These thick and chewy Christmas Cowboy Cookies are the best bakery-style oatmeal cookies ever! Super loaded with peanut butter, oats, salted peanuts, sweetened coconut, white and milk chocolate chips and festive colored m&ms!

This recipe for cowboy cookies is to easy to make for all your holiday cookie baking and gifting!

Check out these Best Ever Samoa Chocolate Chip Cookies, these Salted Caramel White Chocolate Cookies, these Thick & Chewy Chocolate M&M Cookies, and these Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies for other yummy cookie recipes!

This cowboy cookie recipe is great to make for any occasion because they are so loaded with goodies that will please! Plus the cookies are BIG, like TEXAS sized! They’re scooped out in quarter-cup portions! My favorite measurement for cookies!

Since we are making large cookies, place each cookie 3 inches apart from each other. Bake this recipe for cowboy cookies only until the edges start to brown but the centers are still soft. You will get soft and chewy cookies with crisp edges.

How Did Cowboy Cookies Becomes so Popular?

Have you heard of cowboy cookies and Laura Bush in the same sentence? Time to meet these "everything-but-the-kitchen-sink" marvels"!

In 2000, Laura Bush submitted her Texas Governor’s Mansion Cowboy Cookies while Tipper Gore made her Ginger Snaps. Well it turns out, Laura’s Cowboy Cookie recipe won by a landslide! Since then, it's become Family Circle’s most widely circulated presidential cookie recipe.

Laura's recipe starts as a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe with the addition of shredded coconut, rolled oats, chopped pecans, and cinnamon.

Our version is along the same lines, but is a peanut butter version with some different add-ins to bring in the Christmas CHEER! Like our red and green m&ms! Can you feel the jolly vibes? 🙂

Add-ins For Peanut Butter Cowboy Cookies

Because these Christmas Cowboy Cookies do contain everything but the kitchen sink, why not experiment with your own favorite add-ins?

So many options here! Raisins, dried cherries, dried cranberries, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, pretzels, crushed corn flakes, toffee bits, espresso or dark chocolate chips, chocolate chunks or peanut butter chips, just to name a few.

We used quick-cooking oats in our cookies, but you can use old-fashioned for a chewier, thicker texture, or even do half & half. These cookies are thick regardless and did we mention BIG? 🙂

Ingredients You Need for Recipe for Cowboy Cookies

all-purpose flour
baking powder
salt
baking soda
butter, softened
brown sugar
granulated sugar
peanut butter, like Jif
pure vanilla extract
eggs
quick cooking oats or rolled oats
salted cocktail peanuts, roughly chopped
sweetened flaked coconut
milk chocolate chips
white chocolate chips
m&ms

How to Make Easy Christmas Cowboy Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
Using mixer, on medium speed cream together the softened butter, sugars, peanut butter and vanilla for 3 minutes until light, fluffy and pale. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
Add the dry ingredients gradually while beating on low speed, mixing well between each addition. Once all the flour as been added, increase the speed of the mixer and beat for 1 minute.
Fold in the oats, peanuts, milk & white chocolate chips, m&ms and sweetened flaked coconut until combined. Dough will be creamy, yet very thick.
Use an ice cream scoop (¼ cup) and scoop cookies on baking sheet 3-inches apart. Press the centers to flatten slightly for even baking.
Bake for 16-18 minutes until lightly golden.
Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Storing and Freezing Christmas Cowboy Cookies

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days, after which they tend to start to dry out.
To freeze, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, then in foil, then place them in an airtight freezer container or zip-lock for up to a month.
Raw cookie dough can also be scooped out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and frozen.
Once the cookie dough balls are frozen, place them into a freezer container or ziplock bag and freeze for up to a month.
Bake as many as you like at a time as directed, increasing the baking time by a minute or two.

These peanut butter cowboy cookies are amazing warm from the oven, we can't get enough of this delicious Christmas Cowboy Cookie recipe! A total crowd-pleaser!

More Holiday Cookies!