These Sourdough Cowboy Cookies are soft, chewy, and packed with oats, chocolate chips, pecans, coconut, and just the right hint of tang from the starter.

This recipe was inspired by Laura Bush’s famous cowboy cookies, but I set out to make them a little softer, a little chewier—and they’re just that. Thick and chewy with golden edges, these cookies are the perfect hearty treat, loaded with all the good stuff a cowboy (or cookie lover) could want.

Ingredients for Cowboy Cookies

over head shot of cowboy cookie ingredients

sourdough starter - discard or active starter both work
flour - all purpose
oats - old fashioned rolled oats
butter - at room temperature
eggs
brown sugar - this recipe only uses brown sugar to achieve that chewy soft texture
pecans - chopped
shredded coconut - I used shredded sweetened
chocolate chips - semi sweet chips or chunks

How to Make Cowboy Cookies

Cream together brown sugar and softened butter until light and fluffy.

butter and sugar in a silver stand mixer

2. Add eggs one at a time.

3. Add sourdough starter and vanilla.

3. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients in two batches, mixing until just combined.

flour being added to the wet ingredients for cowboy cookies

4. Mix in oats until just combined.

5. Mix in chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and chopped pecans.

a bowl of oatmeal cookie dough with add ins on the side

6. The dough will be very thick. And delicious. You’ve been warned.

7. Scoop large golf ball sized cookie dough on to cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

raw cowboy cookie dough scooped into large balls on a lined cookie sheet

8. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

sourdough cowboy cookies in the oven on a cookie sheet

How to Store Cowboy Cookies

Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. To freeze unbaked cookie dough, scoop it into balls and freeze on a parchment-lined sheet. Once solid, pop them into a zip-top bag. Bake straight from the freezer—just add a minute or two when baking.

Sourdough Cowboy Cookies

Alexis

These soft and chewy cookies are loaded with oats, pecans, coconut, and chocolate chips making them the perfect hearty treat for any cowboy.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 24 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter room temperature
2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
⅓ cup sourdough discard
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¾ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 ½ cup oats
½ cup pecans chopped
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup shredded coconut

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F
In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time as well as the sourdough discard and vanilla, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
In a seperate bowl whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture in 2 batches, mixing until just combined after each addition. Add oats and mix until just combined.
Mix in chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and shredded coconut until just combined.
Use your preferred cookie scoop and drop portions of cookie dough on to a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown around the edges. For a softer cookie underbake them slightly.

Notes

You can add more shredded coconut if you like, around ¾ cup.
Bang cookie sheet at around 12 minutes of cooking time to deflate cookies. This results in a chewier texture.

Keyword cookies