Gluten free cowboy cookies are chewy and hearty, with just the right amount of chocolate chips in a big, generous cookie packed with oats and coconut chips.
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The cowboy cookies origin story
I'm no cowboy, and frankly I was always kind of neutral about Laura Bush, but these are some seriously good cookies. I don't think she “invented” cowboy cookies. Clearly, Tipper Gore didn't stand a chance with her gingersnap cookies.
I love snappy, picy gluten free gingersnaps, but if I'm entering a contest I'm not showing up with that. Even just visually, a cookie with mix-ins beats a straight-up cutout cookie with no frosting, no nothing, any day of the week. In fact, I'd be more likely to show up with our best gluten free chocolate chip cookies. When the dough for those classic cookies is chilled first, they brown in all the right places and just look and taste like the perfect example of a cookie.
Let's ignore that, as recently as election year 2000, Family Circle Magazine held a cookie bake-off between the presidential candidates' wives, Tipper Gore and Laura Bush. That certain wifely stereotype, like that's all that they're good for, has thankfully been upended (right?).
I'm just in it for the cookies anyway. My gluten free cowboy cookies are chewy and hearty (oats!), with just the right amount of chocolate chips in a big, generous gluten free chocolate chip cookie.
Nubby, hearty gluten free cowboy cookies
Similar to our peanut butter and oats filled gluten free monster cookies, my version of gluten free cowboy cookies, seen in these photos and the how-to video, don't spread much, if at all, during baking. I cut back on the butter called for in the original recipe (or at least Laura Bush's version of it).
I wanted a thick cookie that was crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. So shape them before baking in the manner in which you'd like them to turn out after baking.
This is not the type of cookie you're going to eat when it's gooey, as it has a crisp outside when it cools. After baking and before they're cool, the cookies will be fragile. After they're mostly cool, their crisp and nubby texture outside makes them very stable.
What raw gf cowboy cookie dough is like
This cookie dough doesn't happen to be especially sticky, even though the cookies are chewy inside. Often, the chewiest cookies begin with the stickiest cookie dough.
These cookies are made in one bowl, using what's called the “reverse cream” method, where the wet ingredients are mixed into the dry. This way we don't add much air to the cookie dough, which preserves the hearty, chewy flavor.
There's enough butter and eggs to moisten all of the dry ingredients, but you may find that some of the most dry ingredients seem to resist combining. Just keep pressing the underside of the bowl of the spoon or spatula you are using for mixing into the wet ingredients so they absorb the flour.
Mix the dough with a spoon for as long as you can before switching to using clean, dry hands to knead the dough together. If you touch the dough with your hands too soon, too many wet ingredients will stick to your fingers.
I don't recommend using a handheld mixer, since beaters will aerate the dough too much. But you can use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and make quick work of making the dough.
Gluten free cowboy cookies: substitution information
Dairy free
In place of the butter in this recipe, I recommend trying Melt or Miyoko's Kitchen brand vegan butter. I don't recommend Earth Balance buttery sticks, as they contain too much moisture and your cookies will spread too much and potentially burn before they're nicely browned.
If you're dairy-free, be careful about your chocolate chips. There are plenty of gluten free varieties of semi sweet chocolate chips. You could use any other sort of chip you like for a different flavor profile.
Egg free
There are two eggs in this recipe. Try replacing each of them with a “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel).
Oat-free?
Purity protocol gluten free oats are, indeed, safely gluten free. If you can't find those sort of oats, or you simply won't eat them, you can try using beaten rice in their place (for more detail on oat substitutions in baking <—click over).
Coconut free?
If you think you don't care for coconut, you might not be familiar with the good type of coconut (just an idea). are you thinking of the bagged, shredded sweetened coconut?
If you've never tried the wide, flat coconut flakes that are sometimes called coconut chips, I submit that you're selling coconut short. If you want to replace it here, though, maybe try an equal amount, by weight, of chopped nuts.
The coconut chips are adding flavor and texture, but not really entering into the chemical reaction in any meaningful way. So experiment away!
Gluten Free Cowboy Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; please click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (218 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups (150 g) certified gluten free old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups (120 g) coconut chips (See Recipe Notes)
- 10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set them aside.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well.
- Add the brown sugar and mix to combine, working out any lumps in the brown sugar. Add the oats and coconut chips and mix to combine.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, eggs, and vanilla, mixing to combine after each addition.
- Press the back of your mixing spoon into the dough to moisten all of the dry ingredients and create a cohesive dough.
- Add the chocolate chips, and mix until they’re evenly distributed throughout the dough. If necessary to bring the dough together, knead it with your hands.
- Divide the dough into 20 pieces, each about 2 ounces. Roll each into a ball and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Flatten each ball into a disk about 1/4-inch thick.
- Place the baking sheets in the center of the preheated oven, one at a time, and bake until lightly golden brown all over (about 12 minutes).
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes or until firm before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Dee says
Love the recipe! Thanks for such good gluten free ideas!
Is there any way to print out your recipe without providing our info to GROW? It blocks the printing.
Nicole Hunn says
You’re welcome to browse all of the recipes on the site, but I’m afraid you can’t print without signing up for Grow. Grow is a service that allows you to save your favorites on my blog and on any other blog that runs the same service, and it allows my advertising management company to serve you more relevant advertisements. You won’t receive any more emails, as you’re already on my email list.
I’m afraid there’s no way for me to customize the window that asks you to sign up for Grow to print, so I can’t explain up front that you won’t receive any additional emails from me or anyone else if you sign up.
If you don’t want to add your email to Grow, you are welcome to browse the website, but you won’t be able to print my recipes which I provide to you free of charge. Thanks for your understanding.
Tanya Houston says
It seems like when I signed up for Grow my unwanted emails became out of control. That is the only thing I can associate it with. Is this something that would happen with Grow?
Nicole Hunn says
Absolutely not, Tanya. Signing up for Grow on my website only means that you receive emails from me and me alone, and I send 3 a week. Each one, as required by law, has an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of every email. But I don’t even see you on my email list, so either you didn’t sign up for Grow on my site, or you’ve already unsubscribed. I don’t share or sell anyone’s email address.
Marilyn says
Glad to have an old fashioned recipe for Monster Cookies. I wanted to make some at Easter for my grandchildren and could only find recipes with M&Ms in them and no oatmeal.
Barbara says
Calories?
Nicole Hunn says
I’ve added approximate nutritional information to the recipe card, Barbara, as a convenience, but also an important disclaimer that states: “Nutrition information is for informational purposes only, is at best approximate, and should not be relied upon.”
Carmalee says
These are awesome, loved them. thanks so much for this GF recipe