Cowboy Cookies — These cowboy cookies are packed with oats, chocolate chips, Cornflakes, and shredded coconut. This is a flexible recipe that you can make with different mix-ins to suit whatever is in your pantry!
Addicting Cowboy Cookies Recipe
You don’t have to be a cowboy or cowgirl to love these cookies. I’m neither and couldn’t get enough of them.
I’m not exactly sure why they’re named Cowboy Cookies. Maybe because they’re so hearty and full of texture that after eating them you’ll be ready to go to work out on the ranch for a few hours.
I’ve seen many recipes for them over the years, including Laura Bush’s recipe, and merged various recipes into one for this version.
There are so many textures, flavors, and elements in every bite and it all somehow works. They’re like an Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie with the addition of shredded coconut, which reminds me of my Soft and Chewy Seven Layer Magic Bar Cookies. Chewy oats, sweet coconut, and chocolate is a perfect combo.
Throw in some pecans and Cornflakes, and you’ve got yourself a mouthful. The pecans add a firmer crunch while the Cornflakes add a lighter, crispier crunch. The crunchiness plays off the chewiness from the oats and coconut beautifully.
I’ve seen them called Kitchen Sink Cookies and for good reason. Almost everything but the kitchen sink is in them and it’s the type of recipe that if you want to swap walnuts for the pecans, swap raisins for the chocolate chips, use Special K rather than Cornflakes, or make tweaks given the ingredients in your pantry they’ll probably turn out fine.
What’s in Cowboy Cookies?
To make these hearty cowboy cookies, you’ll need:
- Egg
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Old-fashioned oats
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Cornflakes
- Sweetened shredded coconut
- Chopped pecans
How to Make Cowboy Cookies
To make this easy cookie recipe, you’ll first need to cream together the egg, sugars, butter, and vanilla until well combined and slightly pale in color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add in the flour, baking soda, salt, and oats. Keep mixing until just combined.
Gently fold in the coconut, chocolate chips, and chopped pecans before scooping the cookies into balls and placing on a baking sheet. You’ll need to refrigerate the cookie dough for a minimum of 2 hours before baking.
Once in the oven, these cowboy cookies will need to bake for roughly 10 to 12 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready to come out of the oven when the edges are set. The tops may seem pale and glossy still, but remember that the residual heat inside the cookies will finish cooking them once they’re on your counter.
Is There an Egg Substitute I Can Use?
I’m not sure! I’ve only ever made these cookies as written, so I don’t know if an egg substitute would work in these cowboy cookies. If you use an egg substitute and get good results, please leave a comment down below so I can try it out myself!
Can I Prep These in Advance?
Very easily, yes. The cookie dough can be chilled for up to 5 days before baking it, or you can freeze the cookie dough balls and bake them whenever a cookie craving hits. You can also bake the cookies all at once and freeze them. You can reheat pre-baked cookies in the oven or set them on the counter to thaw.
Tips for Making Cowboy Cookies
When making these cowboy cookies, you MUST use old-fashioned oats (aka rolled oats). Instant oats will dry out these cookies, and steel cut would be barely edible.
If you want to make your oatmeal cookies even prettier, stick a few extra chocolate chips on top of each cookie dough ball before baking the cookies. It’s not necessary, but it adds a little something extra to them.
If you have a nut allergy, you can omit the nuts altogether. Like I said, this is a fairly flexible cookie recipe and can be tailored to fit whatever you have lying in the back of your pantry.
Here’s how to make Cowboy Cookies from scratch!
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Cowboy Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned whole-rolled oats, not quick-cook or instant
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup Cornflakes or Special K cereal, Frosted Flakes or a similar cereal may be substituted
- ¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup pecans, coarsely chopped (walnuts or raisins may be substituted)
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) add the egg, butter, sugars, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 4 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the chocolate chips, Cornflakes, coconut, pecans, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or your hands, form approximately 13 equal-sized mounds of dough.*
- Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes (11 minutes in my oven is just right), or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center; don’t overbake. Cookies firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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These are dangerously delicious! I added a 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and opted to use brown butter, and they came out absolutely delectable! I’ve sent this recipe to all of my family and friends, and don’t think I’ll be using any other choc chip cookie recipe going forward!
Thanks for the 5 star review, Anna, and I’m glad to hear these are absolutely delectable and dangerously delicious and that you won’t need to use another CCC recipe from here on!
great
I love this recipe so much! I hate baking but I love crunchy, loaded cookies and now all my friends and fam are in love with these, too. I sub all kinds of stuff each time I make them, depending on what I have on hand and this recipe is so versatile that they always come out fantastic. Thank you!!
Thank you for the recipe I used a dash of cinnamon and I used 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chunks instead of chocolate chips. They cookies were delicious! I am passing down this recipe to my family for years to come.
Thank you for the recipe I used a dash of cinnamon and I used 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chunks instead of chocolate chips. They cookies were delicious! I am passing down this recipe to my family for years to come.
I am glad to hear they were delicious and that you’re passing this recipe down! How nice!
Averie,
Could you make these cookies as bars? If so should I bake for the same amount of time and just not cool before hand?
A pan of cookie bars, depending on what size pan you use and their thickness, will probably take at least 20 minutes to bake, possibly longer, possibly less but I doubt it. No need to chill if making these are bars.
Dear Avery.
Today we made your blueberry pie bars. YUM!
We’re now thinking of making the cowboy cookies.
What could we replace the corn flakes or special K with?
Thanks for your recipes and any suggetions on the cereal substitute.
Quinn (age 4) and Silte (old😜).
Not sure why you need/want to replace the cereal. If there is a food allergy, that is one thing. If you don’t like them, that’s another. It’s hard to know what to suggest without knowing what is wrong with the cereal for you in your case.
I have only made the cookies as written so whatever I suggest will just be a suggestion that has not been tested.
hey Averie….! i love cookies and your cowboy cookies looks so delicious and sounds so yummy. i will make it like you…Thanks for the sharing…!
Hope you enjoy!
Loved the recipe and will definitely make again. Next time I’ll use Nestle chocolate chips. Tried the semisweet chips from Aldi and they were NASTY. Sugar alcohol is main ingredient which can cause gastrointesinal issues when consuming too much. Not a good combo.
I don’t ever use ‘bargain’ chips either BUT I will say if you have a Trader Joe’s near you, their chips are excellent and I highly recommend them. Glad you loved my recipe overall!