There’s nothing like a really good cookie to bring people together! An after school snack, dessert after a simple dinner, or a surprise in a school lunch. Our neighbor brought these cookies over this summer. We had not spent much time with her and were so surprised by her hospitality and pleased with how delicious the cookies were. Cowboy Cookies have never been a go-to for our family, but they sure are now!
Cowboy Cookies
This recipe came to the NY Times in 2000 during the Bush-Gore presidential campaign when Family Circle magazine ran cookie recipes from each of the candidates’ wives and asked readers to vote. Laura Bush’s cowboy cookies, a classic chocolate chip cookie that’s been beefed up with oats, pecans, coconut and cinnamon, beat Tipper Gore’s ginger snaps by a mile. Here’s an adaptation of the winning recipe.
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 sticks butter at room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 ½ cups packed light-brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 cups unsweetened flake coconut
2 cups chopped pecans (8 oz)
Preparation
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in bowl.
- In a very large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in sugars, and combine thoroughly.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla.
- Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips, oats, coconut, and pecans.
- For each cookie, drop ¼ cup cough onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes, until edges are lightly browned; rotate sheets halfway through.
- Remove cookies from rack to cool.
