the caramel sauce drip off the end of a spoon as you wiggle the spoon back and forth.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Samoas Cupcakes (Caramel deLites)
Equipment
- 1 Hand or stand mixer
Ingredients
Cupcake base
- 1½ cup cake flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups white sugar
- 10 tablespoons salted butter room temperature
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 1⅓ cups full fat coconut milk
Buttercream frosting
- 8 tablespoons salted butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons homemade salted caramel sauce optional
- 2-3 tablespoons full fat coconut milk
Toppings
- ½ cup homemade salted caramel sauce
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut toasted
- Samoas cookies for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line two 12-cup or one 24-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners. Yields 20-24 cupcakes.
Make the cupcakes
- Add the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt to a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.
- Add the butter and sugar to a mixing bowl. Mix on low until fully incorporated.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, to the mixing bowl. Mix on low until incorporated.
- Alternate adding half of the flour mix and half of the coconut milk. Mix on low until incorporated. Don't overman .
- Use a large 4 tablespoon cookie scoop to fill each muffin tin.
- Lightly tap the muffin pans on the counter. Bake for 18-19 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. [If you are using two 12 cup muffin pans on different oven racks, rotate pans halfway through.]
- Cool in the muffin tins for 10 minutes and then move the cupcakes to a wire rack to finish cooling. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
Toast the coconut
- Use a non-stick pan and turn the heat to medium. DO NOT use any cooking spray, oil or butter. Add the shredded or flaked coconut in a single layer and STIR CONSTANTLY until over half of the coconut is light golden brown, approximately 3-5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately transfer the coconut to a plate to cool and stop the cooking process.
Make the buttercream frosting
- Add the butter and 2 tablespoons of salted caramel sauce to a mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until combined and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of coconut milk to the mixing bowl. Mix on medium high until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides several times, about 5-6 minutes. [Depending on the temperature of the butter and the humidity of the kitchen, you may need to add more coconut milk if the frosting is too heavy/thick. Add additional coconut milk one tablespoon at a time, mix on medium high and check for fluffiness.]
- Add the frosting to the cupcakes by using an icing (offset) spatula, a regular knife or by piping it on.
Decorate the cupcakes
- Heat the salted caramel sauce in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, just until it's a pourable consistency but not hot. [Hot caramel can melt the frosting.] Drizzle the salted caramel sauce on the cupcakes using a spoon or a decorator squeeze bottle.
- Sprinkle the cooled toasted coconut on top of the caramel drizzle.
- Cut 10-12 Samoas cookies in half. Lightly press the cookie half into the decorated frosting.
- Serve or place in an airtight container.
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