Raw Vegan Samoa Cookies

Raw vegan Samoa cookies are such an excellent substitute for this Girl-Scout favorite. Who hasn’t polished off a full sleeve of these in one sitting? Guilty! Now, you can eat several of these and not feel guilty, because they are insanely healthy! The ingredients won’t break the bank if done properly. And even better, they are quick and easy to make!

Tips to Lower Cost

Some ingredients in this recipe may be a bit expensive, so to lower the cost, simply get the best that you can afford. For instance, organic Medjool dates are the best, but buy regular Deglet Noor dates if that is all your budget allows. Also, organic, extra-virgin, cold-pressed, unrefined coconut oil is by far the best, but simply get a cold-pressed coconut oil if need be. You can even use regular cocoa powder in place of the raw cacao powder. Eventually, you may want to allow more in your food budget for healthier choices. In the meantime, just do what you can with what you have now.

Tips for Preparing Walnuts

Before deciding to make these raw, vegan Samoa cookies, we highly recommend soaking the raw walnuts overnight for at least 12 hours. There is an excellent reason for this: all nuts and seeds are coated with an enzyme inhibitor. This will preserve them until it’s time for them to grow into a plant. As we all know, a seed will not grow without water. So, if we soak or sprout them, they become abundantly healthier to eat. If we don’t soak and rinse them, the enzyme inhibitor makes it extremely difficult to digest and can cause gastric distress. No fun!

Tips for Preparing Coconut Oil

Also, we recommend buying an organic, extra-virgin, cold-pressed, unrefined coconut oil to use in this recipe and others. It is solid at room temperature, so to use it as a liquid, you will need to gently heat this at a temperature no more than 118°F. To do this, simply turn your stove eye on, let it get hot, then turn it off. Then, set your coconut oil onto the warm eye in a metal pot or container and watch it melt. Use it soon before it turns solid again. Do not let it boil, since we want the oil to retain its healthy enzymes to aid in digestion. Heating above 118°F will kill those precious enzymes.

To save time, go ahead and melt all of the coconut oil that is called for in all three tiers of this recipe. This is about 1/2 cup total. Finally, if there is any left over, you can pour it back into your coconut oil container. No worries; it will turn solid again when it cools off, thus eliminating waste.

Raw Vegan Samoa Cookies

Recipe by Joann LoyCourse: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy, Medium

Servings

15

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

1

minute

Calories

234

kcal

Raw vegan Samoa cookies are such an excellent substitute for this Girl-Scout favorite. You can eat several of these and not feel guilty, because they are insanely healthy! They are also quick and easy to make!

Ingredients

• BASE COOKIE

• 1 cup raw shredded coconut

• 1 cup raw walnuts

• pinch of sea salt

• 2 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, melted on very low heat

• 2 drops liquid stevia (or 2 tbsp pure maple syrup)

• COCONUT/CARAMEL LAYER

• 8 dates

• 1 tbsp water

• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted on very low heat

• pinch of sea salt

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut

• Optional: 1 tbsp raw cacao powder boosts caramel flavor

• CHOCOLATE ICING

• 4 tbsp coconut oil, melted on very low heat

• 4 tbsp raw cacao powder

• 2 drops liquid stevia (or 2 tbsp pure maple syrup)

Directions

• BASE COOKIE: Take the first 5 ingredients
  
• Soak walnuts 12 hours or overnight and rinse well
• Blend coconut for 60 seconds
• Add nuts and salt and grind to a fine meal
• Blend in oil and stevia (or maple syrup)
• Roll between wax paper 1/4″ thick, then freeze to firm up
• Cut with a round cookie cutter
• COCONUT/CARAMEL LAYER: Take the next 6 ingredients
• Blend dates with water in a food processor
• Add oil, salt, and cacao, adding water if needed
• Blend in the coconut next
• Pat down a layer of mixture onto each cookie
• Sprinkle with shredded coconut
• CHOCOLATE ICING: Take the last 3 ingredients
• Mix together and drizzle over cookies
• Store in refrigerator or freezer

Notes

• Remember to soak the raw walnuts overnight for at least 12 hours, then rinse well to deactivate the enzyme inhibitor, which makes it extremely difficult to digest and can cause gastric distress.
• Remember to gently heat the coconut oil at a temperature no more than 118°F to keep its precious enzymes. To do this, simply turn your stove eye on, let it get hot, then turn it off. Then, set your coconut oil onto the warm eye in a metal pot or container and watch it melt. Use it soon before it turns solid again.
• To save time, go ahead and melt all of the coconut oil at one time that is called for in all three tiers of this recipe, which is about 1/2 cup total. If there is any left over, you can pour it back into your coconut oil container, since it will turn solid again when it cools off, thus eliminating waste.