Cowboy cookies are a hearty variation on an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Packed with oats, chocolate chips, coconut, and pecans, these chewy cookies are anything but ordinary.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a very large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugars and mix until fully incorporated and light and fluffy in texture.
Add eggs one at a time, beating after each egg. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add in the chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans and mix until fully incorporated into the dough.
Cover and refrigerate dough for 12-24 hours.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to rest at room temperature while your oven preheats.
For each cookie, use a large cookie scoop (¼ cup volume) to drop dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Use the palm of your hand or the bottom of a glass to slightly flatten each ball of dough.
Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. If desired, immediately top with flaky sea salt. Allow cookies to cool on the pans for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
This recipe creates a large amount of dough. My 7-quart KitchenAid stand mixer handled it just fine, but if your stand mixer is smaller, you may want to use a very large bowl with an electric hand mixer.These cookies are large and spread a lot. If you’d like, you can follow my instructions for how to make perfectly round cookies to reshape them into perfect circles.Recipe via the New York Times as adapted from Laura Bush