YeeHaaa! Vegan Cowgirl Cookies are here and you’re going to want to gobble them up! The first time I made them my husband said ” I’ve never heard of a Cowgirl Cookie”. It’s one of those cookies you would want to eat out on the range or after a long hike or in our case after a long day of school. These are a close cousin to one of our all time favorite Nature Cookies. Crunchy from the oats with tons of texture from the addition my secret ingredient Rice Crispies, unsweetened coconut, nuts or seeds and delectable chocolate chunks in every bite! The first time I made these Vegan Cowgirl Cookies I gave a few dozen to friends and teachers at our kids school and had a big container worth remaining. Hubby with always remember the name of these bad boys from hear on out as he ate 7 in one sitting. They’re that addictive!
The first time I made these Vegan Cowgirl Cookies I gave a few dozen to friends and teachers at our kids school and had a big container worth remaining. Hubby will always remember the name of these bad boys from here on out as he ate 7 in one sitting. He loves vegan foods (especially cookies), so you better watch out when there are treat around. The kids came home that afternoon wanting one of the cookies I had made the day prior only to find the container barren. Luckily I had tossed a few scoops of cookie dough in the freezer so I could quickly bake them up before a revolt began.
Since they’re made without eggs or dairy and able to be made with seeds instead of nuts if desired, they’re a great option if you have specific allergies. They’re irresistible on their own, but also great served with a a handful of sugar snap peas and a Mini Babybel. Whether you’re a vegan or not, these Vegan Cowgirl Cookies will be a recipe you’ll have bookmarked for years to come!
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Photos by Matt Armendariz
Vegan Cowgirl Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/3 cup rice krispies cereal
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or sunflower seeds
- 1/3 cup shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- In a small bowl, mix together the ground flaxseeds and water. Allow to sit 5 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a handheld mixer, cream together the shortening and sugars.
- Add the flaxseeds and vanilla, and mix to combine well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Mix in the oats, rice krispies, chocolate chips, nuts, and coconut until combined well.
- Using an ice cream scoop or 2 tablespoon scoop, place the dough onto a silpat-lined baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden and set.
I’ve made this recipe so many times (cut out from the Costco magazine) that it is in tatters! Always a pleaser and as delicious as a chocolate chip cookie can ever be. I made them once without the coconut (because my son-in-law does not care for it) however they were very fragile. This recipe needs the tensile strength of coconut! This is a 10-star recipe in my home!
Wow! That’s so nice to hear. Happy your fam loves these! Thanks for the kind comment 🙂
Just tried these and I had to leave a comment: best cookies I made in years! I will be permanently adding this recipe to my recipe box and will be my ‘go to’ cookie recipe from now on!
I made it with coconut oil & they were awesome!!!
I made it with coconut oil & they were awesome!!!
Awesome recipe s!
I made these this afternoon using Earth Balance buttery spread because I didn’t have shortening. They turned out unbelievably delicious 🙂 Too delicious, I might add. Thank you, Catherine!!
Great recipe! I substituted shortening with coconut oil. The first batch spread a little, but I chilled the second batch while the first was baking. Second batch turned out great!
Spectrum is the brand of shortening!
These look awesome- my son is allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts so I’m always on the lookout for a good classic cookie recipe.
What brand of shortening did you use? I have only tried baking with vegan butter or coconut oil and I’ve found the butter comes out with a burnt taste and too much coconut oil leaves a funny mouth feel. Looking forward to trying these out for snack tomorrow!
Let me know how to the pudding idea works out! I’m intrigued!
What are the nutritional values of these cookies? They are delicious! I try to keep my sugars down so I used trivia baking blend instead of the white sugar. While they did not hold their shape well they somehow make it into my mouth just fine! 🙂 I think next time I will try some instant pudding mix and maybe that will help with keeping them more moist?
Thanks for sharing your substitutions!
I am gluten,dairy and soy free so I had to make changes to the recipe.
I cut the Spectrum shortening(soy free) to 1/4 C and added 1/2 C almond butter.
The cookies were still crisp and stayed together and had a great nutty taste.
I also substituted splenda for the sugars but you could use stevia instead.
I used the Enjoy Life Chocolate chips both semi sweet and dark chocolate these are dairy, nut, and soy free.
Great recipe!!
LOVE your recipes…in fact your cottage cheese pancakes are one of our regular favourites! But was disappointed in this one. While it didn’t disappoint flavor wise..,it did not hold its shape for baking. It just crumbled when I tried to place batter on cookie sheet for baking….so dumped all of batter onto sheet hoping to get squares instead…but that didn’t work either. Did get a few pieces….but mostly crumbs…so like another person, will use as granola. Now I did substitute coconut oil for the shortening as I wanted to keep them healthy….so don’t know if this affected the outcome. Probably won’t make again.