Cowboy Cookies

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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4.45 from 56 votes

Cowboy Cookies

By Averie Sunshine

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! 

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Chill Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 13 cookies

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Ingredients  

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• ▢ 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)

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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

*Tip: Strategically place a few chocolate chips on top of each mound of dough by taking chips from the underside and adding them on top.

Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 270kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 15mg, Sodium: 233mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 22g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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