Best Cowboy Cookie Recipe (2024)

Cowboy cookies are the cookies you make when you want to wow a crowd! These soft, chewy cookies are loaded with oats, coconut and pecans. Plus, they’re ready in just 25 minutes from start to finish.

This is the BEST Cowboy Cookie Recipe

Do you ever feel like you haven’t met a cookie you didn’t like?

No, right? Yeah, me too!

These cookies are like a supped up chocolate chip oatmeal cookie because in addition to chocolate chips and oats, there’s also shredded coconut and chopped pecans.

Who knew there was room for all that in a single cookie?! I’m here to tell you there is definitely room and that it’s one AWESOME flavor combination.

Cowboy Cookies Recipe Ingredients

Oats, chocolate chips, shredded coconut and chopped pecans (or walnuts) make up the quintessential Cowboy Cookie mix-ins. Beyond that the cookie calls for..

• all purpose flour: flour is necessary to build structure in these cookie bars
• baking powder: helps to leaven and lift the dough
• baking soda: helps to leaven and lift the dough
• salt: just a pinch to balance the sweetness
• unsalted butter: adds flavor and tender texture
• granulated sugar: adds sweetness, flavor and encourages browning
• brown sugar: adds sweetness & flavor, keeps the cookies moist and adds chewiness
• eggs: binds the cookies together by providing structure
• vanilla extract:adds flavor

Cowboy Cookie Variations

What Kind of Oats to Use in Cowboy Cookies?

I prefer to use quick cooking oats, but if you want that chewier oat texture, you can use old fashioned rolled oats.

What kind of nuts to use in Cowboy Cookies?

Our recipe calls for chopped pecans, but feel free to use chopped walnuts if you prefer.

How to Make Cowboy Cookies

1. Combine the oats, chocolate chips, shredded coconut and chopped pecans in a separate bowl. Remove 3/4 cup and reserve for later. Set aside.
2. Combine the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter, sugar and brown sugar together with a mixer.
4. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract, beat again until smooth.
5. Gently add in the dry ingredients, mixing on low or by hand just until combined. It’s OKAY to see some flour remaining
6. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, coconut and pecans. The batter will be thick.
7. Use a cookie scoop to drop dough balls on a silicone mat lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

Cowboy Cookie Recipe Baking Time Suggestions

For the cookies in the photos, the dough balls were about 3 tbsp, so that’s a large cookie! I baked those for 12 minutes – just when the outside of the cookie would begin to turn golden in color. The result is a soft & chewy cookie!

If you make smaller dough balls, you should reduce the baking time otherwise the cookies will be over done.

Cowboy Cookie Tips

• Properly measure the all purpose flour using the spoon and sweep method.
• Use room temperature butter for easier creaming of the butter and sugar.
• Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until they are combined. Over mixing could lead to dry, dense cookies.
• Press extra chocolate chips, shredded coconut and pecans on the outside of the dough balls before baking for a wow loaded cowboy cookie presentation!

How to Freeze Cowboy Cookies

• To freeze cowboy cookie dough (not pre-baked cookies)
  Drop cookie dough balls onto a silicone mat lined baking sheet. You can place the dough balls close together since you won’t be baking them.
• Place the baking sheet in the freezer until the cookies are frozen solid, about 1 hour.
• Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and transfer the frozen cookie dough balls to a ziplock freezer bag. Label the bag with baking directions. Freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months.
• To bake: remove the dough from the freezer. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Bake for 14-17 minutes. Frozen cookies may need to bake for 1-2 minutes longer than non frozen cookies.

To freeze already baked cookies:
Once the cookies have cooled completely, wrap them in bundles of 5-6 cookies in plastic wrap. Then store inside a freezer ziplock bag. To thaw, place a bundle on the counter for a few hours.

If you love oat based cookies, make oat flour cookies. They are similar to chocolate chip cookies, but use oat flour as the base!

More Cookies Recipes

• Classic Monster Cookies
• Maraschino Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Black Forest Cookies
• Cut Out Sugar Cookies