Cowboy Cookies with Video
I hit the jackpot with this chewy, buttery, Loaded Cowboy Cookies Recipe! Delicious oats, chocolate, coconut, and pecans in every bite!
Whether you call these Cowboy Cookies or Ranger Cookies, this Oatmeal Cookies Recipe is an amped-up, out-of-this-world cookie you must make.
Why You Must Make
The first-ever cowboy cookies I baked were a huge disappointment. The recipe called for Rice Krispies which lost their crispness within hours. It took me over a decade to recover from that fiasco and to make another batch. It was time to give these another shot!
- The inspiration for this recipe for these easy cowboy cookies in the New York Times, attributed to Laura Bush circa 2000. They were the winner of the Family Circle’s presidential candidates’ wives cookie contest where the Democrat vs Republican competition was moved to the kitchen. I can see why this delicious, chewy oatmeal cookies recipe won!
- This recipe makes a HUGE batch and they freeze beautifully. You’ll have a stash of ready-to-go snacks and dessert in your freezer.
- These cookies are loaded with chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, and oatmeal. You can easily tweak the recipe for your palate, swapping out different chocolate chips or nuts, or leaving out the coconut. They’re very versatile.
Ingredient Notes
- Kitchen Staples – Flour, Baking Soda, Salt, Sugar, Brown Sugar
- Eggs, Butter – Have at room temperature for easier incorporation.
- Baking Powder – Unlike baking soda, baking powder usually expires before you use it up. Check the expiration date before using. If you’d like to be certain, place a spoonful into a bowl or cup filled with very hot water. If your baking powder is active, it will bubble vigorously. If it does not, replace before making the dough.
- Chocolate Chips – I use Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate. Feel free to use bittersweet or even milk chocolate chips.
- Vanilla Extract – Use real vanilla extract, never artificially flavored.
- Oatmeal – Use old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick oats.
- Coconut – Use sweetened, angel flake coconut.
- Pecans – For the best flavor, toast your nuts before using to bring out their essential oils. This can be done in a skillet or on a sheet pan in the oven at 350° for 6-8 minutes.
Expert Tips
As usual, I had to tweak this recipe for loaded cowboy cookies a bit. I eliminated the cinnamon and decreased the amount of pecans. Of course, Bill would have loved these cookies sans oatmeal, coconut, and pecans. Yeah, those would be plain ol’ chocolate chip cookies! Some things never change.
- Get out your butter and eggs about 60 minutes before you start making your cookie dough so they come to room temperature. This ensures the dough will mix properly.
- Whisking together your dry ingredients before you mix them into the dough helps prevent clumps of baking soda, baking powder, or too much salt in any one cookie.
- I like using my paddle attachment if using a mixer to make cookies. This prevents the dough from aerating which can happen when you beat with a whisk attachment. If you use a hand mixer, just be careful not to overbeat.
- The other option is to mix by hand with a wooden spoon.
- These loaded cowboy cookies were each made with 1/4 cup of cookie dough! They are BIG cookies. Go ahead and use a rounded tablespoon full of dough and bake for 10-12 minutes for smaller cookies.
- I mentioned all my tweaks above, but feel free to add back in 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and an extra 1/2 cup of pecans, or nut of your choice to this oatmeal cookies recipe.
- You could also use an alternative chocolate chip like bittersweet, white chocolate, or butterscotch. Or how about replacing some of the chocolate with toffee bits?
- If you want perfectly round cookies, roll the dough between your two palms to form balls.
- Then, when they come out of the oven, tap them into perfect circles while they’re still hot using a spatula. It works like a charm.
How to Make a Smaller Batch
PRO-Tip: this recipe makes a huge amount of dough, and if you make smaller cookies you will have lots and lots! The measurements can easily be divided into thirds and you can also bake up more petite cookies (I recommend a rounded tablespoon instead of the 1/4 cup of dough called for in the recipe if you prefer a smaller version. Just decrease the baking time.).
PRO-Tip: If you decide to make 1/3 of the recipe, here are the amounts for the smaller batch:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (Check the expiration date.)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8+ teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
- 2/3 cup angel flake coconut
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no definitive answer to this question, but a couple of theories. First, the name Cowboy Cookies may have come about because this recipe was developed or at least became popular in Texas. My recipe was adapted from Laura Bush, wife of our native Texan president, George W. Bush.
The other thought was that these Cowboy Cookies, also known as Ranger Cookies, were sturdy enough for cowboys to take on the trail. With oats and nuts, there is some nutritional value, and of course calories.
Both are loaded oatmeal cookies, with Ranger Cookies considered a subcategory of Cowboy Cookies. Cowboy cookies tend to contain oatmeal, coconut, nuts, and cinnamon. On the other hand, Ranger cookies have Rice Krispies and chocolate chips.
But, in this case, the cinnamon was eliminated and chocolate chips were added. So many times these terms are used interchangeably.
Yes, try walnuts or almonds instead of the pecans if you prefer one of those.
Definitely. Omitting the coconut will not change the outcome of the recipe.
A couple of tips for making chewy cookies include not overmixing once the flour is added, using brown sugar (already in the recipe; it’s moister than white sugar), and not overbaking.
Once they’ve cooled completely, store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. After that, they will freeze well, also in an airtight container, for up to 3 months
You May Also Like:
- Better Than Brownies Chocolate Cookies from Brown Eyed Baker
- Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies from Spend with Pennies
- Chewy Ginger Cookies
- Butterscotch Cookies Recipe
- S’mores Cookies
- Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies
- Layered Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Plus if you’re a pecan lover, these Pecan Tassies are fabulous!
- More Cookie Recipes
- More Chocolate Recipes
Loaded Cowboy Cookies Recipe
Delicious oats, coconut, pecans and chocolate chips in every bite!
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1½ cups brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
- 2 cups angel flake coconut (sweetened)
- 1½ cups chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
- In a very large bowl, beat butter until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in sugars, and combine thoroughly.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
- Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips, oats, coconut, and pecans.
- For each cookie, scoop out 1/4 cup of cookie dough, roll it into balls, and space them 3 inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Middles may have areas that appear slightly underdone. Remove cookies to a rack to cool.
Notes
I use salted butter in this recipe. If you use unsalted butter, you may want to increase the salt.
Make one-third of this recipe for a smaller batch of cookies.
Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough for smaller cookies and bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
If your cookies aren't perfectly round when they come out of the oven, use your spatula and tap the edges while the cookies are hot to form more circular cookies.
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Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 315Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 165mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 3gSugar: 23gProtein: 4g
106 Comments on “Cowboy Cookies with Video”
Can you refrigerate the dough and does it change. The cookie?
Hi, Cindy, it should be fine to refrigerate the dough. Just cover it well with plastic wrap so that it’s airtight and then you’ll need to bring let it sit at room temperature before baking so that it softens enough to roll or scoop into balls. I do this all the time with many cookie recipes 🙂 Hope you enjoy!!
These cookies look amazing. I love all the ingredients in the recipe. Great video!
Great recipe! Added a tablespoon of cinnamon to the large recipe, which added a great additional flavor (I always like some cinnamon in my chocolate chip cookes). My husband loved these! This recipe makes plenty to freeze, which is really great to have for future!! Thank you so much!
So happy you loved these, too, Eileen! And adding cinnamon sounds like a delicious addition.
Made these for my husband he loves them! Although what a huge recipe! I wanted to make the whole recipe so I could freeze them, but wow! definitely a keeper recipe!
Thanks, Carla! Yes, it makes a ton—so I’m glad they were a hit!
I see you recommend old fashioned oats, but all I have are quick oats. What would be the impact if I used those?
Hi, Mary, you can certainly use quick oats. The texture will be softer, but they’ll still be tasty. I hope you enjoy!!
Is the flaked coconut sweetened or unsweetened?
It’s sweetened, Rhona. I use angelflake coconut. Hope you enjoy!
I baked. These cookies for my Good News Club (kids Christian club). They were crazy about them. Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so glad they were a hit! Thanks for letting me know. Carolyn!
These cookies are amazing. I did half butterscotch and half chocolate chips. I only had walnuts which were a fine substitute for pecans. I scooped out the dough and froze more than half of the recipe because this makes a lot and I did not read the fine print with the smaller recipe. But that is totally fine because these will be great to have at the ready when my husband wants cookies.
Loved the recipe!! Make a lot of cookies so next time I’m cutting the recipe in 1/2!
Thanks, Jeannie! Thank goodness they freeze well. Happy holidays!!!
These cookies were a big hit this year! I cut the recipe in half, still had a lot of cookies, the family ate them and I ended making another 1/2 batch again! Great for gifts!
SO glad to hear your family loved them, Sharon! Merry Christmas!!