Homemade Tagalongs Recipe - We are not Martha (2024)

Love the Girl Scout's Tagalongs, but want them year-round? With this easy-to-make copycat Tagalong recipe, you can have the chocolate and peanut butter shortbread cookies at home any time you crave them!

I was a Girl Scout for many, many years. More accurately, I was a Daisy in kindergarten, worked my way up to become a Brownie, and then became a Girl Scout from there.

I'm sure I learned many important lessons throughout my time with the Scouts, but the things that stick with me are cookie selling and camping. Camping I hated. But cookie selling? I loved.

Today's world of Girl Scout cookie selling is a little bit different than it was in my day. We used to randomly knock on strangers' doors and beg them to purchase cookies from us. I don't think that happens much anymore!

To this day, I support the Girl Scouts of American 100% and would never discourage you from purchasing from them. But sometimes you can't get their cookies when you want them. And I pretty much always want them! Especially Tagalongs, which are my very favorite cookies.

Which is why I've been making this copycat Tagalong recipe for years. I'm sure I initially adapted this recipe from somewhere, but it was so long ago that the website doesn't even exist anymore.

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

If you like Tagalong cookies, you'll love this recipe because these taste just like them! And if you're not able to get Tagalongs currently, making your own at home is the simple solution.

If you've never had a Tagalong, but are a big fan of chocolate and peanut butter together, you'll also love these cookies.

They're not difficult to make and you'll be shocked by how much they taste just like the original Tagalongs.

🗒 Ingredients

The cookies are quite easy to make and simply require basic baking ingredients... You might even currently have them all in your kitchen and pantry. Here's what you need:

• Unsalted butter
• Granulated sugar
• Egg
• Vanilla extract
• Salt
• All-purpose flour
• Creamy peanut butter
• Confectioners' sugar
• Milk chocolate (wafers or roughly chopped bars)

🍪 How to make homemade tagalongs

There are lots of recipes for homemade Tagalong cookies on the internet and lots of different ways you can make them, but I love this easy slice and bake way.

It includes making a buttery shortbread cookie dough, slicing it into rounds and baking them, topping them with a peanut butter mixture, and dipping them in chocolate.

You'll start by making the shortbread cookie dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.

Then add egg, vanilla, and salt and beat until smooth.

Turn mixer to low and addflour. Mix until just incorporated, taking care not to over-mix.

That's it! Your dough is done.

Place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold plastic wrap over dough to completely cover and use your hands to roll the dough into a smooth log, about 2" in diameter.

Place in fridge to chill until firm, about 2 hours. You can also feel free to chill it overnight or for a few days.

When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Use a sharp knife to slice the dough log into ¼"-thick rounds and arrange on prepared baking sheet about 1" apart.

You should get about 60 rounds.

Bake the cookies for 9-12 minutes, until edges are just starting to turn golden.

Let them cool in the pan for a couple minutes before moving to wire racks to cool completely.

While cookies are baking and cooling, make the peanut butter filling.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer or rubber spatula, combine peanut butter and confectioners' sugar.

Mix until well combined.

Put chocolate in a double boiler (or in a heat-proof bowl set over a saucepan filled with water) and bring water in the bottom of boiler to a boil.

I recommend using something like these milk chocolate wafers. But you can also buy chocolate bars and roughly chop them. Chocolate chips can work, too, but I don't think they melt quite as well.

Stir the chocolate with a wooden spoon until it's evenly melted and smooth.

Spread a layer of peanut butter filling over each cooled shortbread cookie.

Place cookies in the bowl with the melted chocolate.

Use two forks to flip and coat entire cookie with chocolate.

Remove, let excess chocolate drip off, and set on piece of waxed paper or parchment paper and let chocolate harden.

Oooh la la!

You can chill the cookies if you want to speed up the process, though the chocolate generally hardens pretty quickly.

I do have to say that these cookies are EXTRA delicious when they're cold, so if you have room in your fridge, you may as well pop them in!

Serve the homemade Tagalongs with a big glass of cold milk.

And marvel how these delicious cookies taste pretty much exactly like those yummy peanut butter patties!

Everyone I've made these for is shocked by how similar they are to Tagalongs. They even look just like them.

I mean, how could you go wrong with a shortbread cookie base topped with sweet peanut butter and coated entirely in chocolate? You really can't.

But this definitely means trouble for me and it could for you, too. Once you realize how easy these are to make, you'll never have to wait for Girl Scout cookie season again!

Plus? This recipe makes 60 cookies. How many cookies are you getting in that box from the Girl Scouts?

But still support the Girl Scouts and buy from them, too... Because really, you can never have too many Tagalongs. Or Samoas. Or Do-Si-Dos. Or Thin Mints. I think those are all my faves.

⏲️ How to store

This recipe makes a lot of cookies and chances are, you'll want to store some for later. It's easy to do!

Once chocolate is completely hardened on cookies, you can store the Tagalongs in an airtight container either at room temperature or in the fridge. I recommend using a piece of parchment paper or waxed paper to separate layers of cookies.

When stored properly homemade Tagalongs should stay fresh for about a week.

Alternatively, you can freeze the cookies after you make them. You can simply put cookies in a large freezer-safe bag, remove excess air, and seal tightly. For ultimate freshness, you can individually wrap each cookie.

Frozen tagalongs can be stored for about three months.

👩‍🍳 How to halve recipe

If you think 60 Tagalongs is too many Tagalongs (how dare you!), don't worry because this recipe is very easy to cut in half.

You can either cut each ingredient amount in half (the egg is the only tricky part, but you can use this tip to make it easy).

Or you can make all of the dough and freeze half of it to bake at a later date. Any remaining dough can be stored wrapped in plastic wrap in fridge for 2-3 days and can be frozen for 3-4 months.

🥜 More peanut butter recipes

I think peanut butter cookies are the BEST cookies. But I also just like peanut butter desserts in general and can never get enough of them. Here are some of my favorites:

• Peanut Butter Snickers Cookies
• Peanut Butter Blondies with Chocolate Ganache
• Reese's Pieces Peanut Buttery Brownies
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies
• Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies
• XL Peanut Butter Cookies with Sprinkles
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Muffins
• Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
• Peanut Butter Mousse Brownie Pie (from Spicy Southern Kitchen)

And if you have a special peanut butter-loving pup in your life, you need to make him or her these Peanut Butter Pupcakes or these Peanut Butter Cheddar Bones.

If you are a Tagalong fan, you really must make these. If you've never had a Tagalong but love the chocolate-peanut butter combination, you also really must try these. They're the best Girl Scout cookies and I'm seriously in heaven.

In speaking further about supporting the Girl Scouts, here's an idea I've been hearing more and more people doing. Instead of buying 5 boxes of cookies and eating them all, buy 5 boxes and donate them to the troops, your local shelter, or church.

OR, simply donate the money you would spend on cookies to the Girl Scouts without getting anything in return. Visit this site to find a Girl Scout cookie seller near you.

What are your favorite Girl Scout cookies or your favorite childhood cookies? Would you replicate them at home if you could?

📖 Recipe