These fudge-y, homemade tagalong cookies will make you forget all about those Girl Scouts! Buttery shortbread and creamy peanut butter filling are coated in rich chocolate to create these impressive cookies. Perfect anytime of day, don’t forget a glass of milk!
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Test Kitchen Review
See what our test kitchen had to say!
Haley
While these cookies took a little extra time and effort, it was well worth it! Because we like milk chocolate best, I used that for the topping. Otherwise I followed the directions exactly. My family votes this homemade version tastes way better than the original!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I’m absolutely obsessed with Girl Scout cookies, especially Tagalongs. There’s something about that perfect combination of creamy peanut butter, rich chocolate, and crisp cookie that just hits all the right notes for me. Every year, I eagerly await the cookie season, just so I can stock up on these little bites of joy. Now with this homemade tagalong cookie recipe, we don’t need to wait for the knock at the door!
- Better than Girl Scouts: No offense to all our Girl Scouts, but you just can’t beat this homemade version! They are so rich, fudge-y and decadent!
- Nostalgic: There’s a special nostalgia when I make these Tagalong cookies, reminding me of when I was a Girl Scout, eagerly selling boxes to friends and neighbors.
- Crowd Favorite: Everyone loves the peanut butter and rich chocolate combination wrapped around a crisp and buttery cookie! I dare you to try to eat just one!
Are you a big chocolate and peanut butter fan? Me too! Try my no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars, easy Reese’s peanut butter pie, or this gorgeous layered chocolate peanut butter cake!
Key Ingredients
Below you will find helpful notes for key ingredients used to make these Tagalong cookies. Scroll down to the recipe card for full ingredient list and exact amounts!
- Granulated Sugar: For the shortbread cookie dough, I used granulated sugar for the most authentic flavor. However, light brown sugar will also work!
- Peanut Butter: Use creamy or crunchy, depending on your preference, both options work great! For texture purposes, I do not recommend using natural peanut butter as they are looser with more oil.
- Powdered Sugar: Avoid granulated sugar in the peanut butter filling, it’ll make the filling grainy!
- Chocolate Chips: I prefer dark, bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate for topping your cookies, but milk chocolate or white chocolate can be used if preferred.
- Coconut Oil: This is added to the chocolate to make it perfect for coating on top of the cookies. You can also use butter or vegetable oil.
How to Make Tagalongs
Tagalong cookies are just like your favorite thumbprint cookies with a peanut butter filling, but with a tasty addition of rich chocolate on top. Below is a quick recipe overview, but please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions and to watch the step by step video!
- Cookie Dough: Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in the flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and milk until you get a smooth dough.
- Shape and Bake: Scoop the dough and flatten it into discs. Place them on a baking sheet line with parchment paper. Bake them in the oven until the edges are lightly golden.
- Press the Centers: Press your thumb (or the end of a wooden spoon) into the center of the cookies, straight out of the oven, to make a small dent in each one.
- Peanut Butter Filling: Add the filling ingredients together in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat it in short intervals until soft, stirring often, until smooth. Transfer filling to a pastry bag and pipe the filling into the indent in each cookie. Chill them until the peanut butter is firm.
- Coat in Chocolate: Melt the chocolate and coconut oil together in a bowl, stirring until smooth. Dip each cookie into the chocolate and let the excess drip off. Set them aside until firm. Enjoy!
- Don’t rush the cooling process: After you make dents in the cookies, you must let them cool completely before adding the filling. If they’re even a tiny bit warm, the peanut butter filling will melt off and make a mess. Same with waiting for the cookies to chill before dunking them in the melted chocolate! I know it’s really hard to wait, but having patience will make a big difference!
- Check the butter: Press your finger into the butter. It should dent very easily. If it doesn’t, pop it into the microwave on the defrost setting in 10-second intervals until completely softened, otherwise it won’t beat evenly into your cookie dough.
- Add a fruit filling: Reduce the peanut butter filling by half and add 1 teaspoon of a fruit jelly or jam, like strawberry or raspberry. Freeze them until completely firm and then coat with chocolate as usual.
- Skip the dipping: Another way to coat your cookies with the chocolate is to arrange them on a wire cooling rack, leaving a little space between each cookie. Then spoon, or gently pour, the melted chocolate over the top of each cookie.
Yield: 36 cookies
⭐️Test Kitchen Approved!⭐️These fudge-y, homemade tagalong cookies feature layers of buttery shortbread and creamy peanut butter filling all coated in rich chocolate! Now you can enjoy your favorite Girl Scout cookie all year long!
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
For the Filling
- 1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Coating
- 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, butter, or vegetable oil
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk. The dough should come together into a soft ball.
- Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out a tablespoon of dough. Using your hands, flatten it into a disc about 1/4-inch thick. Place on a prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough. Cookies will not spread too much, so you can arrange them fairly closely together.
- Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until bottoms and the edges are lightly browned and cookies are set. Immediately after removing cookies from the oven, use your thumb or a small spoon to make a depression in the center of each cookie. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Peanut Butter Filling
- Add the peanut butter, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla to a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in short 30 second intervals stirring frequently, until soft and smooth. Be careful not to over-heat, the mixture will become very runny!
- Working carefully with the warm filling, transfer it to a pastry bag (or plastic bag with the tip cut off) and pipe a generous dome of the filling into each cookie’s “thumbprint”.
- Chill filled cookies in the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the peanut butter is firm.
Chocolate Coating
- Melt the chocolate and coconut oil together in 30 second intervals in a microwave safe bowl. Stirring often, until smooth.
- Dip chilled cookies into chocolate, let excess drip off, and place on a sheet of parchment paper to set.
Video
Notes
Store: Place them in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or store in the fridge for up to 7 days. Set the cookies on the counter for 10 minutes before digging in to let them come to room temperature.
Freeze: Set them on a baking sheet and freeze them for 1 hour. Transfer them to a freezer-friendly bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge or on the counter for about 30 minutes.
Don’t rush the cooling process: After you make dents in the cookies, you must let them cool completely before adding the filling. If they’re even a tiny bit warm, the peanut butter filling will melt off and make a mess. Same with waiting for the cookies to chill before dunking them in the melted chocolate! I know it’s really hard to wait, but having patience will make a big difference!
Check the butter: Press your finger into the butter. It should dent very easily. If it doesn’t, pop it into the microwave on the defrost setting in 10-second intervals until completely softened, otherwise it won’t beat evenly into your cookie dough.
Add a fruit filling: Reduce the peanut butter filling by half and add 1 teaspoon of a fruit jelly or jam, like strawberry or raspberry. Freeze them until completely firm and then coat with chocolate as usual.
Skip the dipping: Another way to coat your cookies with the chocolate is to arrange them on a wire cooling rack, leaving a little space between each cookie. Then spoon, or gently pour, the melted chocolate over the top of each cookie.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 cookie, Calories: 198kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 15mg, Sodium: 116mg, Potassium: 107mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 169IU, Calcium: 15mg, Iron: 1mg
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