These Cowboy Cookies are big, chewy, and generously studded with semisweet chocolate chips, old-fashioned oats, flaked coconut, and chopped pecans for a toasty crunch and gooey chocolate pockets.
The dough is meant to rest — cover and refrigerate for 12–24 hours — and the active prep and bake take about 30 minutes; the recipe makes Servings: 36 large cookies, perfect for sharing or freezing for grab-and-go treats.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
A single cookie delivers contrasting textures: crisp edges, a pillowy center, nutty pecans, chewy coconut, and pockets of melted chocolate. The long chill time concentrates flavor and firms the dough so each cookie stays thick and tender.
This recipe produces a large amount of dough; plan on using a roomy bowl or a mixer that can handle big batches and expect generous, bakery-style cookies that spread without careful shaping.
Ingredients You’ll Need
How to Make Cowboy Cookies
- Whisk the dry ingredients: in a large bowl combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and fine sea salt; set the mixture aside so it’s ready when the wet ingredients are creamed.
- Cream the butter and sugars: in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a very large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the unsalted butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, then gradually add the granulated sugar and packed light-brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla: add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, then stir in the pure vanilla extract so the mixture is smooth and even before adding the dry ingredients.
- Combine gently: gradually add the flour mixture and mix just until combined; overmixing will develop gluten and can toughen the cookies.
- Fold in the mix-ins: add the semisweet chocolate chips, old-fashioned rolled oats, flaked coconut, and chopped pecans and mix until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Chill the dough: cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 12 to 24 hours — chilling firms the dough, deepens the flavor, and reduces excessive spread while baking.
- Portion and shape: when ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit briefly while the oven preheats. Use a large cookie scoop (¼ cup volume) to drop dough onto prepared sheets, spacing each 3 inches apart; use the palm of your hand or the bottom of a glass to slightly flatten each ball so they bake evenly.
- Bake and finish: bake the cookies for 16 to 18 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. If desired, immediately top each hot cookie with flaky sea salt. Let the cookies cool on the pans for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Control Cookie Spread
These cookies are large and prone to spreading, so chilling the dough and using the recommended scoop size are the two most reliable controls for a thick, chewy center.
Slightly flatten dough balls before baking so the centers set while the edges brown, and space cookies 3 inches apart to allow for their generous spread.
- Chill dough 12–24 hours to firm fats and reduce uncontrolled spreading.
- Use a ¼ cup scoop for consistent size and even bake time.
- If cookies spread too much, refrigerate scooped dough for 20–30 minutes on the baking sheet before baking.
Mixer & Batch Tips
This recipe yields a large amount of dough — plan for a roomy bowl or a 7-quart-plus stand mixer. If your mixer is smaller, combine in a very large bowl using an electric hand mixer in two quick stages.
To handle large batches more easily, divide the finished dough into two covered containers for refrigeration so the mixer and fridge space aren’t overwhelmed.
- If using a hand mixer, scrape the bowl often and fold mix-ins by hand at the end.
- Divide dough into two containers to chill — makes portioning and baking in multiple sessions simple.
- Use half-sheet pans and pre-cut parchment for easy transfer and consistent baking.
Mix-in Variations
Stick to old-fashioned rolled oats for structure and chew; quick oats will yield a softer, less textured cookie. For coconut, both sweetened and unsweetened work — sweetened will add chew and extra sweetness.
If you enjoy similar flavor combos, try this alternative cookie idea for a crisp-but-tender shortbread with coconut and pecans: Pecan, Coconut and Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies.
- Swap semisweet chips for dark or milk chocolate for different sweetness levels.
- Replace pecans with walnuts or toasted almonds if preferred.
- Add ½ to 1 cup dried fruit (raisins or cherries) for a fruit-forward variation.
Baker’s Tips
Chill time matters: Do not skip the 12–24 hour chill — it firms the dough so these large cookies hold a thick shape and the flavors meld for a fuller taste.
Smaller mixers: If your stand mixer is smaller than 7-quart, use a very large mixing bowl and an electric hand mixer to combine ingredients in batches to avoid overflow.
Portioning and freezing: Scoop dough onto a tray, freeze until firm, then transfer balls to a zip-top bag — bake from frozen adding 1–2 minutes to baking time for fresh-baked cookies anytime.
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Final Notes
These Cowboy Cookies deliver bakery-style size and mix-in-packed texture; remember the optional sprinkle of flaky sea salt right out of the oven to lift flavors.
Make extra dough and freeze portions for easy future baking — bake from frozen, adding a minute or two to the listed 16–18 minute bake time as needed.
Cowboy Cookies
Equipment
- KitchenAid 9-Speed Digital Hand Mixer
- Pre-Cut Parchment Paper Baking Sheets
- Nordic Ware Aluminum Half Sheet Pans
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 11/2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
- 11/2 cups granulated sugar
- 11/2 cups light-brown sugar packed
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 cups flaked coconut sweetened or unsweetened is fine
- 2 cups pecans chopped, 8 ounces
- flaky sea salt optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and fine sea salt; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a very large bowl, beat the unsalted butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, then gradually add the granulated sugar and packed light-brown sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, then stir in the pure vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until just combined, then add the semisweet chocolate chips, old-fashioned rolled oats, flaked coconut, and chopped pecans and mix until fully incorporated into the dough.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for 12 to 24 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper; remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it rest at room temperature while the oven preheats.
- Use a large cookie scoop (¼ cup volume) to drop dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies 3 inches apart, and 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 and allow the cookies to cool on the pans for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
