"Christmas Cowboy" Cookies Are the Only Way I'm Eating M&Ms During the Holidays
A lot of Christmas cookies are neat, carefully decorated little bites. While I love them (I mean, I really love them), sometimes I just want one mega-cookie with all the stuff baked in. Enter: Christmas Cowboy Cookies. With a chewy oatmeal cookie base, gooey pockets of chopped chocolate, festive holiday M&M’s, toasted pecans, shredded coconut, and toffee bits, they hit all the notes all at once. It’s basically a Christmas carol in your mouth.
This version is based on Former First Lady Laura Bush’s classic cowboy cookie recipe (try our version!), but with a holiday twist. The M&M’s don’t need to be exclusively red and green, but it does make the cookies more festive. It probably goes without saying that you can make these for any holiday, with any holiday-specific bag of M&M’s. They’ll be just as delicious, though maybe filled with slightly less Christmas cheer than these.
Why You’ll Love It
They’re full of Christmas cheer, among other things. Loaded with oats, candy, pecans, coconut, and toffee bits, every bite is a celebration of texture and flavor.
Double the chocolate. A combo of chopped chocolate and M&M’s makes these cookies full of blissfully melty pockets.
Key Ingredients in Cowboy Christmas Cookies
Butter: Browning the butter adds a rich, deeply nutty flavor throughout the cookies.
Oats: These are basically loaded oatmeal cookies, with old-fashioned rolled oats to give them a nice chew.
Flour: Regular all-purpose flour works best here.
Chocolate: Chopped semisweet chocolate creates pools of chocolate throughout.
M&M’s: While it’s not totally necessary, using the holiday M&M’s makes the cookies a little more festive.
Pecans: It’s worth it to chop the pecans yourself; they have a better flavor than the pre-chopped kind.
Coconut: Sweetened shredded coconut lends a lot of flavor and texture.
Toffee bits: While toffee bits are optional, I love the added caramel flavor.
Helpful Swaps
Sprinkle the cookies with flaky salt before baking for a salty-sweet balance.
I always opt for sweetened coconut because it adds so much flavor, but you can use unsweetened coconut if that’s what you have on hand.
Use walnuts instead of pecans.
Use regular M&M’s, or another holiday color variety.
Take a note from kitchen sink cookies and add some crushed pretzels or potato chips.
More Delicious Christmas Cookies to Make
Christmas Cowboy Cookies Recipe
Put a little yee-haw in your holiday cookie tin.
Prep time 25 minutes
Cook time 35 minutes to 50 minutes
Makes about 28 (3-inch) cookies
Ingredients
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
6 ounces semisweet chocolate (chopped into large chunks), or semisweet chocolate chips (about 1 cup), divided
3/4 cup toasted pecans (3 ounces), coarsely chopped
3/4 cup toffee bits (optional)
1/2 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
3/4 cup M&M's candies, preferably holiday colored, divided
Instructions
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Heat the oven to 350ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Melt 2 sticks cut-up unsalted butter in a medium, light-colored skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom occasionally, until it begins to bubble and pop. Continue cooking until it foams, smells nutty, and the solids turn dark brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
Scrape into a stand mixer and stir in 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside to cool slightly while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Whisk 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon together in a large bowl.
Add 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract to the butter. Beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed, stopping to scrape down the edges as needed, until pale and slightly fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add 2 large eggs and beat until just combined.
Add the oat mixture, 3/4 cup of the semisweet chocolate, 3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans, 3/4 cup toffee bits if using, 1/2 cup sweetened, shredded coconut, and 1/2 cup of the M&M's. Mix on the lowest speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
Scoop the dough out into 28 (2 1/2-tablespoon, about 1 3/4 ounces each) portions and arrange on the baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart, 12 per sheet (reuse the baking sheet and parchment as needed). Press the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate and 1/4 cup M&M's into the tops of the dough balls.
Bake 1 sheet at a time until spread out and lightly browned around the edges, 12 to 13 minutes. The cookies are better when they are slightly underbaked –– they should look gooey and will harden as they cool.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Recipe Notes
Make ahead: The topped dough balls can be frozen on one of the baking sheets until solid, then transferred into a freezer-friendly container and frozen for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen, adding 2 to 3 minutes baking time.
Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Forever Cookies
Meet the cookies that'll forever change your holiday baking. From the beloved recipes our families have made for decades to clever twists on classics, these are the keepers we turn to year after year.
