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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.
Hiiii HBH friends! So I was super apprehensive to make these because of the reviews but let me tell you this recipe does not disappoint – it just takes a lot of Time and patience! I highly recommend making these when you a few hours to spare. I had no issues making these into squares or freezing them – I followed the recipe exactly as written! I totally recommend giving these a try.
Hi Gabrielle,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! Happy Holidays!?? xTieghan
They taste great, but what a mess. I will add this was my first time ever making caramel so I was a total newb. That said, it basically worked as described other than that assembly of the coconut caramel onto the pretzels is a giant mess and not that easy. I doubled the recipe up front (oh my confidence!), so half way through attempting to plop sticky af (yet still falling apart) coconut caramel onto pretzels was OVER IT. Took the other half of the coconut mix and dumped in the bag of pretzels, mixed it up (this caramel corn or crispy treats consistency), and “spread” (disbursed?) the mix onto plates, froze those, drizzled with some melted chocolate and broke up like brittle. Still tastes great, although not as pretty, but I could only dedicate so much of my life to this project. Ha. Again, taste great. Love HBH recipes overall! Xoxo
Hey Darcy,
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and giving the recipe a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Let me start off by saying I have made many of your recipes and I have loved them all. I was skeptical of making this recipe because of the comments. I went ahead and made it anyway and this is what I did different.
I need to cook my sugar a little bit longer but it melted nicely. I also looked at other caramel recipes that were made with coconut milk and they all said simmer on low for about an hour, and it depends on the fat content of your coconut milk as to how long to simmer stirring occasionally. My caramel thicker up beautifully just too a lot longer. Don’t give up people!!
Thank you!! I came here to see if it would take longer than 8 min it’s still so liquid I won’t give up!
Hi Jessie,
So sorry, what do you mean? It should still be liquid:) xTieghan
Yes! It just had the consistency of water after 8 min didn’t thicken like a sauce for about half an hour – turned out really well so I’m making again but with half milk and half dark choc cuz I’m not a semi sweet fan wish me luck!
Awesome!
Hi Tina,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! Happy Holidays!?? xTieghan
Tieghan, big fan, and love all your stuff on IG. These were a HUGE hit with the pretzel trays I brought into work, and we’ve all determined they are too good to enjoy only in December. These are going into an annual holiday rotation going forward, if not off and on through the colder months. Thank you
John
* Christmas cookie trays w/ these pretzel treats
Hey John,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Thanks so much for your kind message. Happy Holidays!??
Listen. These are going to be delicious. Let’s be clear. Tiegan’s recipes are SO easy to follow, including this one, HOWEVER these are in NO shape to be given in any sort of gift box. I froze these mother effing things for half a day before dipping and they STILL fell apart while dipping. I’m going to end up using almost twice as much chocolate to dip them in because it just will not dip properly. There’s effing caramel coconut everywhere (including a bunch randomly in my mouth) and these just keep getting worse looking the more I dip them. I’m not even sure I’m going to dip them all because they look like absolute shit. If there’s any pointers about dipping shit in chocolate, I’m ALL for pointers. I bought fancy dipping tools and really good chocolate, not some crap. I’m a little heated at the process here, but they sure are delicious. Do with that what you will!
Hey there,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
These turned out delicious, but I had a few struggles.
When adding the coconut milk, the caramel completely hardened into a big clump. It took some time to melt in and smooth out.
Adding a teaspoon or two of filling was WAY too much. Using just a teaspoon, I ended up with 40 candies that were way taller than the pictures. I ended up redoing them. Fortunately, the filling is flexible and allowed for this. Try starting out with 2/3 to 3/4 teaspoon.
I put butter on my fingers to mold the filling, this was a great help as, prior to the butter, they were sticking like crazy. Instead of just dropping the filling, I put them into a little ball before placing them on the pretzel. Way neater!
I forgot to add the sea salt before putting them in the fridge. Definitely add the salt before they harden. I remembered not too long after and was able to press it in carefully.
I had finely shredded coconut and would add a little less next time as the filling was a little dryer. A regular shred probably is okay as listed.
After dipping, put the candies on some sort of rack where the chocolate can drip through. This allows for the bottom to stay coated. Remove from the rack before completely hard as it will be easier and they will not break.
Hi April,
Awesome! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it. Thanks for sharing what worked well for you. Happy Holidays!❄️ xT
This recipe tastes amazing! I did not dip the entire piece of candy in chocolate. I left about 1/2 of it exposed. It was still plenty of chocolate. Mine didn’t look as pretty as yours but tastes outstanding.
My husband loves the Samoa Girl Scout cookies. This treat is wonderful!
Highly recommend that you try it!
Hey there,
Awesome! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it. Happy Holidays!❄️ xT
ok so the reviews I read before embarking on this little recipe adventure, gave me pause. But, I’m glad I pressed on.
1. making the caramel is the least difficult part of this recipe.. bring a little patience and you’ll be fine.
2. toasting the coconut – not bad – threw it in the toaster oven a couple minutes – done!
3. now…. assembling haha tip one let the mixture cool a bit it’s less tacky. spray a little pile of coconut cooking spray on your work space somewhere, anywhere, and dab your fingers in it as you assemble the sticky filling! also line up a few pretzels at a time, dump your filling on each one come back and top them and then dab spray on your fingers and literally mold them between your index fingers simply press the filling into the edges neatly, kind of like an assembly line. Soooo cute. Yes you gotta work to make these but they turn out so pretty and taste AMAZING!!! adding to Christmas treat platters now. Thanks Tieghan
Hi Robin,
Awesome! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it. Thanks for sharing what worked well for you. Happy Holidays!❄️ xT
Followed the directions exactly, had no issues during cooking. However, when I when to eat them, they were rock hard! Definitely not chewy. The caramel was sticky and gooey when I added the coconut, and stayed sticky during construction. Any ideas what happened?? I wish so bad they were chewy! I could barely eat them ?
Hi Vicki,
Oh no!! That is so weird! You may have cooked the caramel for too long. So sorry! xTieghan
I had the same experience! So hard I couldn’t eat them. Another chef friend suggested adding the fat (coconut fat from can) while heating the sugar to ensure a softer caramel in the end. I followed the steps well, even cooked in a Dutch oven to ensure I wouldn’t burn the caramel…
Hi Pam,
If the caramel cooks for too long that’s what will cause it to harden. Please let me know how I can help again! xTieghan
I love the whole concept of this recipe and I applaud Half Baked Harvest for making the prettiest chocolates that I aspire to one day accomplish at least once.
For the average, occasional baker, listen up.
The 45 minutes total time listed for this recipe is completely an underestimate. Unless you’re a baking whiz who can also assemble sticky coconut with pretzels and shape them into nice rectangular prisms in LIGHTNING speed, you should budget at LEAST a few hours (especially if you aren’t familiar with making caramel AND if you are toasting your own coconut).
Similar to another review, I ended up with around 60 packages. I didn’t even have the full 3 cups of coconut. I had a little less than 2 cups LOL. Not sure how this went so wrong. I used two teaspoons of coconut mixture per package….was I supposed to pack the coconut to make a giant package?
Overall this was super tasty and creative but was it worth the amount of time it took? Probably not. If you want to avoid the stress of creating tiny little packages and making caramel, I suggest you eat your bag of pretzels with a handful of coconut and it will taste just as great.
Again, I mean no hate. I love HBH recipes but just being real!
Hey Victoria! Thank you so much for your feedback and comments. I will take a look at the recipe and make some adjustments to the times. It sounds like I just made my presents a little bigger in size than you. So sorry for any trouble or frustration you may have had. Glad you did enjoy these. happy holidays ☃️??
I made these last night- for everyone that has trouble with the caramel sauce (or just don’t feel like making it), I used a shortcut that worked really well. Instead of making the caramel sauce from scratch, I used one 13.4 oz can of Dulce de Leche and 2 cups of unsweetened toasted coconut (I used Bob’s Red Mill). Warmed the Dulce de Leche in a saucepan until it loosened up, then added the coconut and let cool slightly. I used a standard cookie scoop and the consistency was sticky but easy to release onto the pretzel base (and also easy to mold around the pretzels), and I had just enough filling for 24 treats. After refrigeration I used Ghiradelli’s dark melting wafers for dipping, and they turned out great!
Just made the recipe. They came out looking gorgeous, and I’m definitely adding this recipe to my yearly Christmas rotation.
One important point- WARM UP THE COCONUT MILK BEFORE ADDING IT TO THE MIX- when I added room temperature coconut milk, it caused the caramel mix to completely harden, and it took nearly 30 minutes for it to properly liquefy again. Other than that, and the fact that I needed about double the chocolate that it called for, everything was perfect! Wish I could attach a picture.
Hey Annah,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed. Happy Holidays!? xx
Hey Samantha,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed. Thanks for sharing what worked well for you. Happy Holidays!? xx
I made these today and they are delicious! Any tips on making the chocolate look neater? Mine are definitely not as pretty as yours.
Hey Rachel,
Fantastic! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! I like to use a chocolate bar for melting, I find it melts much smoother than chocolate chips. Happy Holidays!? xx
Don’t know what your original idea was that “failed,” but these are absolutely fantastic!! Far and away my favorite on a plateful of Christmas treats. I was very apprehensive about the steps in this recipe, especially the melting of sugar, but following your very detailed instructions made it a cinch! Thanks so much for sharing your creativity with all of us. Merry Christmas!
Hey Janet,
Fantastic! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!? xx
I made these last night and they turned out great!
My first batch of caramel seized. On my second attempt of making caramel, I used a wider pan, turned the heat to low, and made sure not to stir the mixture during the caramelization process. This worked much better for me.
I melted the chocolate in a double boiler and used two fondue forks to maneuver the presents in the chocolate. (The fondue forks were great as their small tines fit snugly in the waffles of the pretzels making it easier to pick up and handle the presents.)
These were a bit more time consuming than I had planned (thanks in part to having to make a second batch of caramel. LOL) But I was very pleased with the end results.
Now, I’m getting ready to tackle the Snicker Doodles for a party tonight!
Thanks for all the great recipes! I love your cookbooks as well!
Hey Cheryl,
Fantastic! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!? xx
I have a bunch of heavy whipping cream I want to use up. Do you think I could use that instead of coconut milk? Thanks!
Hi Juliana,
That will work, you just won’t get the hint of coconut flavors:) Please let me know if you give the recipe a try! xTieghan