Cowboy cookies are the ideal cookie: not too sweet, a little salty, with the perfect chewiness complemented by crunchy nuts. The cookie dough comes together in just 10 minutes, and it’s so easy to adapt with different mix-ins and ingredient swaps. I recently re-tested the recipe to show you a simple way to control the thickness of the cookies— it all comes down to the chill time and how cold the dough is. (Hint: Colder dough yields thicker, chewier cowboy cookies!)
A reader, Donna, says: “WOW!! John, I have eaten these cookies all my life….but not like this one. You make some amazing cookies, but I really like this one a lot. It is a nice-sized cookie and so delicious.” ★★★★★
Table of Contents
What Are Cowboy Cookies?
Cowboy cookies are basically loaded oatmeal cookies, packed with oats, chocolate chips, pecans, and shredded coconut. These cookies were really popular in the 2000s, when Laura Bush’s recipe was featured in Family Circle magazine.
There’s some debate over where they got their name. Some believe that because they’re so robust and filling, they were like energy bars for cowboys. Others theorize that they got the name simply because they originated in Texas, a state synonymous with cowboys. But there’s no debate about how delicious they are!
What’s the difference between cowboy and ranger cookies? While the two are very similar, Ranger cookies also include cereal like Rice Krispies or Cornflakes for added crunch.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
These are the main ingredients you need to make cowboy cookies. You can find the full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below.
Butter — I recommend using unsalted butter and adding salt so you have full control over the salt content of these cowboy cookies. If using salted butter, reduce the salt by ¼ teaspoon (so only add ¼ teaspoon of salt, instead of ½ teaspoon).
Sugar — you need granulated sugar and brown sugar for this recipe. White sugar adds sweetness and structure to the cookie dough, while brown sugar adds moisture for chewy cookies and light molasses notes.
Oats — old-fashioned rolled oats are the best choice for chewy, hearty cookies. Quick oats will change the texture of the cookie and reduce how much they spread, so I recommend sticking with rolled oats.
Mix-ins — chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and toasted pecans make these cookies extra satisfying and texturally interesting. I use semisweet chocolate chips, but milk chocolate chips are a great option if you want extra sweetness. Chopped chocolate bars also work (use 1½ 4-ounce bars). Sweetened shredded coconut is key for chewy cookies because of the added moisture. And, lastly, if you’re not in the mood for pecans, feel free to swap them for roasted peanuts or cashews, or toasted walnuts.
Cinnamon — at heart, these are just loaded oatmeal cookies, and you can’t make oatmeal cookies without cinnamon! It adds a warm flavor to the cookies that is perfectly paired with the nutty oats and pecans.
Easy Cowboy Cookie Variations
There are so many simple ways to change these cookies to meet different dietary requirements or please different tastes! If swapping in other mix-ins, keep the amount of mix-ins the same, using the total for all chocolate chips, pecans, and coconut (2½ cups/360g) or the individual amounts for each one you replace.
- Nut-free: Leave out the nuts and add more chocolate chips and coconut.
- Swap in dried fruit: Swap one of the mix-ins for dried fruit like cherries, apricots, or raisins.
- Switch the chocolate: M&M’s, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, and white chocolate chips are delicious swaps.
- Browned butter: Brown 9 tablespoons of butter and cool it until it is opaque and spreadable, then continue with the recipe as written.
How Do You Make Cowboy Cookies Thicker And Chewier?
The colder the cookie dough, the less it will spread in the oven because the edges will set before the centers warm up enough to spread out, which will yield thick, chewy cookies. I tested this 4 different ways, and you can see in the image below how each chill time differed.
If you like thin and crispy cookies, don’t chill the dough at all, and the cookies will spread quite a bit. Chilling for 1 hour or up to 24 hours gives the best thickness with some spread and a chewy center. Frozen cookie dough doesn’t spread much at all, making extra-thick cookies.
Pro Tips For Making Chewy Cowboy Cookies
Use a kitchen scale to measure the flour. Using too much flour will result in dry, crumbly cowboy cookies. I use a kitchen scale to accurately weigh how much flour I need. If you don’t have one, fluff up the flour in its bag or container to aerate it, use a spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup, and level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop with your measuring cup directly from the flour container, or you can pack in up to an additional ¼ cup per 1 cup scoop.
Use room temperature ingredients. Set the egg and butter out in advance so they incorporate more easily with the other cookie dough ingredients. If you forget, just set the egg in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes. For the butter, follow my simple tricks to soften butter in no time.
Toast the pecans for the best flavor and texture. You can follow my instructions for toasting pecans using 3 easy methods for a deeper flavor.
Use a spring-loaded scoop for evenly sized cookies. Use a 2-tablespoon scoop (#30) so all the cookies are the same size, which will ensure they bake at the same rate.
How To Make Cowboy Cookies
Below, I’ve highlighted portions of the recipe in step-by-step process images along with instructions for making these oatmeal coconut chocolate chip cookies. You can find the full set of instructions in the recipe card below.
1. Combine the Dry Ingredients: Whisk the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Cream the Butter: Combine the butter, granulated sugar, and white sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Mix the Dough: Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the vanilla extract and egg, and beat to incorporate thoroughly.
4. Add the dry ingredients and mix until the flour mixture is mostly combined with the wet ingredients.
5. Add the Mix-Ins: Add the oats and nuts to the cookie dough.
6. Follow that with the coconut flakes and chocolate chips.
7. Chill the Dough: Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are totally incorporated and the mix-ins are evenly distributed in the cookie dough. Cover and chill the dough in the fridge for 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
8. Shape & Bake the Cookies: Scoop the chilled dough into balls and place 2 inches apart on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake one prepared cookie sheet at a time at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes. The cowboy cookies should have set, golden edges and soft middles. Let them cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cowboy Cookie Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- Baking Sheets
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
- ⅔ cup packed light-brown sugar (147g)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (66g)
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (112g)
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (180g)
- ¾ cup sweetened coconut flakes (90g)
- ¾ cup chopped toasted pecans (90g)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and both sugars. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Reduce the speed to low. Add the vanilla and egg, and beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the bowl. Add flour mixture, and mix until the flour is mostly incorporated, then scrape the bowl down again.
- Add the oats, chocolate chips, coconut, and pecans, and mix on low speed until the flour is fully combined and the mix-ins are well distributed throughout the dough. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour or up to 24 hours. (If chilling for more than 1 hour, you may need to let the dough sit on the counter for 15 to 20 minutes to soften slightly for easier scooping.)
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a 2 tablespoon-scoop, scoop the dough into balls and place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden around the edges but still soft in the center. Let the cookies cool on baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
Notes
- For larger cookies, use a ¼ cup scoop (#16 scoop). This will make extra-big, Texas cowboy cookies! Space the cookies 3 to 4 inches apart and bake for about 15 minutes.
- Don’t overbake the cookies. For chewy centers, you want the cookies to still be slightly soft when you take them out of the oven.
- Try the “scoot” technique: If your cookies didn’t bake up as round as you like, you can reshape after baking. Right when they come out of the oven, use a large cookie cutter or a bowl flipped upside down. Move it in a circular motion around each cookie to scoot the edges back into shape. Cookies with a lot of mix-ins can sometimes spread unevenly, so this is an easy trick to scoot them back into shape!
Nutrition
Storage & Freezing
Storage: Once completely cooled, transfer the cookies to an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature for about 5 days (though I’d be very surprised if they don’t get eaten before then!).
Freezing baked cookies: When they’re cooled, wrap the cookies snugly in a layer of plastic wrap, and store in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. They will be fine in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost them for an hour or two on your kitchen counter.
How To Freeze Cowboy Cookie Dough
Cowboy cookie dough freezes very well. To make things easy, form the dough into balls and freeze them on a baking sheet until solid. Transfer the frozen cookie dough balls to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. I try not to freeze the dough for longer than 3 months to avoid freezer burn.
To bake from frozen: Add 3 to 5 minutes to the overall bake time. Baking from frozen reduces the amount of spread, so you will bake up thick cookies this way. For thinner cookies, allow the dough balls to thaw for a couple of hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge, then bake as directed. You can also flatten the dough balls slightly before freezing them to encourage them to spread more when baking from frozen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rolled oats are really the best option for the perfect chewiness and the proper spread, not to mention extra heartiness. Quick oats will spread less and be less chewy.
Using too much butter or too little flour (or both) will cause the cookies to spread a lot and flatten as they bake. Another common cause of flat cowboy cookies is not chilling the dough. When you chill the dough, the cookies don’t spread as much in the oven and bake up thicker.
Also, be sure your baking soda isn’t too old or out of date. To test it, add a small amount to a small bowl and pour a little bit of vinegar on top. If it vigorously foams, it’s still active and good to use! If not, it’s time for a fresh container.
I don’t recommend it, because the recipe uses 1 egg, which would be difficult to halve. Instead, just bake half the dough and freeze the rest! (See freezing instructions above.)
More Cookie Recipes To Try
Try one of these flavorful cookies next!
Classic oatmeal raisin cookies are soft and chewy, and flavored with brown sugar and cinnamon.
Kitchen sink cookies are packed with chocolate chips, toffee bits, potato chips, and chopped pretzels…they’re truly loaded with everything but the kitchen sink!
Monster cookies are sort of like a mix between an oatmeal cookie and a peanut butter cookie. They are brimming with sweet chocolate chips and M&M’s.
Speaking of peanut butter cookies, my recipe for melt-in-your-mouth cookies is a must-try if you love the salty-sweet flavor of peanut butter.
Crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are a lovely treat for chocolate lovers and are so easy to make!
If you’ve tried this cowboy cookie recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Vy Lam says
I think I botched my first attempt at these cookies, BUT it still turned out delicious. My roommates and I could not stop eating, and I personally devoured it all at 4 am all by myself. These cookies are so amazing that I immediately made another batch (cause ONE batch is just not enough). In the second batch, I added a pinch of nutmeg and sprinkled sea salt flakes on top of cookies when they were just out of the oven. I highly recommend this recipe for those who want more in their everyday chocolate chip cookies. And these are great for breakfast!