Toasted coconut and pecans, chocolate chips, oats, toffee; these cookies are chock full of good stuff! I say unforgettable because people seem to remember these cookies long after they have had them. I chuckle when I think of our friend that said to me one day, “What were those cookies you made one time? Cowboy cookies or something?” I took that as a hint that he wanted more so I made them again for him and his family. I was surprised too when Joel’s workmates remembered the name of the cookies I had sent long before. When people bring up cookies I have made in the past, I take it as a request for more. When Joel had started new job a couple years ago, I knew I needed to send in homemade cookies. Since cowboy cookies are Joel’s favorite, that is what I made. He took them in and everyone was much friendlier and acknowledged him more. I knew cookies would make a difference in the atmosphere!
The original recipe does not call for toffee pieces but adding toffee makes these extra special. The recipe comes from a wonderful little cookbook called Chocolate for Breakfast and Tea by Laura Zahn. She got the recipe from an innkeeper in Oregon by the name of Judi Cook. I wish I had time to try every recipe in the book but what I have tried has been good. These cookies are truly outstanding.
This recipe makes 5 dozen cookies but I often double it so I have plenty to share. It is so much easier to weigh ingredients that I have started noting weights on my standard recipes.
COWBOY COOKIES
- 1 cup flaked coconut (3 ounces or 85 grams)
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans (3 ounces or 85 grams) {other nuts can be substituted or combined}
- 1 cup butter, softened (8 ounces or 226 grams)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (3.5 ounces or 99 grams)
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed (11.25 ounces or 320 grams)
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour ( 240 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups rolled oats {old-fashioned or quick-cooking} (7 ounces or 198 grams for old-fashioned; 6.25 ounces or 178 grams for quick oats)
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (12 ounces or 340 grams)
- 1 cup toffee pieces, with or without chocolate {if you have an 8-ounce package, use it all}
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease insulated cookie sheets. Or line with parchment paper or silicone mats.
Spread coconut and pecans on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Place in oven for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir and repeat toasting for another 3 to 5 minutes until coconut is golden. Cool before adding to cookie mixture.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and the two sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Beat in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in oats, chips, toffee, and toasted coconut and pecans (by hand, if you do not have a heavy duty mixer).
Drop from a rounded teaspoon onto greased cookie sheets (these do not spread much).
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.