Best Cowboy Cookies Recipe

Thick, chewy, and loaded with oats, coconut, pecans, and two kinds of chocolate chips, these Cowboy Cookies are absolutely irresistible! 

I’ve been making different versions of these cookies since I was a teenager, but in recent years I’ve come up with some tweaks that make them truly amazing! They disappear fast at my house, and I bet they will at yours too!

WHAT MAKES THIS THE BEST COWBOY COOKIE RECIPE

• The first trick to making these cookies stand out from other recipes is that they start with browned butter. It adds a rich, nutty depth of flavor that can’t be beat. If you’ve never browned butter before, be sure to check out the video below!
• Toasting the coconuts and pecans. Yes, this step takes a little extra time, but oh my goodness, it brings out the flavor in delightful ways. You’ll be glad you did it.
• They have just enough cinnamon to add flavor, but not so much that they taste like a traditional oatmeal cookie.
• Two kinds of chocolate chips. Yes, two. I like to add a blend of milk and semi sweet chocolate chips. The milk chocolate adds sweetness to every bite, while the semi sweet chips give you that ooey gooey melted chocolate we all love. Chocolate chip perfection!

Why are they called Cowboy cookies?

No one is quite sure where cowboy cookies got their name. They do travel well, so legend says that cowboys would take them on the trail. Packed with oats, nuts, and coconut, they are hearty and filling (like the power bars of today).

In 2000, the cookies became popular when Laura Bush submitted her recipe for “Texas Governor’s Mansion Cowboy Cookies” in the Family Circle First Lady Cook-Off. She won in a landslide against Tipper Gore’s gingersnaps.

The name stuck, and though you can find dozens of variations, most Americans associate cookies with oats, pecans, coconut, and chocolate chips as COWBOY COOKIES. Yeehaw!

HOW TO MAKE COWBOY COOKIES

1. PREP: Before starting the cookie dough, you need to toast your pecans and coconut. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Bake cold pecans for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. If they are room temperature, you’ll only need 7-8 minutes. Coconut will only take 5-7 minutes.
2. BROWN BUTTER: Place your butter in a saucepan with a light colored bottom and cook until it foams, then turns golden brown. It can quickly burn, so watch it closely at the end! Place the pan in the refrigerator for about 30-40 minutes or until it starts to solidify. While butter is cooling, preheat your oven to 350°.
3. WET INGREDIENTS: Use a rubber spatula to transfer the butter into a large mixing bowl. (or use a stand mixer) Add the white and brown sugars and beat till very creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat till smooth.
4. DRY INGREDIENTS: Add the flour to the wet ingredients. Make a well in the top and add the baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir them into the flour. Add the oats, coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips. Stir dough just until combined.
5. BAKE: Roll the dough into large balls.  Place on lightly greased or silicone lined baking sheets. Press down slightly. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until just golden brown around the edges.
   
6. COOL: Let cookies sit on the pan for 3-4 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PRO TIP: For beautiful bakery style cookies, press additional chocolate chips and pecans into the dough balls right before baking, or onto the tops of the cookies immediately after removing from the oven.

HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER COOKIES?

You can store the baked cookies at room temperature for up to a week in airtight containers. They will start to get a bit crumbly after 3-4 days, but will still be tasty. 

For longer storage, you can freeze them for 3-4 months in airtight containers. I like using ziplock bags.

Can I freeze the cookie dough?

I am not a huge fan of storing oatmeal cookie dough, because the oats tend to absorb moisture from the dough, leaving you with dry cookies. 

If you do want to freeze the dough, I recommend rolling it into balls first, then freezing them on cookie sheets and transferring them to ziplock freezer bags.

Do I have to brown the butter?

Nope, they will still be tasty. They just won’t have the rich caramel flavor that come from browned butter. But I made them that way for years and everyone still loved them.

Do I have to toast the pecans and coconut?

Just like browning the butter, this step is optional. But if you really want the BEST cowboy cookies, follow the steps as I suggest. Without them, the cookies are tasty, but not as epic.

VARIATIONS:

• Instead of half milk/half semi sweet, you can use all of one chocolate chip. Or you can be more adventurous and also toss in some white baking chips.
• Don’t have pecans? You can substitute walnuts. 
• If you don’t have regular oats, you can use quick oats, but the cookies won’t be quite as chewy, and just a titch more dry. Don’t substitute instant oats.
• We have also tried these with a cup of crisp rice cereal in place of a cup of the oats, or just added in. Yummy!
• Sprinkle a bit of flaked salt or sea salt over the tops of the cookie dough balls or warm cookies.

LOVE WARM COOKIES? HERE’S A FEW MORE RECIPES TO TRY:

• Chewy Chocolate Cookies
• Biscoff Cookies (Crumbl copycat)
• Caramel Chip Cookies
• Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
• S’mores Cookie Recipe

RECIPE FOR COWBOY COOKIES

If you try this epic recipe for cowboy cookies, let me know. If you love them, please leave me a comment and a five star review! 🙂