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Cowboy Cookies Recipe

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Cowboy Cookies Recipe

Cowboy Cookies are like a "suped-up" Oatmeal Cookie. By that I mean, while they still have the great oat flavor and chewy texture of an Oatmeal Cookie, they are also loaded with extras. Extras like chocolate chips, raisins, toasted nuts, and sweetened coconut. First Lady Laura Bush may have helped with this cookie's popularity when her Cowboy Cookie recipe won over Tipper Gore's Ginger Snap recipe in the Family Circle's Magazine Cookie Bake-off during the 2000 presidential campaign.

  

Cowboy cookies are known by many names; Ranger Cookies, Kitchen Sink Cookies, and Everything Cookies. Because they are called "Cowboy" cookies, I like to make them "Texas-size", with each cookie using a whooping 1/4 cup (55 grams) of cookie dough. Since we are making large cookies, place just six balls of dough per baking sheet and bake the cookies only until the edges start to brown but the centers are still soft. This will produce a soft and chewy cookie, with crisp edges. Cowboy cookies should be made with old-fashioned, not quick-cooking, rolled oats as they have a better flavor and a thicker texture. Because these cookies contain everything, but the kitchen sink, feel free to experiment with the "extras". Maybe you would like to use white chocolate chips along with semi-sweet chocolate chips, or use dried cherries or cranberries in place of the raisins. Cowboy Cookies are enjoyed by both children and adults, and I am not against eating one for breakfast.
 

Cowboy Cookies: To toast nuts: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and toast nuts for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop into pieces.  

Place one oven rack in the top third of the oven, and one oven rack in the bottom third of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugars until creamy and smooth (about 2 - 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat just until incorporated. Stir in the nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, and raisins. 

Form dough into balls, using 1/4 cup (55 grams) for each cookie. Place six balls of dough on each baking sheet. With moistened hands, gently flatten each ball of dough into a 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick cookie. Bake the cookies for about 14 - 16 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time. The cookies are done when they are golden brown around the edges and just barely set in the center. They should still be soft. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 20 large cookies.

Sources:

Kane, Marion. 'The Best of Food'. The Toronto Star. Toronto: 1997.

Scherber, Amy and Dupree, Toy Kim. The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York: 2008.

'That's Trump - More Recipes From The Best of Bridge.' The Best of Bridge Publishing Ltd. Calgary: 1995.

Cowboy Cookies:

3/4 cup (80 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped

1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup (140 grams) dark brown sugar

1/2 cup (100 grams) white granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups (195 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup (35 grams) sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 cup (90 grams) semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup (50 grams) raisins

 
   

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