Saddle up, partner–we’re making Cowboy Cookies! Full of flavor and texture, this recipe combines coconut, pecans, oats, and chocolate to make one unique cookie, no horse or lasso required. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Cowboy Cookies
If you’re not familiar with them, cowboy cookies are a beefed up version of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies; they’re hearty, chewy, and have a LOT of flavor and texture. Like most cookies, these are sweet, but they’re robust and not too sweet. Best of all, these cowboy cookies are so quick and easy to make.
With an oatmeal cookie base and a generous handful of mix-ins (coconut, chocolate, and pecans) cowboy cookies have enough texture to compete with kitchen sink cookies and a flavor that’s almost reminiscent of seven layer bars. They truly have the best elements of the most popular cookies out there, so I’m confident they’ll be a hit for you too!
So, what actually makes a cowboy cookie, anyway?
What You Need
These are just a few of the key ingredients that give these cowboy cookies their hearty texture and flavor:
- Butter. You’ll need one cup of unsalted butter that’s been softened to room temperature.
- Sugar. I like a combination of dark brown sugar and granulated sugar for chewy, flavorful cookies.
- Vanilla. If you’ve got a batch of homemade vanilla handy, use it now!
- Cinnamon. Ground cinnamon adds a subtle and almost unexpected undertone that suits the cookies well, but you can always leave it out if desired.
- Oats. I use rolled (“old fashioned”) oats, not instant, for best results. Instant oats could make the cookies dry, so I don’t recommend using those.
- Coconut. Use sweetened shredded coconut; I don’t recommend using unsweetened coconut.
- Pecans. I recommend adding nuts, but if you need to leave them out for allergy reasons you can do so with no other changes needed!
- Chocolate chips. You can use semisweet or milk chocolate chips–or a blend of the two, which is my favorite!
SAM’S TIP: If your dough is very sticky and difficult to work with, or your cookies are spreading too much, cover the dough and place it in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes. If your butter is too soft or your kitchen is too warm, it can make the dough too greasy and hard to manage–letting it chill will solve this!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Cowboy Cookies
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then stir in eggs and vanilla extract.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually stir them into the wet ingredients until everything is nicely combined. You want a nice cohesive dough!
- Add your mix-ins and stir them in with a spatula until they’re evenly distributed.
- Drop dough by large scoops onto a parchment-lined baking sheet… I like to briefly roll the dough between my palms to help make them uniform in appearance, it’s messy but usually worth it! Then bake until edges are golden brown and let cookies cool.
SAM’S TIP: Take your cookies out of the oven when the edges are turning light golden brown. The centers will probably appear slightly under-baked; this is fine! They’ll finish cooking on the baking sheet and will have a soft, chewy texture when cooled.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are several theories about where cowboy cookies get their name; one is that they were like an energy bar for cowboys working in the old west. This could very well be true, since cowboy cookies are certainly satiating, portable, and long-lasting.
While that theory can’t exactly be proved, another more credible explanation is that during the time the cookies became popular, Americans were quite fascinated by cowboys and the wild west.
Regardless of how they got their name, you don’t have to be a cowboy or even like cowboys to enjoy these cookies! 😄
Yes! You can freeze them baked or unbaked. If baking from frozen, they’ll just need an extra minute or two (or three!) in the oven.
This can happen if you substituted instant oats or unsweetened coconut, or if you over-measured your flour. Make sure you know how to measure your flour properly, so this doesn’t happen in the future!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Cowboy Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar firmly packed
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar (100g
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon optional
- 2 cups (212 g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups (123 g) sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup (115 g) coarsely chopped pecans
- 1 ½ cups (255 g) semisweet or milk chocolate chips or a blend of the two!
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars and use an electric mixer (or you may use a stand mixer) to cream together until thoroughly combined and light and fluffy.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar (100g
- Add eggs and vanilla extract and stir until thoroughly combined.2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until thoroughly combined.2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon table salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet (either using mixer on low-speed or by hand) until ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Add oats, coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips and use a spatula to stir together until ingredients are evenly distributed.2 cups (212 g) old-fashioned rolled oats, 1 ½ cups (123 g) sweetened shredded coconut, 1 cup (115 g) coarsely chopped pecans, 1 ½ cups (255 g) semisweet or milk chocolate chips
- Drop cookie dough by heaping 2 Tablespoon-sized scoop onto prepared baking sheet, and, if desired, use your hands to round into a ball (the dough will be a bit sticky, but this will make rounder, more uniform looking cookies). Space cookies at least 2” apart.
- Transfer to 350F (175C) preheated oven and bake for 12-14 minutes and edges of cookies are light golden brown. Centers may seem slightly underbaked still, this is fine, allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet where they will finish baking but still be soft and chewy.
Notes
Oats
I recommend whole oats for this recipe for the best texture. Substituting instant oats could make the cookies dry.Coconut
I have only made this recipe using sweetened shredded coconut. While unsweetened coconut may work, I don’t really recommend it as the cookies will be less sweet and I would expect them to be more dry and prone to crumbling as well.Making in Advance
The cookie dough may be made up to 5 days in advance of baking and stored tightly covered in the refrigerator.Storing
After baking, cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Kimberly
What do you think if I did half chocolate morsels and half caramel morsels?
Sam
Hi Kimberly! That sounds good to me. 🙂
Linda Wiebensohn
I basically like these cookies, but too brown sugary for us. Very moist!
Jeff Taylor
If I want to add raisins to this recipe, should I reduce the amount of the other add ins? Should it be about a cup like the others?
Sam
Hi Jeff! I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure how to do it. I would probably reduce some of the other add-ins and use about a cup of raisins. Let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂
Ashley
Another banger, thanks for sharing! These cookies are perfect for sending with my husband on his work trip. <3
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Ashley! 🙂
Linda M. Jardee
These sound delightful, and I love coconut, but my almost 93 year old mother in law hates coconut. Can I just add 1/2 the coconut to 1/2 the batter? Thanks.
Sam
Yes that would be fine, enjoy! 🙂
Jill
Delicious! Is there any way to make this into a cookie in a jar recipe? Not sure if I could just cream the butter first, then add in the whole jar of ingredients? Your reply is appreciated – Jill
Sam
Hmmm I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure how it would work.
Amy
Mine came out super flat. Any ideas why?
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this, Amy! My best guess is something was accidentally mis-measured. My second guess is that sometimes weird things just happen in the kitchen and it’s hard to explain them. It’s happened to me before and I couldn’t duplicate the issue that I had. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful. 🙁
Karen
may these be made smaller? I make cookie boxes for my family and these are big! tell me the cooking time for smaller ones please
Sam
Hi Karen! You could make them smaller, but I haven’t personally done it so I can’t say for sure how long you would need to bake them. I would just keep an eye on them as they bake. 🙂
Debbie Miles
Oh my goodness these are the best cookies I’ve made in a while. So my granddaughter and I made these cookies, the first half of them we made oatmeal raisin because my husband likes oatmeal raisin the second half of the batch we added the chocolate chips and the coconut they were the bomb.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Debbie! 🙂
Lita
can I use walnuts instead of pecans
Sam
That will work just fine. 🙂
Linda
I made them for my daughters bake sale. I added a 1/2 of butterscotch chips. They were the first item to be sold out and I am being asked to make them again this weekend!! I also added cinnamon which was optional. This receipe is a definite keeper!!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Linda! 🙂
Robin
Can these be made without the coconut?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Robin! You can just make our oatmeal chocolate chip cookies instead 🙂
Kimberlee
My husband came home from an outing with the kids and asked me what smelled so amazing. It was the cookies! They’re delicious! Thank you for the recipe. There are a lot so I’m hoping they store well in the fridge…If they last that long. 🙂
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy they were such a hit with your family, Kimberlee! And no need to store in the fridge, they’ll fresh in an airtight container at room temperature 😊
Akina
I wanted to mention how beautiful your instructions are for each step! Each step you type in a light font exactly what you need to mix! I’ve never seen that before! Amazing cookies! I always go to your page for my recipes , thank you
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad it’s helpful, Akina! Enjoy the cookies ❤️
Cheryol Gilson
My whole family and friends enjoy these immensely I so appreciate you having this recipe
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Cheryol! 🙂
Miriam Rose Blanar
I have a weird question. I’m going to be making these for a customer and she wants to know what size they are. Are they 3 or 4 inches?
Sam
Hi Miriam! They are about 3 inches. 🙂
Miriam Rose Blanar
Thank you so much!
Hannah Rouse
I made these tonight with big flakes (not shreds) of unsweetened coconut, and they were fantastic (and not too dry)! I also used 1/2 c each of dark, milk, and white chocolate chips.
Thanks for the recipe!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re glad you enjoyed the cookies, Hannah! Thanks for the review 😊
Marie
Could I half the chocolate chips and add dried cranberries or raisins as well?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That will work just fine. Enjoy, Marie!