Ever had a Cowboy Cookie? I have absolutely no idea where the name comes from, but if you like stuff in your cookies, they’re just about nirvana. Oats, chocolate chips, coconut, pecans, sometimes even raisins… I think of them as oatmeal cookies with impulse-control issues—when the chocolate chips ask if they can jump in, the oatmeal says “yessirree!” Coconut? “Come on in!” Pecans? “The more the merrier!”
You get the idea.
Only problem with Cowboy Cookies in this household is that Harry hasn’t yet learned to appreciate nuts. So when we make em, we leave out the nuts, swap in some dried cherries, and call em Cowkid Cookies: They’ll make any kid shout, “Yeehaw!”
Cowkid Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk
2 large eggs
3 cups old-fashioned oats
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup raisins
½ cup dried cherries, chopped if you like
½ cup unsweetened coconut
Preheat oven to 350, and set racks in upper and lower positions. Line two cookie sheets with parchment or Silpat
Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or just a big ol’ bowl with a hand mixer), combine butter and sugars; beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, milk, and eggs, and mix well. Add the reserved dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Fold in remaining ingredients by hand.
Using a medium cookie scoop, portion out cookies—I fit 8 onto mine—and bake until golden but still somewhat soft, 13-15 minutes, rotating trays halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.