It is no secret that I love cookies. I love to make them and I love to eat them. One of my favorite cookies to make is Cowboy Cookies.
There are a lot of versions of Cowboy Cookies, but this is the one I have made for years. This recipe came from my best friend’s mom. She used to make them all the time when we were growing up.
Some versions of Cowboy cookies contain M&M’s and some don’t. My friend’s mom used M&M’s in hers, so that is my favorite way to make them too.
I love changing these up using the holiday and seasonal M&M’s.
If you have never made Cowboy Cookies you need to make some. Kids and adults love these!
I will say that this is one of the few recipes I make that uses shortening. It is worth it in these. Yes, you can use butter, but shortening gives them a better texture.
Cowboy Cookies
This Cowboy Cookies recipe came from a family friend. They are an old fashioned delicious cookie.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup shortening
- 2 beaten eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups old fashioned oatmeal ( I use gluten free oats if I am making them gf)
- 2 cups flour ( Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Blend works well for a gf version)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup M&M's
- ½ cup nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Cream sugar and shortening.
- Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined
- Add dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Stir in oatmeal, chocolate chips, M&M's, and nuts if using.
- Drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
50Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 157Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 37mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 1gSugar: 14gProtein: 2g
Originally posted July, 2008.
These look good. DO you know if they would work with butter instead of shortning?
I make these often, for my grandkids. Got the recipe from the mother of a doctor I used to work for and she called them Monster Cookies because she made them about the size of a coffee saucer. She used to bring them to the office for the staff and no one turned them down! She used lard in hers, never shortening. I, myself, use a combo of butter and my home-rendered lard, but even just plain butter (not margarine – OMG NEVER use margarine) will work, you just have to monitor the baking time because they will bake faster. You may also need to add a bit more flour, depending on the time of year you make these. In the summer, more flour, in the winter, not so much. I have no idea why. ;o)
Also, when I’m just making a small batch (like the one in Lynn’s recipe) I add either the M & M’s or the choc chips, but not both. If I make a monster batch (thus the name Monster cookies) I use both. I haven’t made a *single* batch of cookies in years!! Generally mine are quadrupled, at least, you know – two double batches. 8 grandkids and their friends can get rid of those in no time flat.
Forgot to add to the above post, that when I made what we called Cowboy Cookies, they had peanut butter in them, too. Basically the same general recipe as Lynn’s, just with p. butter and some more flour and another egg. If they didn’t have the p. butter, they were Monster Cookies.
Also, the Cowboy Cookies I made had M & M’s, chocolate chips and raisins (the softened ones). I buy raisins at our local food co-op and soak them in warm water for about 15-20 minutes and that works great if you cannot find the soft baking kind.
Thanks for sharing about your version. My friend’s mom used to make them as big cookies too. I make mine smaller than she did. I love the idea of adding peanut butter. I haven’t tried these with lard, but I have lard in my freezer and might have to give them a try with lard or part lard in them. I bet they would be good that way! Thanks again for sharing how you make them.
I have never tried them with butter. It should work, it just may change the texture a little. I have used butter in place of shortening in other cookies and it worked fine. You could use 1/2 and 1/2 the first time to see how it the butter does. If you try it with butter let me know how they turn out.
These look delicious! I’ve book marked them. Thanks!
Renee’
https://rmboys2.wordpress.com/
Oh these look SO good, I’ve bookmarked them 🙂
Do you freeze these after you bake them?
@Tammy, Yes these freeze well after you bake them. I have frozen other cookie doughs before, but I have not frozen this dough, just after baking. I hope that helps.
YOur picture has M & M’s but the recipe only has choc chips??
I mentioned M&M’s in the post, but you are right they are not in the recipe. I just added them. If you want them in the recipe I use 1 cup or so. You can use them in place of the chocolate chips or for extra chocolate use both.
Hi- how much does this yield? Thank you!
Depends on the size you make them. I usually get 4-5 dozens.
Lynn, I didn’t know where else to put this because I only receive your email newsletter and I wasn’t sure if replying to that would get the message to you or not. I was disappointed to open your newsletter today to find that you are thinking of expanding your presence on facebook. I have been trying to get people to turn away from facebook and instagram and all that junk and just stick with email. I am not a member of facebook nor do I ever intend to be. So when places like your newsletter only end up at facebook (for the groups, especially) I am not able to comment or participate at all. If you decide to set up another group on facebook I hope you’ll also include your email subscribers on all those things, as well.
Hi, I do read all my responses to my newsletter so you can always reply to them. I do all my own email. No one else does, so I see everything that comes in. To totally answer this and your concern is too long for a comment. The new Facebook group is actually my way of simplifying my social media life. The short answer is that I am trying to combine things social media wise and do more of it in one place. My newsletters won’t change. I will still be sending them out and will still be doing my Everyday Adventures posts.