Cowboy Cookies

Okay, I know I said that on the captain and I’s last trip I wanted to go with a savory instead of a sweet snack, but I know my man, and a sweet treat is always a must. As different and delicious as the homemade cheez it’s were, I knew I had to make us a cookie. Not just any ‘ol cookie though and definitely not something I had made before. I usually make the captain one of his favorite cookies, my peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies , so I wanted to do something that had oats, but lots of other goodies. Like, lots and lots of goodies in the cookie.

I had my eye on two new recipes recently – monster cookies from the one and only Pioneer Woman and then a cowboy cookie from one of my favorite food bloggers, Michelle at Brown Eyed Baker. The monster cookie has oats, nuts, peanut butter, m&m’s, rice kiripies and all kinds of good stuff. Are you drooling yet? I am. Well, a little. Okay, a lot! A cowboy cookie has a similar flair, but has oats, cinnamon, pecans, chocolate chips and coconut. Both sounded so good that I honestly couldn’t choose between the two. If I I had it my way, I would have made both, but let’s be honest  - those cookies go straight to my booty and I don’t need all those cookies tempting me. So, what did I do? Combine them both to create a crazy cowboy cookie! I took the original cowboy cookie with all it’s goodness and then added rice krispies. How good does that sound? So good!

Now, let me just tell you, I only made a half recipe and the batter nearly overflowed my kitchen aid stand mixer. No joke. In fact, at one point, it even had a hard time mixing everything at the end because there was just so much stuff in there. All good stuff of course. I like my cookies with a lot of stuff in them, can you tell? The half recipe made about 15-20 BIG cookies. Like big as your hand big! Of course you can make them smaller (I used my standard cupcake scoop to make these), but why have a small cookie when you can have a big cookie! There is just something about these crazy cowboy cookies that are so different and so delicious – the oats and coconut make them chewy, while the chocolate chips and pecans give them the perfect crunch. Then there is the cinnamon and rice krispies that just make them that much better. As if they needed it.  Next time you need a chewy, over the top delicious cookie, this is your recipe!

 

loads of ingredients

yummies!

swirling cinnamon

adding in the coconut

the best part - the chocolate chips!

rice kripsies!!

almost overflowing

these babies spread quick, so only place four cookies per sheet!

mmm, cooookies!

 Cowboy Cookies (slightly adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

*this is the full recipe*

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups granulated sugar
1½ cups packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I did a mix of white and dark chocolate chips)
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sweetened, flaked coconut
2 cups (8 ounces) chopped pecans
2 cups rice krispy cereal

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or line with a silicone baking mat.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the sugars and continue to beat until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as necessary, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. With a wooden spoon or large rubber spatula stir in the chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans.

4. For each cookie, drop ¼ cup dough onto the baking sheets, spacing them about 3 inches apart. Bake until the edges are set but the middles still look light and puffy, about 12-15 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through. Cool cookies on the baking sheets.

These cookies are not just for cowboys anymore!