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This recipe for Cowboy Cookies is for people like me who love cookies that are loaded with textures and flavors. These are chewy, bumpy, crunchy, sweet and tangy – made with whole grain flower, dark chocolate, dried cranberries, old-fashioned oats, coconut and walnuts.

Cowboy Cookies served on a marble platter
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Line up a dozen cookies in front of me. Give me a choice of every texture and flavor, but tell me to choose just one and I’ll choose the lumpiest, bumpiest one every time.

I’m a cowboy cookies kind of girl. Which is funny because it’s one of the few places where my husband and I differ in food tastes. Once, at at his request, I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips. And though I love chocolate in my cookies, I agree that many cookies have so many chocolate chips that the other flavors and textures are lost.

Cowboy-Cookies in a stack

Usually, I’m all about improvisation in recipes, but when it comes to cookies I’m a stickler. For example, this version from the New York Times has six times as many chocolate chips as this recipe! And another version from Quaker Oats suggests using shortening (no way – butter is better!) and quick oats (nope). I think cowboy cookies should have maximum texture and flavor: white whole wheat flour, old-fashioned oats, deep dark chocolate and extra nuts, coconut and dried cranberries.

These cookies are crispy at the edges and chewy in the middle. And every bite is different: a chocolate chip in this bite, a walnut and dried cranberry in another. The shredded coconut is surprisingly subtle, adding richness, but not overpowering the other flavors. The’re made with only whole grain flour, but I promise you won’t mind – I bet you won’t even notice. I find that it adds better texture to many cookie recipes and tames sweetness.

Frozen Cowboy Cookie dough balls

I love to scoop all of the dough, cook what we’ll eat that day and freeze the rest in ready portions. Then whenever you have a need for fresh-from-the-oven cookies, they’re just minutes away. Bake them frozen and add a minute or two to the cooking time.

Cowboy Cookies

4.80 from 5 votes
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 12 minutes
Total: 32 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 111
Servings: 60 cookies
This recipe for Cowboy Cookies is for people like me who love cookies that are loaded with textures and flavors. These are chewy, bumpy, crunchy, sweet and tangy – made with whole grain flour, dark chocolate, dried cranberries, old-fashioned oats, coconut and walnuts.

Video

Ingredients  

  • 2 cups white whole wheat flour 240g
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 cups rolled oats 196g, I like extra thick!
  • 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut 88g
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup dried cranberries 120g, or dried cherries
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts 117g
  • 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips 88g

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir in oats and coconut. Set aside.
  • Add butter and sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.
  • Reduce mixer speed to medium-low and add eggs, one at a time, until combined. Scrape down bowl and add vanilla extract; mix until combined. Add dry ingredients in 2 or 3 additions; then cranberries, walnuts and chocolate chips and mix until just combined.
  • Remove bowl from mixer and scrape down sides with a rubber spatula, being sure to incorporate any dry ingredients still in the bottom.
  • Scoop dough into about two tablespoon balls (a 2-tablespoon scoop makes this easy!) of dough and place 12 to 15 cookies on prepared baking sheet (number depending on the size of your sheet). Take care to leave an inch or more of space on all sides of each cookie as cookies will spread during baking.
  • Bake until golden around the edges and slightly pale in the middle, 12-14 minutes, rotating pan halfway through the cooking time. Transfer cookies on parchment to cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.

Notes

If you like to have cookies fresh and warm from the oven, only cook the number of cookies you need for that day. Portion the remaining dough in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag marked with baking temperature and cook time. Bake frozen dough balls frozen adding a minute or two to the cooking time.

Nutrition

Calories: 111kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 63mg | Potassium: 50mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 104IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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60 Comments

  1. Helen @ Scrummy Lane says:

    Sans chocolate chips??? My goodness, the horror!
    I love the sound of these cookies, though. You sold them to me with the idea of the different ingredients in every bite … mmmm! Oh, and chewy in the middle and crispy on the outside … I’m definitely on board with these!

    1. Marissa says:

      haha, to each his own right? Thanks Helen!

  2. Joanne says:

    I’m all about throwing as much into my cookies as possible! These have some of my favorite mix-ins.

    1. Marissa says:

      Exactly! The more the merrier…

  3. HapaNomNom says:

    Crispy edges with a chewy center – girl, you know exactly how I like my cookies! And what a wonderful combination of flavors, I really love the combo of cranberry and chocolate 🙂

    1. Marissa says:

      It’s my favorite texture combo – why choose just one, right? Thanks, Kathleen. 🙂

  4. Eileen says:

    You have to love a cookie filled with everything under the sun! This sounds like such a great combination — I love the coconut especially.

    1. Marissa says:

      The coconut definitely adds a lot of richness! Thank you, Eileen!

  5. Sabrina says:

    These sound really good!

    1. Marissa says:

      Thanks, Sabrina!

  6. nicole (thespicetrain.com) says:

    Oooh, I love all the flavors in here. Delicious!

    1. Marissa says:

      Thank you, Nicole!

  7. Beeta Hashempour says:

    These look incredible, Marissa! I love that you get a little bit of this and that in every bite. Great ingredients too with the cranberries, walnuts, and coconut – love all those! And I agree, whole grain flour does an excellent job with the texture of cookies and taming their sweetness a bit. These look so yummy! Tell your hubby I’m sorry but I’m gonna have to side with you on the lumpy bump cookies being superior! 😉

    1. Marissa says:

      I’ll break the news. 😉 What’s funny about the whole grain flour is that noone seems to notice – even kids. Thank you, Beeta. xo

  8. Anne says:

    These cookies sound amazing!!!!! I love cookies that are a mishmash because chocolate chip can get so boring! 😀

    1. Marissa says:

      I agree. Of course I’m not opposed to chocolate chip cookies if somebody’s offering – but definitely prefer cookies with more going on. 🙂

  9. Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen says:

    Hahaha! I LOL’d at the Kitchen Sink Cookie kinda girl. You make me LOL Marissa. And, these cookies? Darling, they’re perfect!

    1. Marissa says:

      awww, thanks Kristi!

  10. Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says:

    I can never turn down a cookie, especially when it includes coconut and chocolate!

    1. Marissa says:

      You and me too! Thanks, Ashley. 🙂

  11. whiskandshout says:

    Lovely! I can’t do cookies without the chocolate unless they’re a flavor I LOVE 🙂 Pinning!

    1. Marissa says:

      Thank you, Medha!

  12. Lorraine @Not Quite Nigella says:

    Hehe I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone that asks for cookies without chocolate chips! Wow, he’s an interesting guy! 😀 This cookie? I’d eat a dozen happily 🙂

    1. Marissa says:

      Come on over and I’ll make you a dozen! 🙂

  13. Dorothy Dunton says:

    Hi Marissa! This is my kind of cookie! I quite often add ingredients that I happen to have on hand. I’m trying out a no bake cookie this afternoon that has oats, coconut and cocoa in it and it’s topped with Dulce de leche and a pecan half and then drizzled with chocolate. I haven’t been too keen on other no bake cookies I’ve tried, but this one just might alter my perceptions. I’ll definitely be trying your cookie soon! 🙂

    1. Marissa says:

      Just reading the description of that no-bake cookie is making me drool. 😉 Sounds delicious…

  14. KevinIsCooking says:

    I’m with you, the more in there the merrier! The thick 1/4 cup dough balls would be perfect to test right now, LOVE the flavors in these and right now my glass of milk is lonely. 🙁 Have a great weekend Marissa!

    1. Marissa says:

      haha, thanks Kevin! 🙂

  15. Mira says:

    Great flavors Marissa! These cookies look delicious! I haven’t baked any cookies in a while, need to try these soon!

    1. Marissa says:

      Thanks so much, Mira!