I’ve always loved pretty much anything with coconut, and these Samoa Cookies combine that love with one of my other favorites: caramel. Add a chocolate-covered caramel coconut cookie to the center, and now we’re talking.

That’s how my Samoa cookies, or as I call them, my Samoa Dream Cookies, came together.

As soon as I made these, I knew I had another winner. My family loved them, my friends and neighbors I shared them with devoured them, and when I sold them at my cookie booth, they were a hit there too. LOL

These are big, thick bakery-style cookies loaded with dark chocolate chips and coconut, with a soft caramel and an optional chocolate-covered caramel coconut cookie tucked inside. Then I finish them with toasted coconut and pieces of the chocolate-covered caramel coconut cookies.

There’s a lot going on in these cookies, in the very best way.

Why I Love These Samoa Cookies

Coconut and caramel are one of those combinations that just work for me.

I started these Samoa cookies with my regular bakery-style cookie dough, then added shredded coconut and plenty of dark chocolate chips. That alone would make a really good cookie.

But I didn’t want to stop there.

For my giant version, I put a chocolate-covered caramel coconut cookie in the middle along with a piece of soft caramel. As the cookie bakes, that caramel becomes soft and gooey inside.

Then there are the toppings.

I like to add more dark chocolate chips before baking, then finish the cookies with toasted coconut and crumbled pieces of chocolate-covered caramel coconut cookies.

The center cookie is completely optional, so don’t feel like you have to stuff them. They’re still delicious without it.

Giant Bakery-Style Samoa Cookies

Like many of my cookie recipes, I usually make these BIG.

I use two scoops from my 4-tablespoon cookie scoop to create a cookie that’s approximately 5 ounces.

For the stuffed version, I gently flatten the dough, place a chocolate-covered caramel coconut cookie and 1 to 2 pieces of soft caramel in the center, then carefully wrap the dough around everything.

Make sure the filling is well enclosed so the caramel doesn’t have an easy escape route while it bakes.

You can also make regular-sized Samoa cookies. For the smaller cookies, I recommend skipping the stuffed center and drizzling caramel over the tops after baking instead.

Samoa Cookie Recipe

Yield: Approximately 2 dozen extra-large 5-ounce cookies or about 6 dozen regular-sized cookies.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup melted butter
1 cup melted margarine
5 large eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla
4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
6 to 7 cups all-purpose flour, leveled (possibly more as needed)
3 cups dark chocolate chips
1 cup shredded coconut
24 chocolate-covered caramel coconut cookies, for stuffing the centers, plus additional cookies crumbled for topping (optional)
Homemade or 24 pieces of store-bought soft caramels (no “chewy”). I like Worther’s Original Soft Caramels
Toasted coconut, for topping

How to Make Samoa Cookies

Prepare the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. If you’re baking at an elevation above 4,000 feet, try 325°F instead.
Combine the butter and sugars. In a large mixing bowl, mix the melted butter, melted margarine, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until thoroughly combined.
Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix in the eggs and vanilla until everything is well incorporated.
Add the dry ingredients. Add the baking soda and salt. Begin adding the flour gradually, starting with about 6 cups and adding more as needed.
Check the dough. The finished dough should be soft but not sticky and should hold its shape when scooped. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour. If you accidentally add too much flour and the dough becomes dry, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough reaches the right consistency.
Add the coconut and chocolate. Fold in the shredded coconut and dark chocolate chips until they’re evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Make the giant cookies. Using a large 4-tablespoon cookie scoop, portion out two scoops of dough for each cookie. Together, they should make approximately a 5-ounce cookie.
Add the center. For the stuffed version, gently flatten the dough and place one chocolate-covered caramel coconut cookie and the soft caramel in the center. The center cookie is optional, so you can also stuff the cookie with caramel alone.
Finish the tops. Press additional dark chocolate chips into the tops of the dough balls.
Bake. Place the cookies on a baking sheet with plenty of room between them. Bake the extra-large cookies for approximately 16 to 18 minutes. The edges should look set while the centers remain soft.
Add the toppings. After baking, finish the cookies with crumbled pieces of chocolate-covered caramel coconut cookies and toasted coconut. You can also add a little caramel drizzle if you’d like even more caramel flavor.
Cool. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet long enough to set before moving them. The caramel inside will be very hot when they first come out of the oven, so give them a little time before digging in.

My Most Important Tip for These Samoa Cookies

Bake one test cookie first.

I do this with my giant cookies because there are so many variables involved. Flour measurement, elevation, oven temperature, and even the size of the eggs can affect how the dough behaves.

If your test cookie spreads too much, add a little more flour to the remaining dough.

If it doesn’t spread enough and seems dry, you may need a little milk.

It’s much easier to adjust the bowl of dough after one cookie than after an entire tray.

Making Regular-Sized Samoa Cookies

You don’t have to make these into giant stuffed cookies.

This recipe makes around 2 dozen extra-large 5-ounce cookies or about 6 dozen regular-sized cookies.

For smaller Samoa cookies, I recommend leaving out the stuffed caramel and center cookie. Bake the smaller cookies until they’re set around the edges, checking them around 12 to 14 minutes. Once they’re cool, drizzle caramel over the cooled cookies and sprinkle them with toasted coconut.

You can also add some crumbled chocolate-covered caramel coconut cookies to the tops.

You’ll still have that wonderful combination of chocolate, coconut, and caramel without trying to fit a whole cookie inside a smaller cookie.

How to Toast Coconut for Samoa Cookies

Toasting the coconut is a small extra step, but I think it’s worth doing.

Spread the shredded coconut in a thin layer on a baking sheet and toast it in the oven until it becomes lightly golden.

Watch it closely and stir it occasionally because coconut can brown quickly. Coconut can go from lightly golden to burned surprisingly fast, so this isn’t the time to wander away from the oven.

Let it cool before adding it to the tops of your Samoa cookies.

High-Altitude Baking

I bake at an elevation of more than 4,000 feet, and I’ve found that 325°F for approximately 16 to 18 minutes works well for my giant cookies. If you’re also baking at a higher elevation, Colorado State University Extension has a helpful guide to baking at elevation that explains some of the adjustments you may need to make.

If you live at a lower elevation, 350°F may work better.

Don’t be afraid to experiment a little with your own oven. That’s another reason I recommend baking that test cookie before committing to a full tray.

Ingredient Weights

I often weigh the main ingredients when I’m making my giant cookie recipes. If you’d rather use a kitchen scale, these are the weights I use for this recipe:

Brown sugar: 789 grams
Granulated sugar: 189 grams
Eggs: 253 grams
All-purpose flour: 1,272 to 1,412 grams

I don’t weigh the remaining ingredients because they’re easy enough for me to measure.

Storing and Freezing Samoa Cookies

Once completely cooled, store your cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

They also freeze really well. If I know I’m going to freeze the cookies, I prefer to wait on the caramel drizzle until after reheating. The toasted coconut and cookie pieces can also be refreshed after warming if you want the tops to look and taste more like they did when freshly made.

I prefer my cookies warm and gooey, so when I want one from the freezer, I put the frozen cookie into a cool oven, turn the oven to 350°F, and let it warm for approximately 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie.

I don’t microwave them. Reheating them in the oven brings back that warm, freshly baked texture much better.

More Tips for the Perfect Cookie

If you’re making one of my giant bakery-style cookies for the first time, my Tips for the Perfect Cookie guide includes more of what I’ve learned through years of baking cookies, including flour, baking times, altitude adjustments, and getting that lightly crisp outside with a soft, chewy center.

Chocolate, Coconut and Caramel in One Giant Cookie

There are some recipes I experiment with and think, “That’s pretty good.”

Then there are the ones where I know I’ve got something.

These Samoa cookies were definitely one of those.

I already knew I loved chocolate, caramel, and coconut together, but putting those flavors into one of my giant bakery-style cookies and hiding another chocolate-covered caramel coconut cookie inside made them even more fun.

And judging by how quickly my family, friends, neighbors, and customers at my cookie booth ate them, I wasn’t the only one who thought so. LOL

If you’re a coconut and caramel person like I am, I have a feeling you’re going to love these.

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