Cowboy Cookies

Cowboy cookies are what happens when an oatmeal cookie and a chocolate chip cookie have a love child on a Texas ranch.

These are big, hearty, no-nonsense cookies packed with rolled oats and a full bag of chocolate chips, held together by a double-sugar dough of granulated and brown sugar that bakes up chewy in the middle with crispy, golden edges.

The recipe makes four dozen, which sounds like a lot until you realize the first dozen won’t survive the cooling rack.

Toss in some chopped nuts if you’re feeling extra.

Pro Tips

• Don’t overmix after adding the oats. The dough is meant to be crumbly, and working it too hard makes the cookies tough and flat.
• Use a teaspoon to drop the dough, not a tablespoon. These spread, and oversized scoops turn into one giant cookie sheet pancake.
• Pull them from the oven when they’re just barely golden, not fully browned. They firm up as they cool, and overbaking turns chewy cowboy cookies into crunchy cowboy crackers.
• Let the dough chill for 30 minutes if it feels too soft to scoop. Cold dough spreads less and gives you thicker, chewier cookies.