These easy-to-make Keto Tagalong Bars taste just like the original Girl Scout Cookie! You won’t believe they are low carb and sugar-free.
Way way back, in the early days of dreaming up low carb recipes, I created some peanut butter shortbread bars. And it took me by surprise, how good they were. Everything came together just perfectly.
My husband took one bite and said they tasted like his favorite Girl Scout cookies, Tagalongs. I was absolutely thrilled with such a comparison. And we made them frequently for a few months.
But as a recipe creator is wont to do, I moved on to make many other wonderful keto cookies and cookie bars. I perfected my Keto Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I created some gorgeous Salted Caramel Bars. And I conquered the perfect texture for Keto Shortbread Cookies.
I all but forgot my lovely Tagalong Bars in the meantime. Until now!
Why you need these in your life
If you find it difficult to resist the siren’s call of Girl Scout Cookies, then this recipe is for you! They are a delicious sugar-free copycat of the famous Tagalong Cookies.
But unlike individual cookies, these bars are remarkably easy to make. You press the crust into a pan and bake it. You make an easy peanut butter filling and pour it over. Then you melt some sugar-free chocolate and spread it on top. Done, finished, finito!
I actually have a recipe for Keto Tagalong Cookies as well and I love them. But they are definitely more time consuming.
And these bars have just a fraction of the carbs compared to real Girl Scout Cookies. Only 4.1g net carbs per serving!
Ingredients you need
- Almond flour: A good fine almond flour makes the best shortbread crust. I do not recommend coconut flour here. But if you can’t eat almonds, you can try sunflower seed flour.
- Sweetener: I recommend an erythritol based sweetener for the crust, such as Swerve Granular. Don’t use allulose or BochaSweet, as they will prevent the crust from crisping up. You will need a confectioner’s style sweetener for the filling.
- Butter: Good shortbread crusts always use butter!
- Peanut butter: I use a good creamy natural peanut butter like Santa Cruz. They have a no-stir version that means you can just scoop it and measure it out.
- Heavy cream: Heavy cream helps create a delicious peanut butter filling with a frosting-like consistency.
- Caramel or vanilla extract: Vanilla extract is an easy pantry staple. But if you can get your hands on some caramel extract, it adds amazing flavor!
- Sugar free chocolate: ChocZero is one of my favorite brands and you can use the dark chocolate or milk chocolate chips for these bars. Also use FOODDREAMER for 10% off your order!
Step by Step Directions
1. Prepare the shortbread crust: Combine the almond flour, sweetener, and salt in a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Sprinkle the butter pieces overtop and continue to pulse until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
2. Bake the crust: Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of a greased 8×8 inch baking pan and bake at 350ºF for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove and let cool.
3. Make the peanut butter filling: In a microwave safe bowl, combine the peanut butter and butter and cook until melted and it can be stirred together. You can also do this in a pan on the stove over very low heat. Stir in the powdered sweetener until well combined and then whisk in the cream and the extract.
4. Spread over the crust: Pour the mixture over cooled crust and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Refrigerate until set, about 20 minutes.
5. Make the topping: In a microwave safe bowl, combine the chopped chocolate and the butter. Heat on high in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until smooth. Be careful not to overheat and make your chocolate seize.
6. Spread over the filling: Spread over the chilled filling. Return to the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set the chocolate.
Expert tips
While almond flour makes the crust more like real shortbread, you can use other nut or seed flours for these bars. It won’t be as fine looking, and you may need a little additional butter to help it hold together better. I do not recommend coconut flour for a crust like this.
Many natural peanut butters don’t contain any salt. If you use unsalted butter and unsalted peanut butter, you may want to add ¼ teaspoon fine salt to the filling. It will bring out the sweetness more.
Melt the chocolate carefully in the microwave, in short increments. But you can also do it in a pan over very low heat. I like to use the same bowl or pan I did the peanut butter filling in so there are fewer dishes to wash at the end!
Frequently Asked Questions
Tagalong cookies are a popular treat sold by American Girl Scouts. They feature a shortbread cookie covered in chocolate, with a sweetened peanut butter filling. They are also known as Peanut Butter Patties.
Conventional Tagalongs have 13g of carbs per serving. These Keto Tagalong Bars have only 6.8g carbs and 2.7g fiber per serving. So they have a net carb count of 4.1g.
You can store the bars on the counter in a covered container for up to 4 days, or in the fridge for up to 8 days. They can also be frozen for several months.
More Girl Scout Inspired Recipes
Keto Tagalong Bars Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ¼ cups almond flour
- ⅓ cup Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butter chilled and cut into small pieces
Peanut Butter Caramel Filling
- ⅔ cup creamy natural peanut butter
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon caramel extract can use vanilla extract
Chocolate Topping
- 3 ½ ounces dark chocolate chips, sugar-free
- 2 tablespoon butter
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and lightly grease an 8×8 inch metal baking pan.
- Combine the almond flour, sweetener, and salt in a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Sprinkle the butter pieces overtop and continue to pulse until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
- Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan pan and bake 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove and let cool.
Peanut Butter Filling
- In a microwave safe bowl, combine the peanut butter and butter and cook until melted and it can be stirred together. You can also do this in a pan on the stove over very low heat.
- Stir in the powdered sweetener until well combined and then whisk in the cream and the extract. Pour over cooled crust and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Refrigerate until set, about 20 minutes.
Chocolate Topping
- In a microwave safe bowl, combine the chopped chocolate and the butter (you can use the same bowl or pan from the peanut butter mixture).
- Heat on high in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until smooth. Be careful not to overheat and make your chocolate seize.
- Spread over the chilled filling. Return to the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set the chocolate.
Dawn says
SO easy and so tasty!
Jessica says
AMAZING!!! So delicious! Everyone asked me for the recipe. Especially people not on low carb sugar free diets!
Denise Hewer says
I need to bring a dessert to a church meeting. Can this recipe be doubled and baked in a 9×13 pan? This recipe looks amazing!
Carolyn says
Yes but keep in mind that a 9×13 isn’t quite double the size of an 8×8 so it will be a tiny bit deeper. It should still cook almost the same, though.
Sarag says
With Waitrose Salted Caramel extract, they were just like millionaires shortbread…..amazing!
I haven’t made another batch for a while, been trying out other delights!
Angie says
These were great! And so simple to make, even with the three different layers. Definitely a keeper.
Marguerite O says
My non-Keto husband declared these bars the best low carb desert I’ve made yet. Well, we just moved to an apt & somehow both my kitchen scales went to storage. Not wanting to wait to make these again, in desperation, I googled “3 oz chocolate chips to cups.” And there was actually a chart on CookItSimply: 3.1 oz of chocolate chips is ½ cup. Just thought I’d share for those, like me, without a scale for what ever reason. Because nothing should get between your readers and his/her Tagalong Bars. ????
Lynn says
I have a question…lets say you couldn’t eat peanut butter…could you just leave out the peanut butter? Is there another filling I could use?
Carolyn says
Some other nut butter.
April says
Should I use unsalted or salted butter?
Carolyn says
Your preference. I use salted but I have a high tolerance for salt.
Peggy says
Hi Carolyn,
I think you need to make t-shirts and sell them with the slogan “It’s no longer Low-Carb if you eat the whole pan”! I need to remember that, but your recipes are just too delicious to eat just one!
Peggy
Deb says
Hi: I imported this into Carbmaster and it came up with 17 total carbs and 15 net?? Wondering why there is such a difference between their calculations and yours?
Carolyn says
Because it’s counting the erythritol, which has zero carb impact and should not be counted at all. There is a nutritional disclaimer at the bottom of my post which explains this.
Xtina K says
These are legit! I can’t eat peanuts, so I used smooth almond butter instead, and omitted the cream from that layer due to the difference in consistency. They came out perfectly. Thank you for this fantastic recipe!
Blanca says
YOU ARE THE BEST!!! This recipe is sooo delicious, I’m in love.
Marsha says
I’m getting 18 carbs per bar for this recipe. Are you doing a version of net carbs for the macros? They look yummy! Would one have to use stevia instead to keep the carbs low?
Carolyn says
You’re counting the erythritol which has zero carb impact. I have a very clear nutritional disclaimer at the bottom of each post.
Hope says
My husband actually walked in the door with a box of Tagalongs as I was making these. I tried a cookie and these bars for a side-by-side comparison and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this version so much more!
Carolyn says
A taste test! That’s wonderful to hear!
Jamie says
Hi Carolyn. These Tagalong bars are delicious! I’m so happy I have come across your blog. One question: Does your crust stick together well? If mine didn’t, might you have an idea why? Should I have baked it longer or something? I froze mine just to try to keep the crust together better and to make cutting them easier, and it did help.
Thanks so much!
~ Jamie (from Ottawa, Canada)
Carolyn says
Difference in almond flour is my guess. Try adding a little more butter. My crust stayed together very well.
Emily says
Thanks for the great recipe!! Tagalongs were always my fav GS cookie. I just made these and am currently in the torturous state of having to wait for them to cool. I can’t wait to get your next dessert cookbook! I made your taco pie earlier today and had leftover blueberry coconut waffles this morning, so it’s been all Carolyn recipes in my house today.
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Luanne Liguori says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made these yesterday and they came out exactly like your photo and are delicious. The recipe was easy and didn’t take long. I enjoyed them so much, I made your Samoas Bars today. Both filled the void of a low carb dieter who can’t eat GS cookies anymore. I really enjoy your blog and have made a few other recipes. Good Job!
Jkim says
Did I miss the fiber amount? I don’t see it, just the 6.1 total carbs. That sounds high to me, too.
Allyn Bamberger says
I made these yesterday, and they are by far the best sweet low carb recipe I have ever made! The crust is crunchy and sweet, and the peanut butter layer is just too delicious. I wondered how well the unsweetened chocolate ganache would taste, but it is PERFECT! My question is, is the carb count on the nutritional info the NET CARBS? If so, it is kind of high, but they are so delicious that they are worth making every now and then. I am trying to keep my daily carbs at 30 gr. or less.
Carolyn says
No, it’s total carbs. That’s why the fiber is also listed.
Sandy Glynn says
The recipe is super easy but takes a bit of time (cooling and setting). Hubby has a sweet tooth and one of these more than satisfies without being too sweet. It fills a void in the no sugar department. I added a bit of coconut oil to the peanut butter mixture as my pb was a bit dry (hubby eats pb by teaspoon when needing ‘something’ without stirring completely). I would equate this more to an adult peanut butter cup (we don’t know tagalong in our area of Canada). Try it, you’ll like it!