After such great success with the homemade samoas, I couldn't wait to try another homemade version of a girl scout cookie. We've actually since received our cookie order, which included tagalongs. The purchased box sat hidden in our pantry (out of sight, out of mind, right?) and instead of digging into those, I just went and made an entire batch of the homemade version. So much for staying away I guess!
The homemade version is rather similar to what you'll find in the red box; the shortbread is slightly softer and richer, a good thing, in my opinion. My cookies were a little light on the peanut butter. Next time, I'll add a much thicker swab of peanut butter to the top of each cookie. Clearly, mine were not as neatly covered in chocolate, but I think they deserve some points for authenticity! I started out dipping each cookie using tongs, but it proved to be much faster and easier (though also much messier!) to just use my fingers to dip each one. I started to run out of almond bark and could only dip the tops and sides of some of the cookies, which is why the picture above shows some shortbread peeking through. I only had half of a package of bark on hand so you may want to melt some extra if you want yours fully covered.
These were popular with everyone I shared them with. Who doesn't love tagalongs (or, as I grew up calling them, a peanut butter patties!)?! I'm on a Girl Scout cookie roll here! Any suggestions as to which cookie to try next? I'm thinking thin mints...
One Year Ago: Cajun Tilapia with Polenta and Peppers
Homemade Tagalongs
from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen
Ingredients:
-2 cold sticks salted butter (I used unsalted)
-2 1/2 cups flour
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 large egg
-1/2 cup peanut butter
-chocolate almond bark
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor, mix flour and sugar. Cut in butter until ingredients are well combined. Mix in an egg (if you cut the butter in by hand, use a hand mixer to beat the egg, otherwise you can do this step in the food processor) until a soft dough forms.
3. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Lay on prepared baking sheets, one inch apart from each other. Flatten (1/8-1/4 inch thickness) using a glass dipped in flour. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until cookie edges are golden (mine took 20 minutes and still didn't look golden but I removed them at that time).
4. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Once cool, spread peanut butter on top of each cookie. Melt chocolate according to directions and dip each cookie--peanut butter side down--until covered in chocolate. Place cookies, right side up, on wax paper to harden. Place baking sheets in refrigerator to harden more quickly if desired.
