Today is the first day of school here in the Pacific Northwest. I realize some of you have been in school for almost in a month but we start late, always the day after Labor Day. The first day of school means one thing at my house – chocolate chip cookies. For many years I made chocolate chip cookies on the first day of school to welcome my kids home. There is nothing better than a warm chocolate chip cookie and a cold glass of milk to welcome them home and get them talking about their day.
Even though there is no one currently living at my house that will be starting school today I still felt the need to make chocolate chip cookies. Just wish I could ship some to that college girl of mine who will be starting school tomorrow.
I actually made t hese cookies over the weekend so I could deliver them to the neighbor kids who would be starting school today. Because I am a bit of a chocolate chip cookie recipe collector I have quite a few good recipes to choose from but I decided that Cowboy Cookies sounded good.
A nice soft, chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. I came here to the blog to get the recipe and realized that I had never posted this recipe before! I was shocked. I have been making this recipe for years and it is one that is in our Best of the Best Family Cookbook. Shame on me for not sharing it before.
I don’t know why it is called a cowboy cookie? Anyone know? I do know though that it is a good chocolate chip cookie when the dough tastes as good as the baked cookie itself. I’m not saying how much of the dough I did not make into a cookie.
The secret to these cookies is to NOT overbake them. You actually want them to look underbaked. The cookies should not start to turn brown around the edges, just have an all over light brown color. If you let them get too brown around the edges they will still be great, just not quite as soft and chewy.
The cookies will look set (not gooey in the middle) but they will still look pretty pale.
The trick to keeping them soft and chewy is to store any uneaten, if you have any uneaten cookies, in a brown paper bag. In fact when I delivered them to the neighbor kids I took them over in a brown paper bag. Just in case they didn’t them all at one time!
Happy first day of school kids!
For other chocolate chip cookie goodness:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dip – Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie – Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark
Cowboy Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 C dark brown sugar
- 1 C granulated sugar
- 1 C butter softenend
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 C flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 C old fashioned oatmeal
- 1 12 oz. pkg. of milk chocolate chips.
Instructions
- Cream together sugars and butter for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add in eggs and vanilla. Mix.
- Add in dry ingredients except oatmeal.
- Mix throughly.
- Add in oatmeal and chocolate chips.
- Scoop onto parchment covered cookie sheet.
- Bake 7-10 minutes at 350 degrees
- DO NOT overbake.
- Cookies should barely be brown.
- Store in a brown paper bag to keep cookie soft.
Enjoy!
Leigh Anne
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This has been my ‘go-to’ chocolate chip cookie recipe forever. I got it from my Aunt Ethel years ago, although she called them ‘Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies’ because the lady she got it from won a blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair with them. Whatever you call them they are yummy! Lately, I’ve been making them with coconut oil which gives it a whole new twist. My family likes them even better. Thanks for sharing your recipe and memories..Love your blog!
The old ones are the best ones aren’t they!! Love that it is a favorite of your family too. My original recipe called for margarine – yours probably did too. Will have to try it with coconut oil – yum!!
This is my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies too! Thanks for sharing it.
By chance, is your college cookbook still available? My hard drive crashed and one of my girls now has her own apartment at college. I would love to put the cookbook together for her!
It is, here is a link to it. https://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/?page_id=5092 I will email you the link to download as soon as I receive notification you have purchased it. Thanks!
We’ve had this recipe in our family for 35+ years and it is our favorite! The only difference between this one and the one given to my mother many years ago is that my mom’s recipe has 3 cups of oats (making a thicker cookie) and a cup of chopped pecans (in addition to the 12 oz package of chocolate chips). Reading this makes me miss my daughter that just returned to college!
I bet the added pecans would be delicious! Will have to try that next time and adding in some more oats. Thanks!!
58 years ago my mother found the Cowboy Cookie recipe in a magazine. It has become our family favorite. I have shared it with people all across the U.S. It is identical to the one posted. I still have mom’s cookbook and the original recipe cut out of a magazine. This dough is great to refrigerate and have fresh warm cookies every day. Mom always doubled it because there are nine children in the family.
I love hearing these stories! Thanks so much for sharing.
This recipe is amazing! These cookies are also perfect for making ice cream sandwich’s with because of how thin and chewy they are. I’ve made this recipe at least 3 times in the last 2 months! Thank you!
Nicole, I love the idea of making ice cream sandwiches with Cowboy Cookies – so much goodness! Yum!!
Made these yesterday. They are awesome. My husband can’t stop eating them.