Homemade Tagalongs

I was a Girl Scout for five years, first through fifth grade.  We had an awesome, but small troop where all of the moms helped out so it was mostly like just hanging out with our friends earning badges, selling cookies, wearing cool uniforms, and sleeping over at museums.  When I sold cookies back in the 90′s, they were only $2.50 a box, now they are outrageous and I swear you get a lot less in the boxes then you used to.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not opposed to buying Girl Scout cookies.  I loved the Girl Scouts and would gladly support them even if it means buying their over priced cookies.  The problem is this – I don’t know any Girl Scouts!  And apparently they don’t sell their cookies at the local grocery stores in Brooklyn like they do everywhere else in this county.

Luckily, as a good Girl Scout alumni, I am resourceful, and I’m pretty sure I earned my baking badge, so I made my own!  Sorry ladies, but these are some darn good cookies!  Fresh, crunchy, peanut buttery, and the upgrade to dark chocolate really make these a more sophisticated cookie.  Despite the number of steps, these are actually a pretty easy cookie to make, all the ingredients were already in my cupboard.  If only I had a real box of Girl Scout cookies to have a side-by-side comparison!

Print the Recipe!

Homemade Tagalongs
Adapted from Cakespy via Serious Eats
Yield – 15 cookies

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon heavy cream
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghiradrdelli chips – 60%)

• Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in the bowl a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.  Sift together the flour and salt and slowly add to the butter, the mixture will be crumbly.  Add the vanilla and cream and beat until just combined.  Scrap down the side of the bowl with a spatula and turn the mixture out onto plastic wrap. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 °Fand let the dough warm up for about 5 minutes after coming out of the fridge.  Scoop one tablespoon balls of dough and place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Use the bottom of a glass dipped in powdered sugar to flatten each disk.  Bake for 10 minutes until the cookies just begin to turn golden brown.
• Wait about three minutes (wait less if you want to burn your fingers as I did) and place a small thumbprint in each cookie.
• Melt the peanut butter in a small saucepan until liquidy. Stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla.  Using two teaspoons, place a dollop on each cookie.  I then used my fingers dipped in warm water to smooth the tops of the peanut butter dollops.  My dollops were a bit wonky.
• Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, I use a heat safe bowl over a small pot of simmering water.  Place each cookie, one at a time, in the chocolate and then use a fork to flip over.  Gently tap the cookie to remove the excess chocolate.  Place the chocolate covered cookie on a parchment lined cookie sheet and refrigerate until the chocolate hardens.