Cowboy Cookies
Cowboy Cookies are thick and chewy treats loaded with chocolate chips, oats, shredded coconut, pecans, and cinnamon. Incorporating browned butter into the cookie dough enhances the nutty, caramel notes of the cookie. This recipe packs delightful flavors and textures sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.
Hooray, it’s cookie season! It’s Jessica Gavin, Certified Culinary Scientist and I’m excited to share this decadent Cowboy cookie recipe with you. Often it’s tough to choose what mix-ins to add into a cookie base. Should you keep it simple or make it more interesting? For this recipe, we maximize the flavor experience so that each bite satisfies those chocolatey and nutty cravings.
This recipe is made with ease by just stirring the ingredients together, portion, and bake. No need to break out a mixer or add extra time for a chilling step. The results are significant, chewy cookies with bold flavor!
Browned Butter
Adding in melted browned butter boosts the roasted and caramel flavors of the cookie, just by spending a few minutes to toast the milk solids. It’s like liquid gold that adds a wonderful richness and complexity to the cookies. I often use this technique when I want to add some maple flavors to my chewy chocolate chip cookies.
Heat butter over medium-high heat, occasionally scraping the pan until you see golden bits start to form. This process only takes one to two minutes, and once it smells faintly like hazelnuts, transfer it quickly to a bowl to stop the cooking process. Browned butter can also be used in savory dishes like a sauce for scallops, fish, or pasta.
Mix-ins
What makes the Cowboy cookie stand out is the diversity of textures and flavors from the mix-in ingredients. Old-fashioned rolled oats don’t get mushy when baked, so it provides a nice chew, not to mention extra fiber to each serving. Why not sneak in some healthy ingredients when you can! Shredded coconut flakes add a pleasing sweetness and tropical twist to the dough.
Semi-sweet chocolate chips give a nice balance of rich cocoa flavor, however, feel free to use dark, white, or even butterscotch chips to switch things ups. Chopped pecans add that extra crunch which is much needed for contrast, although walnut or roasted peanuts are also tasty substitutions.
Making the Cookie Dough
Typically, a stand mixer is my workhorse when baking cookies, but for this mixture, you can use a spatula to hand-mix the cookie dough. The electric mixer will save you a little bit of time though. You will find that the batter is quite thick and stiff, which makes it easy to portion. Make sure to give a gentle press on top to slightly flatten the cookies to help with an even spread as they bake.
These cookies bake up into golden rounds with crisp edges and super chewy centers. Grab a big glass of milk and enjoy a warm treat fresh from the oven. They make a great addition to the holiday dessert table, cookie exchange, and are sturdy enough to ship to lucky family and friends. If you’re a fan of chocolate and nut cookies, then I know you’ll also love my recipe for classic peanut butter kiss cookies too.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup sweetened flaked coconut
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
- Place the oven rack in the center position, preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.
- Melt butter in an 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat, swirling to melt the butter evenly. Stir and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan with a spatula until butter is golden brown and nutty in aroma, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer browned butter to a large bowl, making sure to scrape all of the bits from the pan. Stir the cinnamon into the butter.
- Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vegetable oil to the browned butter. Whisk together until combined.
- Whisk in eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Stir the flour mixture into the butter and sugar mixture until combined, 1 minute.
- Add the rolled oats, chocolate chips, coconut, and chopped pecans. Stir into the cookie dough until well combined. The dough will be stiff in texture.
- Divide the dough into 3-tablespoon sized portions, 2-inches apart on the baking sheets, 8 cookies per pan.
- Use the bottom of a large measuring cup to press each dough ball into 2½-inch wide cookies. Reform the edges of the cookies into a circle if needed.
- If desired, press a few extra chocolate chips and chopped pecans into the top of the cookie dough.
- Bake one cookie sheet at a time, until the edges are set lightly browned on the surface, and the centers are soft but not wet 8 to 10 minutes. Rotate the cookie sheet halfway through baking.
- Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool.
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