Homemade Tagalongs {Gluten Free & Vegan}

These gluten free and vegan Tagalongs taste just like the original!

I love Girl Scout Cookies.  Honestly, who doesn’t?  My freshman year of college, my little cousin was just a Daisy and I received a care package with a few boxes of cookies.  Oh, it was wonderful!  A day or two after receiving that package, my now-husband (then, just a guy on my dorm floor I’d hung out with a time or two) invited me to a movie night with some of his friends.  I went, and being the considerate person I am, I brought a couple boxes of cookies with me.  We had a nice time that night, but the guys had ordered pizza and we didn’t break into my cookies.  Movie night went late (like 2 AM late), so I went back to my room that night exhausted.  The next afternoon, I stopped by Brendan’s room hoping to get my cookies back.  He and his roommate looked at me sheepishly…they had eaten them.  All of them.  In the twelve hours I had been gone, these boys polished off my Tagalongs and Thin Mints!  The fact that these people became my husband and some of my best friends speaks volumes to how forgiving I am…

After years of abstaining, it was so good to sink my teeth into a Tagalong!

Anyway, fast forward a few years, and I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  While the Girl Scouts now sell gluten free cookies, they still don’t have gluten free Girl Scout cookies if that makes sense.  You know, I want my Samoas!  I want my Thin Mints!  But most of all, I want my Tagalongs!  For those of you who don’t know, Tagalongs are shortbread cookies smothered in peanut butter and coated in chocolate.  In other words, they are the cookies of the gods.  For five years, I have gone without them.  This year though, I had enough.  I was going to eat these cookies again, dag nabit!

The best part about homemade tagalongs? You get the whole batch, not just the 15 that come in a box!

This experiment was a success!  The cookies taste just like I remember, and my husband was eating these just as ravenously as he did the originals so many years ago.  The shortbread cookies are perfectly crunchy, while the peanut butter is smooth and sweet.  And the chocolate just completes the whole package!  Much like the regular Girl Scout cookies, I prefer eating these chilled, but they are delicious at room temperature as well.  So, whether you’re looking to recreate a favorite from your past in an allergen-friendly way, or simply looking to binge on these delicious cookies without having to hunt down a little girl in a brown skirt and sash, you will not regret making these cookies!

Homemade Tagalongs: Gluten Free & Vegan

Try not to eat all of them in one sitting. I know it’s hard.

Ingredients

• Shortbread Cookies
  • 2 tbsp neutral flavored oil (I used canola)
  • 1/3 cup shortening
  • 1 tbsp almond milk
  • 3/8 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup gluten free flour, with xanthan gum
  • 1/8 tsp baking powder
  • Pinch salt
• Peanut Butter Filling
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • Scant ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Chocolate Coating
  • 2+ cups chocolate chips (vegan, if desired)
  • 1 tsp neutral flavored oil

A whole tray of cookies, just begging to be eaten!

Directions

1. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Beat together oil, shortening, and milk in a stand mixer until the mixture is creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth.
3. Slowly add flour mixture until incorporated.
4. Shape into a log, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for at least four hours, or freeze for half an hour – forty five minutes.
5. Cut log into ¼ inch slices. Bake on parchment paper for 10 – 12 minutes in an oven preheated to 350.
6. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.
7. Beat together peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy.
8. Spread the peanut butter filling over one side of the shortbread cookies. Place cookies in freezer for at least 15 minutes.
9. Melt chocolate chips and oil together, either in the microwave in 30 second intervals or over a double boiler.
10. Use two forks to coat the cookies with chocolate. Transfer to a sheet lined with parchment paper or waxed paper, and allow cookies to set for at least 45 minutes.
11. Store cookies in an airtight container in the fridge.

This is my own recipe, but I consulted the following websites for reference:

• http://www.adashofsanity.com/2014/02/copycat-girl-scout-tagalong-cookies/
• http://theviewfromgreatisland.com/2013/02/diy-tagalong-girl-scout-cookies-when-youve-been-too-good-for-your-own-good.html
• http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/slice-and-bake-shortbread-cookies

With shortbread, peanut butter, and chocolate, these homemade Tagalongs are surprisingly easy, and taste just as good as the original! Gluten Free & Vegan Tagalongs, on Quinoa & Cookies