Recipe: Cowboy Cookies

What says Christmas better than cookies baking in the oven?

Nothing unless it's the aroma of pies, cakes, and candy making in progress.

I have a new cookie recipe that I'm making this year, and I can't wait for Saturday to share it with you. These cookies are totally delicious.

The recipe is Cowboy Cookies, and it's from former First Lady Laura Bush. You're going to love these.

This cookie is big since everything in Texas is bigger. It's the size of your palm. If an oatmeal cookie married a chocolate chip cookie and coconut was tossed on the wedded couple instead of rice, you get a Cowboy Cookie. Needless to say, it contains pecans, the state tree of Texas, too.

The pecans should be chopped and toasted before adding them to the ingredients. Toasting is easy. Take an iron skillet or fry pan, put over medium heat, add the pecans, and watch them carefully. You should be able to smell the nutty taste as they toast. Be careful not to burn them. Toasted nuts in a recipe add another depth of flavor.

Cowboy Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

12 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 cup toasted pecans

1 cup Baker's shredded coconut

2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/4 cup oatmeal

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave. Don't super heat it. Just want it melted. Let cool so the egg won't cook when you add it.

2. In a bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. Into the melted butter, add the brown sugar and vanilla. Beat well.

4. Beat the egg and egg yolk together in a small bowl or cup and add to the sugar mixture. Mix well.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture, stirring well to combine.

By Daria Yakovleva #3938704 Pixabay

 6. Add the toasted pecans, coconut, chocolate chips, and oatmeal,   mixing well.

 7. Spray a 1/4 cup measuring cup with baking spray. Get 2 cookie   sheets out.

 8. Scoop up the mixture in 1/4 cup increments. Place the scoop on a   rimless cookie sheet or a large cookie sheet with enough room for the   cookies to spread out as they back. 8 cookies per sheet is about all   you can bake at one time because they grow so large as they bake.

 9. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 15-17 minutes. Halfway through the   baking cycle, rotate the cookie sheet.

 10. When the cookie is baked, it should be light brown with edges   that look dry and a middle that may look a bit underdone. Go ahead   and remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Let the cookies set on   the hot pan for at least 5 minutes to continue baking. This is what gives the cookies a crisp edge and a chewy inside.

11. Bake only 1 cookie sheet at a time. So you'll be removing 1 pan from the oven, putting another in, and letting the finished pan set for 5 minutes.

Takeaway Truth

Try these cookies. They'll become the family's favorite cookie for any time of the year.