Cowboy Cookies

Cowboy Cookies!

Or if we are being precise, these should really be called Roofer Cookies!

We have a new roof on our house (hooray! no more leaks!) and the week that the guys were up banging away overhead was one of the rainiest we’ve had in ages. I felt terrible that every single day they would end up completely soaked so I made some cookies. Happy roofers are good roofers!

I’m not sure why these are called Cowboy Cookies but they are basically a mash up between oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies. You can pretty much throw any goodies you like in there…raisins/crasins, M&Ms, butterscotch or peanut butter chips…oooh those little tiny mini peanut butter cups! Now we’re talking.

I’ve used the traditional recipe here. Not my own recipe but I don’t know where I got it either. After all, who gets credit for inventing cookies you’ve been eating all your life? (Psst…the answer is usually the Girl Scouts.)

Here’s what you need:

Flour, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Butter, Salt, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Eggs, Pecans, Coconut, Oats, Vanilla, and Chocolate Chips

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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Like most of my cookies, these start out with 2 sticks of softened, room temperature butter. Add ¾ cup granulated sugar and ¾ cup lightly packed brown sugar to the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.

Beat the butter and sugars together on medium high speed until they are pale, light, and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs.

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, sift together 2 cups of flour, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon baking powder. Sift, sift, sift.

With the mixer on the lowest speed, slowly add the flour to the butter mixture. Mix only until most of the flour has been incorporated. Do not over-mix.

Now for the good stuff! Add 8-10 ounces of chocolate chips (I like the dark chocolate ones the best), ¾ cup of chopped pecans, and ¾ cup of shredded coconut.

Add 1½ cups of old fashioned oats (not quick or instant) and mix to combine all of the ingredients. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl while you are mixing.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper and scoop or spoon the dough onto the sheets leaving room for the cookies to spread.

I’ve used a medium sized ice cream type scoop  that is 2 inches across and holds 2 Tablespoons of dough. Even though I am a self-described gadget queen, I resisted the ice cream scoop for cookies for years. Now that I own them – I have 3 from melon baller size up to regular ice cream scoop size – I love them and use them all the time. The big size is perfect filling muffins and cupcakes without making a mess.

If you don’t have a scoop, you can certainly use a spoon or even roll the dough into ping pong sized balls.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes until golden brown. The cookies will look a little under done on the top but that is how they will stay soft and chewy.

Cool on the baking pan for a few minutes so they hold their shape, then move them to wire racks to cool.

Don’t forget that cookies are best eaten warm, nice and gooey, right from the oven!

Cowboy, Roofer, and Flute Player approved!

Here’s the recipe:

Cowboy Cookies