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Salted Samoas Pretzel Presents. Sweet coconut caramel, sandwiched between pretzel “cookies”, then dipped, dunked, and drizzled in sweet chocolate. Every last bite has a note of vanilla with sweet coconut, and extra chocolate. Salty-sweet, and so DELICIOUS. Absolutely nothing not to love about these fun and easy Samoas inspired chocolate presents. Perfect for eating and holiday gifting.
When one idea fails, turn to another…and be presently surprised with how it turns out. Today’s post was meant to be something entirely different, but here we are with these sweet little bites of chocolate and coconut!
My original idea for today was a major fail, so I pivoted to these presents. And I could not love them more.
These cookies are inspired by the very popular Samoas Girl Scout cookies. But with my little holiday twist, that honestly, I think makes them better. It’s the pretzels, they add a nice salty crunch that keeps everyone wanting more.
These are so easy and perfect for packaging up as gifts or simply to have out at a holiday party. Great to pop in your mouth for a sweet little bite.
The base starts with a pretzel. Then add a homemade coconut caramel mix, top with another pretzel, dip into chocolate, and top with flaky sea salt. Simple and so cute.
Here are the details
Traditional Samoas cookies start out with a shortbread cookie, which is delicious, but I wanted to swap the cookies for pretzels. I love the saltiness along with the chocolate and coconut.
Next up, the coconut caramel. Melt sugar on the stove until it caramelizes, then add butter and coconut milk to create a coconut caramel sauce. Then finish it up with vanilla and sea salt.
Once the sauce is made, stir in lots of shredded toasted coconut. I prefer to use unsweetened coconut, but use what you think you’ll love the most!
Then simply sandwich the caramel mix between two pretzels, dip in the chocolate, and let the chocolate set up.
So easy and delicious.
Yummm. My mom says this recipe might be one of her favorites for the year. She’s a fan of anything with coconut and chocolate.
A couple tips for success…
Tip one, make sure the presents are thoroughly chilled before dipping them into chocolate. This is probably my biggest tip. If the presents are frozen, the chocolate will quickly set up on the bars and be easier to work with. Trust me, freeze the presents, then dip them through the melted chocolate.
Tip two, if you want a thick chocolate-coated present dip your bars once, re-freeze until set (which will only take a matter of minutes), then dip into chocolate again. This is not necessary by any means, but if you love double chocolate, do a double dip.
My initial thought was that these chocolate presents would be great for our Christmas Cookie Boxes. And they are…but they’re also great for so much more. My recommendation – keep these in the fridge all season long to quickly serve to family and friends. Or package them up as gifts and hand them off as gifts.
It’s December and we all need sweet treats! Just one thing…don’t skip that sprinkle of flaky sea salt at the end. Love a good salty-sweet, chocolate dessert.
Looking for other holiday dessert recipes? Here are my favorites:
Brown Sugar Maple Ginger Cookies
Salted Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter Blondies
Chocolate Covered Brown Butter Millionaire’s Bars
Lastly, if you make these Samoas Pretzel Presents be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Salted Pretzel Samoas Presents
Servings: 24 presents
Calories Per Serving: 258 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature, cut into chunks
- 3/4 cup canned coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean powder
- flaky sea salt
- 3 cups shredded coconut sweetened or unsweetened, toasted
- 3 cups mini waffle pretzels
- 14 ounces dark chocolate or semi-sweet, chopped
Instructions
- 1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. In a large pot, cook the sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has melted and turns a golden caramel, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add the chunks of butter, whisking until combined. Then, stir in the coconut milk. Return the pot to medium heat and cook the mixture, stirring until the caramel has thickened into a sauce, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool slightly, then stir in the vanilla and a pinch of salt. 3. Add the toasted coconut to the coconut caramel sauce and stir until coated. 4. Spoon 2 teaspoons of the coconut caramel mix onto each pretzel and then sandwich together with another pretzel, placing each on the prepared baking sheet. Freeze 15-30 minutes.5. Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Use a fork to dip each pretzel into the chocolate, letting the excess drizzle off. Place on the parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze until set, 15 minutes. Drizzle on more melted chocolate, if desired. Sprinkle the tops with sea salt.6. Store in the fridge or in a cool place for up to 2 weeks.
These are delicious! My caramel seized so I redid that. Used chocolate chips and made like 60 pieces. Needed to double the chocolate. My chocolate covering was thick so didn’t need to dip twice and most of them look pretty so looking forward to serving them. The dipping process took me awhile, but my biggest issue was keeping my husband from dipping pretzels into the chocolate while I worked. We will have 8 adults and 7 kids at Christmas so extra candy isn’t an issue! Read all the comments to help prevent some of my struggle!
Hi Emily,
Happy Friday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed. Thanks so much for making it and happy holidays!❄️ xTieghan
How did you know your caramel seized? My was smooth and stirrable during the whole process, but was hard as a rock after I put them together and covered in the chocolate.
Hi Pam,
I am so sorry to hear this! If the caramel was cooked for too long that will cause it to harden. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
I did a third of the recipe bc I didn’t have 3 cups coconut (supply chain issues!!) but… even so I ended up with a mixture far more dry and not as sticky as I thought it would be… pretty nervous as I sit here waiting for the freezer time period to be over…the mixture tastes great so I guess I’ll find a use for what’s left of it
Hey Marina,
So sorry to hear this, I think your issue could be from measurements based on not having enough coconut. Please let me know how they turn out! xTieghan
These were fantastic! I had a really difficult time turning them into little cubes as the coconut mix is pretty sticky and not easy to get to sit just right between the two pretzels, but I left them messy for their first freeze, then thawed out for a few minutes so I could shape the filling more perfectly into a box shape before dipping in the chocolate, which worked perfectly.
Hey Meredith,
Happy Friday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed. Thanks so much for making it and happy holidays!❄️ xTieghan
These looked so good, I read the reviews and tried them. First, to avoid the seizing that so many have experienced, I poured the coconut milk into a measuring cup and mixed it up then and very slowly added it. No seizing. I don’t think it offered that much coconut flavor in the end, so I would probably make a traditional caramel because it’s less temperamental and less liquid. By the way, I had the caramel on low instead of medium and the time took far less than the recipe listed. I went to get the pretzels because I had three minutes left, and the caramel burned and made a big smoke bomb in my kitchen.Batch 2 was fine. Overall, they were quite messy to make and take some time with the different steps. They do not look nearly as nice as the photos, but they probably would look better if I had dipped them twice. Even so, they taste good and are a unique Christmas gift. Small note: I experimented with different types of coconut. I would not recommend the Trader Joe’s unsweetened because the strands are very long and they stick out of the sides of the cookie. The sweetened coconut makes it just too sweet, so a different brand of unsweetened I found to be the best.
Hi Kelly,
Happy Friday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed. Thanks so much for making it and happy holidays! Thanks for sharing your feedback❄️ xTieghan
The recipe says 24 servings, how many individual pieces ? I made this and got about 60! Also it took about 30 ounces of chocolate but I dipped them twice. Enjoyed making these and they turned out great. I always enjoy your recipes!
Hi Deena,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! The recipe states 24 presents, so you should end up with 24:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
My caramel sauce was gorgeous until I added the full fat coconut milk. At that point it “broke” or separated. I did this all off heat as instructed. I placed it back over medium heat and stirred and whisked like crazy. It finally came back together but never really thickened. Despite this, these are delicious and I can’t keep my family out of them!
For those having issues with their chocolate, I used Ghirardelli’s 72% dark chocolate chips. Microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring well and repeating until melted. This worked perfectly.
Hey Andrea,
Awesome! Love to hear that you liked the recipe, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Happy Holidays! xx
Mine turned out great but my chocolate coating doesn’t look as nice as the picture. Do you just dunk them in or spread it with something? They might not be pretty but they are delicious!
Hey Lisa,
Awesome! Love to hear that you liked the recipe, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Yes, I just drop them in a bowl of chocolate and use a spoon to remove them. It’s important to use a chocolate bar, they melt better than chocolate chips. Happy Holidays! xx
Please help!!
What chocolate did you use?
I’m having problems with my chocolate I bough it Costco
Thank you
Hi Dolores,
I always use chocolate bars, I love Chocolove and Lindt. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Delicious, as always 🙂 My caramel hardened like others have said, so I added about a 1/4 cup water to the mixture, brought it to a boil, and dissolved the hardened portion that way. Breaking it down with the spoon and stirring constantly. Thanks for the great recipes!
Hey Erin,
Awesome! Love to hear that you liked the recipe, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Happy Holidays! xx
I substituted monk fruit for sugar, a salted vegan butter, canned coconut condensed milk in place of canned coconut milk, and paleo pretzel chips in place of the pretzels (they were thinner), and these were a big hit!
Love all your recipes, Tieghan!
Hey Grace,
Awesome! Love to hear that you liked the recipe, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Happy Holidays! xx
Can I substitute coconut cream for the coconut milk? It’s what I have on hand 🙂
Hi Christine,
Yes, that should also work well for you! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
I doubled the recipe to give as gifts, but I may keep them all for myself! I have to say I was doubtful when I was cooking the coconut milk/butter/sugar mixture. It took forever to thicken – about 20 minutes. But I just kept stirring and hoping it didn’t burn and it thickened eventually. I was doubtful again when I tried to put them together with the pretzels. I just wet my hands and compressed it all together and it worked. Although I would rate this recipe as intermediate level, the results were totally worth the extra work.
Hi Becca,
Awesome! Love to hear that you liked the recipe, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Happy Holidays! xx
I thought I saw a video of you making these the other day. Is it saved somewhere or was it just an insta story? Plan to make these in a few days 🙂
Hi Heather,
So sorry, that was only on IG. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know how they turn out! xTieghan
Tieghan can you please save your videos as instagram highlights the way you used to? they were soooooo helpful
Hi Andrea,
I will try to start saving some, it tends to get overwhelming with all of the recipes! xTieghan
Absolutely wonderful! I quickly hid the majority because my family gobbled a dozen within the first 24 hours! How long do you think these will last in the fridge?
Thanks!
Omg just saw the very last line! Two weeks! Thanks!
Hey Lauren,
Awesome! Love to hear that you liked the recipe, thanks a bunch for trying it out! 2 weeks in the fridge:) Happy Holidays! xx
Didn’t work out 3 tries and sugar and butter and coconut milk didn’t combine complete mess is recipe wrong?
Hi Patty,
Sorry to hear you are having issues, the recipe is correct. My guess is you are cooking too quickly and on too high of heat. You need to use a medium size pot and go medium heat and be patient with it. Let it melt around the edges then, stir and let it melt again. I only stir it 3-4 times probably. Just take is slow and never get too high with the heat. I hope this helps! xTieghan
I had the same issue. It took forever for the sugar to melt. It would not melt on low heat so I had to raise it a little (gas cooktop). When I added the butter, it seized up immediately and adding the coconut milk was impossible. And I tried it twice, the second time with lower temperature and the same thing happened. I SO wanted to make these. Lol. I wish I had looked at your video on IG to get an idea of what to look for. I think we need an instructional video on melting sugar and making a syrup.
Hey Sonia,
So sorry you had issues here. You really want to melt the sugar on medium heat, I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
These are delicious! I’ll definitely be making them again. They are a little messy, and mine are not quite as pretty as yours, but the folks at work gobbled them up! I found that dark chocolate chunks melted perfectly in the microwave for this recipe. I was a little worried about the coconut milk as it is a little lumpy out of the can, but it cooks down nicely.
Hey Jennifer,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan