Week 20: Laura Bush’s Cowboy Cookies

I wasn’t sure what I was going to make this week, but a friend of mine sent me an idea, and I thought I could run with it.

The recipe I used was only half the size of the original. The original recipe makes 36 large cookies or 72 larger cookies, which means I might have been baking all night. If you want to make the true original recipe, it’s here.

Despite how these look, they’re very chewy. I was a little skeptical of the combination of flavors, but it actually comes together pretty well.

For the baking cycle, I used a 1.5 tbsp scooper to make “small” cookies. They were baked on aluminum cookie sheets with a single layer of parchment paper and were baked one sheet at a time. They baked for 16 minutes without rotating the sheet halfway, and they came out perfect.

Ingredients: (makes about 36 cookies)

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 sticks butter (6 ounces, 12 tablespoons), at room temperature
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 large eggs, beaten (beat 2 eggs and remove about 2 Tbsp)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (I’m not really sure why they need to be rolled oats, but you can probably get away with regular old-fashioned oats)
• 1 cup sweetened shredded flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
2. Place butter in a standing electric mixer and beat on medium speed until smooth and light for about 1 minute.
3. Whisk together the white sugar and brown sugar. Slowly add it in and beat to combine for about 2 more minutes.
4. Add half the eggs, beat, and then add the other half and beat again.
5. Add the vanilla extract and beat again.
6. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and slowly add the flour mixture, until just combined.
7. Add the chocolate chips, oats, coconut, and pecans, mixing until just combined.
8. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with Silpat or parchment paper.
9. If you want large cookies, drop about 1/4 cup lumps of the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, separated by 3 inches to allow for enough room for the cookies to spread as they cook. For smaller cookies, use about 2 tablespoons of the cookie dough per cookie.
10. Bake at 350°F for 14 to 18 minutes for large cookies, or 13 to 16 minutes for small cookies. Note that if you are using a dark baking sheet, it will absorb more heat, and you won’t need as much baking time.
11. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Then remove the cookies to a rack to cool completely. You’ll likely need to work in batches, depending on the size of your oven and your baking sheets.

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