Copycat Tagalongs Cookie Bar recipe
If you love this classic peanut butter patty, you are going to flip for this homemade version.
This Copycat Tagalongs Cookie Bar is perfect for any peanut butter and chocolate lover.
I love and hate myself for making these homemade copycat Tagalong Cookie Bars. You see, every January when the Girl Scouts start making their rounds for cookie orders, my husband has always been one to WAY over order. By March our freezer is usually stocked full of Thin Mints, Trefoils, Do-Si-Do’s and lots and lots of Tagalongs!
Tagalongs, peanut butter patties with a shortbread crust and thick chocolate coating, is by far the favorite cookie at our house…….so much so, we actually named one of our dogs Tagalong, or Tag for short. Now that’s love isn’t it? lol I mean who names a dog after a cookie? Tagalong cookie lovers! that’s who!! (RIP Tag, we miss and talk about you all the time)
The last year or two, we managed not to stock our freezer, and just picked up a few boxes from the troops selling them in front of gas station and Wal-Mart. So what’s a girl to do when she her family wants their favorite cookie and there aren’t any in the house?…….Well, this desperate girl made her own! That’s the kind of Mom I am, you know…..I did it all for my family 😉 (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it)
Say goodbye to your self control! Don’t let their innocence fool you. These copycat tagalong cookie bars should come with a warning label. Something like… warning: you may eat the entire pan.
Making our favorite cookie into a bar cookie makes these SO easy. They are almost no bake. Meaning you only bake the shortbread crust layer for about 12 minutes…..the other two layers are just hand mixed and poured over top.
These cookie bars are full of texture and everything you want in a good bar recipe.
The soft buttery shortbread is perfect! not too dry, but perfectly soft and tender. (secretly……..it’s my favorite layer) It’s pressed into a square baking pan and baked.
The creamy peanut butter layer is fluffy thanks to the powdered sugar mixed into the peanut butter along with a little vanilla and spread over the shortbread.
And finally, the chocolate layer ties it all together. Tagalongs have milk chocolate coating, but I prefer semi-sweet, so you can use either. I added just a little shortening to help it spread easier and prevent cracking when I cut the bars. Then I sprinkled the copycat tagalongs with just a little sea salt to really pull out the chocolate flavor!
If you love this classic cookie as much as we do, I’ll bet you’re going to flip for these homemade copycat tagalongs!
If you are on a diet, I’m sorry. Please do yourself a favor and step away from the computer. The soft buttery shortbread topped with creamy peanut butter covered in chocolate is hypnotizing.
If being obsessed with Tagalong cookies is wrong, then we don’t want to be right 😉
What’s your favorite Girl Scout Cookie?
Copycat Tagalongs Cookie Bars
Ingredients:
Shortbread Crust
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Filling
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Layer
9-11 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons shortening
sea salt (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8 or 9x9 square baking pan with aluminum foil leaving overhang, spray with cooking spray and set aside.
Shortbread Crust - Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl, cutting in the butter with a pastry cutter or wooden spoon until a crumbly mixture forms. Transfer dough to prepared pan and press dough into the prepared pan, using your fingertips. Randomly pierce crust with a fork about a dozen times so steam can escape while it bakes. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until barely set, not golden. Crust should still be white, but crusted over. While crust bakes, make the filling.
Peanut Butter Filling - Combine all 4 ingredients in medium bowl and stir until smooth. Spread over crust while crust is still warm. The thick filling will be easier to spread over a warm crust. Go slow and either push it into place with a spatula or your fingers, taking care not to rip the crust while spreading the peanut butter filling.
Chocolate Layer - Combine the chocolate and shortening in a medium microwave-safe bowl and heat to melt, at 30 second intervals, stopping to stir each time until mixture can be stirred smooth. Pour chocolate over peanut butter layer.
Cover pan with aluminum foil, and place pan in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or overnight. After bars have set, lift out of pan with foil overhang, lightly sprinkle with sea salt, if desired and slice to serve. If bars have become very cold, allow them to come up to room temperature for a few minutes before slicing. We stored the bars in the refrigerator. They will keep for at least 10 days (if they last that long), or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
recipe slightly adapted from Averie Cooks
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May I just ignore the warning about eating the whole pan? Because that’s definitely happening! These look fantastic!
Oh my glorious deliciousness! You had me at Tag-a-long! I am totally making these this week (and I promise to only blame you my sweet friend, when my jeans no longer fit!) 😉
Anything with peanut butter and chocolate is an instant winner in my books – I love the salty & sweet combination. These tagalong bars look and sound delicious!
These look insanely good! The Girl Scouts got me on my way out of the grocery store the other day and I picked up my annual box of Samoas 🙂
Oh my goodness I am drooling! They look and sound amazing!! HAHA Cute name for the dog….we used to have a cat named Biscuit. LOL!
Cheryl, omg these look so delicious!!
Thank you for this splendor Cheryl, go to myr favorite recipes immediately!!!
Do these bars HAVE to be refrigerated? I was hoping to bring these to work for my co-teachers and keep them in my classroom. The fridge is a long walk from my room….
they should be fine sitting out a few hours, they will just not be as firm
These bars look amazing Cheryl!
These look completely outrageously yummy!!!!
I just want to reach in and grab one! and YES, i probably would try to eat the entire pan!
I’m secretly hoping these copycat Tagalongs disappoint me!!!! I might (or might not have) already eaten 4 (yes, FOUR) boxes of Tagalong since they were delivered to me on Sunday. I’m glad they’re gone!!!!
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So stunningly beautiful – the chocolate just beckons! Thanks for creating such a masterpiece of sweet and savory.
I made these for The Big Man for Valentines Day, as his favourite GS cookies are Tagalongs. Very easy to make, tasted great. My shortbread came out very crumbly though. Will definitely make again, as whole family enjoyed them. Thank you for a great recipe.
I’m trying to come up with a good excuse for making these because they’re not actually diet food, but the look so good. 🙂
I love you for making these … hate you at the same time 😉 I pinned it and hate myself for doing that too, lol 🙂 My Girl Scout cookie order has not been delivered yet … guess I’ll be using your recipe today!
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Holy Chocolate and Peanut Butter! These Tagalongs sound amazing and look scrumptious! Thanks for a fantastic way to enjoy my favorite flavors!
Just look at the layers these cookies have got!I can’t wait to try this recipe!Definitely kids will love it!
Just made these. Amazing but I had same issue as another commenter. The shortbread is really crumbly. Any suggestions for next time? Thanks.
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I added an egg and left the cornstarch out. It won’t be crumbly, and hopefully still a good effect!
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Is there something else i can use in place of shortening?