Cowboy Cookies – crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these Cowboy Cookies are filled with chocolate chips, oats, toasted coconut and toasted pecans.
Best Ever Cowboy Cookies
I love an easy, quick-to-whip-up dessert and cookies always fit the bill! I’m a sucker for chocolate chip cookies, but decided to level up my Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies and turn them into Cowboy Cookies.
What Are Cowboy Cookies?
While the origins of a Cowboy Cookie are not entirely known (some say cowboys were eating something similar in the 1800s while out on the trail), they were made popular by former First Lady Laura Bush. Back in 1992, Family Circle magazine started a political bake-off during election year, where presidential candidates released family recipes during their campaign. To up the ante, Family Circle asked the wives of each candidate to submit recipes and then readers baked both and voted for their favorite. The results of the bake-off almost always predicted the winner of the election too!
In 2000, Laura Bush debuted her Cowboy Cookies, beating out Tipper Gore’s gingersnap cookie recipe. These oat-filled, pecan-filled, coconut-filled chocolate chip cookies have been a crowd favorite ever since.
How Do You Make Cowboy Cookies?
To create my Cowboy Cookie recipe, I started with my Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. To account for the oats, pecans and coconut, I removed a cup of flour and added more leavening agents, as well as cinnamon. I love cinnamon in my cookies!
To make Cowboy Cookies, you’ll make a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe and dump in all the extras. I toasted my pecans and coconut to amp up the flavor, but it’s not necessary.
While these cookies bake and cool on the thinner side, the texture is perfection! Crispy around the edge and soft and chewy in the center.
Ingredients You Need to Make Cowboy Cookies
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
- Shredded coconut
- Pecans
- Chocolate chips
- Old fashioned rolled oats
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
Can I Substitute the Pecans in Cowboy Cookies?
Yes, you can absolutely switch out the pecans for another nut of your choice. Walnuts would be the perfect replacement. If you have nut allergies and can’t do any nuts, I’d recommend replacing the nuts with Rice Krispie cereal or additional coconut and oats.
What Cookie Scoop Should I Use?
I like to use 2.25″ cookie scoop for my cookies. THIS brand is one of my favorites.
You can certainly use a smaller scoop. Just make sure to adjust your time by a few minutes – closer to 8 to 10 minutes.
Best Cookie Recipes
In the mood for more cookies? I’ve got you covered! Give these favorites a try:
- Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies
- Copycat Levain Bakery Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
- Copycat Magnolia Cookie
- Guilt-Free Protein-Packed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cowboy Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (300) g all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (5.2 g) ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (6 g) baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (6 g) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter slightly cold
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (220 g) brown sugar packed
- 2 large or extra large eggs slightly cold
- 2 cups (300 g) semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup toasted coconut
- 1 cup toasted pecans
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the eggs one at time and mix until well incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for an additional 30 seconds.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture. Mix until combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips, oats, toasted coconut and toasted pecans.
- Using a 2.25-inch cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough onto the cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are slightly golden brown. The top may look a little soft. That's ok! The cookies will continue to bake a little while they cool.
Hi there, these look delicious! Could you leave out the coconut completely or sub in something else? Thanks!
Yes you can.
Made these the first time this weekend and we didn’t feel like the cookies tasted anything like coconut. I think it does much more for texture than taste. But if you leave it out, I’d replace with an extra cup of oats. These are now my sister’s favorite cookies.
I followed all the directions very carefully and my cookies didn’t flatten. Not sure what I did wrong, seems like there are too many goodies added.
I was excited to try these but was left disappointed 🙁
The batter was quite dry and the cookies stayed in the exact shape I placed them onto the pan (ie round and tall from the cookie scoop) after cooking rather than spreading into the shape in the recipie’s photos.
The taste was fine.
If I were to make them again, I may reduce the four and oats by 1/4 cup to see if the batter remains a bit moister.
Sorry to hear you had an issue – just want to make sure you’re measuring the flour and oats correctly: either by grams or using a spoon to gently add ingredients to a measuring cup and leveling it with a knife (not the scoop and shake method). xx
I spooned into the measuring cup and then levelled the top with a knife. I’m going to try again using weight and see how it goes 🙂
I’m looking for a snickerdoodle cookie recipe. I thought I saw you had one but I can’t find it.
I do! But I just finalized the recipe and haven’t posted it. It will be up soon!
Best Cookies! I’ve been making another popular cowboy cookie that I loved. I like this recipe even more!
So yummy! They’ve become a household favorite. I do add about a tablespoon of vanilla. And mix 1/2 & 1/2 semi sweet & white chocolate chips.
These look amazing!! Can’t wait to try. Im wondering if I chop the pecans or leave them whole?
Chop them!
These cookies are amazing! 10 out of 10 from my family ❤️