Laura Bush’s Cowboy Cookies

BySandra Flegg Posted onJune 24, 2021March 10, 2026

These famous Cowboy Cookies are soft, chewy, and packed with oats, chocolate chips, coconut, and pecans. A rich, hearty cookie that is always a crowd favorite.

Close up image of Cowboy Cookies with glass of milk in the background.

Try my easy oatmeal cookies, oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies, or monster cookies with oatmeal and M&M’s next!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients for cowboy cookies in glass bowls on white marble board.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 and 1/2 cups butter, softened at room temperature
1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 and 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed lightly
3 eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups rolled oats (quick oats)
2 cups sweetened flake coconut
2 cups chopped pecans

Step-By-Step Instructions

I recommend mixing the wet ingredients using a stand mixer or hand mixer, then mixing the remaining add-ins by hand.

STEP ONE – Preheat oven to 350°F.

STEP TWO – This is a heavy workout for your stand mixer and the ingredients would barely fit in the stand mixer bowl.

I used the largest mixing bowl I had and it worked out perfectly! An 8-quart bowl whicH holds 32 cups is ideal. These are not ‘large cookies’ and they will not fit in a ‘large bowl’. They’re jumbo, Texas-sized oatmeal cookies. A smaller bowl just won’t cut it!

Dry ingredients in mixing bowl with spatula.

Butter and both sugars in mixing bowl of stand mixer.

STEP THREE – In an extra-large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir well to combine, then set aside.

STEP FOUR – In the bowl of stand mixer, beat butter on medium speed for one minutes until mixture is smooth and creamy.

STEP FIVE – Gradually add in granulated sugar and brown sugar.

Wet and dry ingredients combined in large silver mixing bowl with wooden spoon.

STEP SIX – Add in eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each.

STEP SEVEN – Beat in vanilla.

STEP EIGHT – To the large mixing bowl that has the flour mixture, add in wet ingredients and stir well to combine. Use a wooden spoon or clean hands to mix in.

Pecans, chocolate chips and coconuts and rolled oats are added to cookie dough in mixing bowl.

STEP NINE – Add chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans.

STEP TEN – Use a quarter cup scoop or measuring cup and drop one quarter cup of dough onto onto ungreased baking sheets. Leave three inches between the cookies to allow for spreading.

STEP ELEVEN – Bake in 350°F degree F oven 13 to 18 minutes, in the centre of the oven, until edges are golden brown. Rotate sheets halfway through baking. For crisp edges, you can leave them in a few extra minutes.

Overhead image of stack of cowboy cookies with a glass of milk in the background.

Storage & Freezing Instructions

These cookies stay fresh and chewy in an airtight container for up to five days. Cookies can be frozen by layering them in a freezer-safe container for up to two months.

Sandra’s Top Tips

bake these cookies in the centre of the oven. I recommend baking them one cookie sheet at a time for even baking.
rotate sheets halfway through baking for even cooking.
mix the wet ingredients with a mixer or stand mixer, then mix the wet and dry ingredients together with clean hands or a wooden spoon.
this may seem like a big batch of cookies. You could cut the recipe in half, but then you wouldn’t be able to share them because they are THAT good!