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Thick and chewy these Cowboy Cookies are packed with flavor and texture. Shredded coconut, chocolate chips and pecans are packed into these brown sugar sweetened oatmeal cookies. So good you’ll want to eat the entire batch!
Cookies are one of our favorite desserts, especially when they’re thick chocolate chip cookies, or loaded up cookies like our Brown Butter Chocolate chip cookies which have bits of toffee and pretzels in them. These Cowboy Cookies fit right in!
These cookies have a chewy texture thanks to the addition of oats, plus they’re packed with coconut, chocolate chips, and pecans.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- All-Purpose Flour: For a gluten-free version, you can substitute it with a 1:1 gluten-free flour mix.
- Butter: The cowboy cookie recipe is written using unsalted butter. Adjust the amount of salt if you use a salted butter.
- Rolled Oats: Also known as Old Fashioned Oats, these are oats that have been flattened. I don’t recommend substituting with another type of oatmeal such as quick oats or steel cut oats as this will change the texture of the cookie.
- Unsweetened Coconut Flakes: You can use either unsweetened or sweetened coconut flakes in this recipe. You can also leave out the coconut for allergen or personal preference reasons.
- Chocolate Chips: Use your favorite kind of chocolate- semi-sweet, milk or dark chocolate, or chop up chocolate bars for chunks.
- Pecans: Walnuts are a great substitution, or leave out if needed.
how to make Cowboy Cookies
Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium size mixing bowl cream together the butter with the white and light brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
To the same bowl add the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix together until dough forms.
Fold in the coconut flakes, chocolate chips and chopped pecans.
Using a cookie scoop, scoop even amounts of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are just lightly browning. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, remove to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Continue baking the dough until all cookies are made, recipe makes approximately 24 cookies.
Store
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.
Freeze
After baking, allow the cookies to cool completely, then transfer to a bag or airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can also freeze the dough by scooping the dough and placing on a baking sheet. Freeze this overnight and then remove the cookie dough to a large bag and store in the freezer until ready to bake.
Cowboy Cookie FAQs
The origin is uncertain, but it’s thought they come from the state of Texas and were a favorite of cowboys due to their ability to store in their saddlebags for days at a time.
Flat cookies can happen if you’re baking too hot or if your butter is too soft. If you find the cookies spreading too much, try chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes, then try another batch.
This can happen if you switched the oatmeal used, be sure you are using rolled oats. Also, if you have a kitchen scale, use the weight measurement given for the flour to ensure you are not adding more than needed.
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Cowboy Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup white sugar (100 g)
- ½ cup light brown sugar (100 g)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour (130 g)
- 1 cup rolled oats (115 g)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium size mixing bowl cream together the butter with the white and light brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
- To the same bowl add the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix together until dough forms.
- Fold in the coconut flakes, chocolate chips and chopped pecans.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop even amounts of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are just lightly browning.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, remove to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Continue baking the dough until all cookies are made, recipe makes approximately 24 cookies.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.
Notes
- All-Purpose Flour: For a gluten-free version, you can substitute it with a 1:1 gluten-free flour mix.
- Butter: The cowboy cookie recipe is written using unsalted butter. Adjust the amount of salt if you use a salted butter.
- Rolled Oats: Also known as Old Fashioned Oats, these are oats that have been flattened. I don’t recommend substituting with another type of oatmeal such as quick oats or steel cut oats as this will change the texture of the cookie.
- Unsweetened Coconut Flakes: You can use either unsweetened or sweetened coconut flakes in this recipe. You can also leave out the coconut for allergen or personal preference reasons.
- Chocolate Chips: Use your favorite kind of chocolate- semi-sweet, milk or dark chocolate, or chop up chocolate bars for chunks.
- Pecans: Walnuts are a great substitution, or leave out if needed.
- Storage: Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.
- Freezer: After baking, allow the cookies to cool completely, then transfer to a bag or airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can also freeze the dough by scooping the dough and placing on a baking sheet. Freeze this overnight and then remove the cookie dough to a large bag and store in the freezer until ready to bake.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by KJandCompany.co
