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Cowboy Cookies

Cowboy Cookies

These Cowboy Cookies are large and chewy, packed with semisweet chocolate chips, old-fashioned oats, flaked coconut, and chopped pecans for a toasty, sweet crunch. The dough chills for 12–24 hours and yields about 36 large cookies, with an optional sprinkle of flaky sea salt after baking.
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Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:16 minutes
Total Time:12 minutes

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

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and fine sea salt; set aside.
  2. 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.
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, then stir in the pure vanilla extract.
  4. 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.
  5. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 12 to 24 hours.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.

Notes

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