cowboy cookies

Oh, my. It seems things have gotten away from me again over here in blogging land. Terribly sorry about that. It's not that I don't enjoy cooking, baking, and blogging -- you know I do -- it's that my priorities have shifted a bit over the last year. Last July I started taking dance lessons. As it turns out, dancing comes rather naturally to me, so what began as just a little Country dancing (two-step, Schottische, triple-step, etc.) had, by September, ramped up to include ballroom, swing, and salsa, too. I danced five to six days a week all through the fall and winter, then dropped down to three to four days a week in the spring, partially because I was running out of money (private lessons are expensive!), and partially because I wanted to spend more time with my Country music/dancing friends and less with everyone else.

Spring, as you have read, brought carrot cake, the introduction of The Pioneer Woman, and Snickerdoodle cupcakes. Oh, and Orlando Bloom. Ugh. Let's wrap up that last part right now. Outside of the initial introduction, the Orlando Bloom experience was a disaster from start to very quick finish. He was not so much cowboy as redneck, and that just doesn't work for me. Moving on.


Summer, however, brought me something utterly delightful. Something tall and feverishly handsome, with baby blue eyes, scores of soft lashes, and sparkling white teeth...nicely packaged in boots and a cowboy hat. (I clearly have a type.) Enter Canadian Cowboy. Would you like to hear more about him? Perhaps after this recipe....

Cowboy Cookies
A recipe from MarthaStewart.com
Yields about 3 dozen cookies

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light-brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch chunks (1 cup)
3 ounces (3/4 cup) pecan halves
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

Reduce speed to low, and slowly add flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Beat in oats, chocolate, pecans, and coconut until combined. (Dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

Using a 1 1/2-inch scoop, drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Bake until edges of cookies begin to brown, 11-13 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.