Sunday, August 18, 2019

Cowboy Cookies for a Birthday Girl


A couple of years ago, I came across a recipe for so-called 'Cowboy Cookies'. Needless to say that the recipe name attracted my attention, a bit like the 'Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Cookies'. Although I am know to bake lots of different cookies following more traditional European recipes, I also love to bake big, chewy, chunky American-style cookies. To make a long cookie-baking story short, a couple of years ago, I started baking Cowboy Cookies and the kids loved them. Then, on a regular basis, I got requests for Cowboy Cookies. This past week I got a request for Birthday Cowboy Cookies AND a I was handed a new recipe. It seems the birthday girl was attracted to the fun title of the cookies for 'Texas Governor’s Mansion Cowboy Cookies'. Why not try a new recipe, I said, I was going to bake Cowboy Cookies (and a lovely cake) for the birthday anyways.




When doing my research on these cookies, I learned that former First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush is credited with creating this version of Cowboy Cookies. And the story behind her now famous Cowboy Cookie recipe is rather interesting, to say the least.

It seems that it was already commonplace for US presidential candidates to release family recipes during their campaign, it is thought 'to help humanize the candidates and also allows them to promote family values'. But public contests pitting the baking ability of potential first ladies against each other are relatively new. They began in 1992 when Hillary Rodham Clinton got everyone talking with her infamous cookie comment, discussing working as a lawyer while her husband Bill Clinton was Governor of Arkansas:

''I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas,'' she said. ''But what I decided to do was pursue my profession, which I entered before my husband was in public life.''

She was probaly trying to make the point that in 1992, women had other options. But instead, it appears from what I have read, that her remark created a so-called 'reactionary cookie contest', the brainchild of Family Circle Magazine (a US home magazine that commenced publication in 1932, with British as well as Australian editions) which published her chocolate chip recipe and one from Barbara Bush, asking readers to try baking both and then vote on their favorite. Interestingly, the results of the bake-off have almost always predicted the winner of the US presidential election.




Be that as it may, in the first First Lady bake-off in 1992, the recipe for Hillary Clinton’s chocolate chip cookies beat out the one from Barbara Bush, and again in 1996, Hillary’s chocolate chip recipe won over Elizabeth Dole’s Pecan Roll cookies. In 2000, Laura Bush debuted above Texas Governor’s Mansion Cowboy Cookies, and as expected, they beat our Tipper Gore’s Ginger Snap recipe. Then in 2004 Laura Bush switched up her original recipe during her husband’s second presidential campaign to a similar oatmeal chocolate chunk recipe, but it’s her first Cowboy Cookie recipe, the Texas Governor’s Mansion Cowboy Cookies that’s become so beloved and famous - there are countless articles and blog entries written on the subject of these cookies.

Here is my personal adaptation of Laura Bush's winning recipe. As a European baker I would classify these cookies as classic chocolate chip cookies (chocolate chips always mean chunks of dark Belgian chocolate) fortified with lots of old-fashioned oats (the coarse variety), chopped pecans, shredded coconut (coarse shredds) as well as sweet cinnamon.

Texas Governor’s Mansion Cowboy Cookies
(Adapted from Laura Bush)

Ingredients
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour (390g)
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder 
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda 
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (I like to use 'Ceylon cinnamon')
  • 1 teaspoon salt (I like to use fine sea salt)
  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature (340g)
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (300g - I like to use superfine baking sugar)
  • 1 1/2 cups light-brown sugar, packed (300g - I like to use fine cane sugar)
  • 3 eggs (I used 'M', organic)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla (I used pure vanilla extract)
  • 3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (400g - I used dark Belgian baking chocolate chunks)
  • 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (270g - around here 'Kernige Haferflocken')
  • 2 cups sweetened flake coconut (150g)
  • 2 cups chopped pecans (220g)

Preparation
  1. Heat oven to 350°F ( 175°C).
  2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in bowl.
  3. In a very large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in sugars to combine thoroughly.
  4. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla.
  5. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans.
  6. For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup (I used an ice cream scoop instead) dough onto ungreased baking sheets (I lined my sheets with baking parchment), spacing 3 inches (7.5 cm) apart.
  7. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until edges are lightly browned; rotate sheets halfway through. 
  8. Remove cookies to rack to cool (cool on the baking sheets before removing).





These are my minimal changes: the original recipe yields between 36 to 42 rather huge cookies, I halved the recipe and made considerably smaller cookies using a regular ice cream scoop. I also reduced the baking time to 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure to let them cool on the baking sheets before trying to remove them. I also lined my baking sheets with baking parchment instead of baking the cookies on ungreased baking sheets.




If you enjoy chewy cookies loaded with mix-ins like pecans (which I luckily food at my health food store), old-fashioned oats, large flaked coconut and dark chocolate (I splurged and used a wonderful deep, dark Belgian baking chocolate), these are your kind of cookies.




16 comments:

  1. Really funny story Andrea . Of course I don't had idea about cowboy cookies ! Anyway I love yours and looks delicious . And love the little cowboy !

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    1. Dear Gloria! Every once in a while, I quite enjoy using fun props like mini cyclists for my Müsli Power Bars or some cowboy with horse figurines for these cookies.
      And the recipe renders nice, chewy Cowboy Cookies that the birthday girl loved!
      Thank you for stopping by!
      Andrea

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  2. What a great background story. I love how you posed these cookies. I have a recipe in Reese Witherspoon’s book for Cowboy Cookies that I have been wanting to try.

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    1. Dear Gaye, Oh, I have not heard about a cookbook from Reese Witherspoon - I sall look into that - I love hearing about cookbooks. And, yes, this is a fun story and since I was baking Cowboy Cookies for the birthday anyways, I found the recipe and the story behind it simply hard to resist.
      Thank you for stopping by!
      Andrea

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  3. The photos are amazing!! What a great story, too. American cookies are so very different than what I see as European cookies (or biscuits?). These look delicious!

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    1. Dear Amy, thank you kindly - glad you like my photos, they were fun to arrange and prepare. May I say that the British call European-stlye cookies 'biscuits' while the Americans call them 'cookies' - around here we have different words too - while a 'Keks' is more of a general term, a lot of people use the word 'Gebäck' for the festive varieties like 'Christmas cookies ('Weihnachtsgebäck').
      Thanks for stopping by - hope the twins are doing well!
      Andrea

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  4. I've made these before and they're absolutely delicious! They did make huge cookies, so you were wise to scale back the size! We're getting ready to board our flight---looking forward to this adventure! xo

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    1. Dear Liz, aren't these delicious treats?! I used to follow Martha Stewart's Cowboy Cookie recipe and I might try another one but we liked these. And they most certainly fulfilled their pupose of making the birhday girl (and her guests) happy!
      So looking forward to Sunday! Until then, my frined! And safe travels!!!
      Andrea xo

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  5. Cowboy cookies are so delicious! A very interesting read on the competition between the First Ladies! Can't wait to try this recipe! Thanks!

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    1. Dear Kelly, thank you for stopping by! I will hop over to your blog and take a look at your creations and your blog. As far as my blog post is concerned, although I have made different Cowboy Cookies before, I never knew about this recipe or the story behind it until I started researching it. The recipe is certainly worth making - the kids loved these cookies and so did we.
      Andrea

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  6. I have never heard of cowboy cookies...thanks for the post Andrea...and to think that this recipe was from our former First Lady, Laura Bush...it is amazing. I must confess that I love your adaptation of chunks of Belgian chocolate and I too love them chewy...thanks for this wonderful recipe my dear. Have a great rest of the week!

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    1. Dear Juliana, such a lovely comment, thank you kindly! The reason whay I baked these cookies in the first place (years ago) is simple - their name attracted my attention and because we enjoy cookies with nuts and oats and chocolate, I baked them. We loved them and I have baked them many times since. Laura Bush's version is nice and with two slight adaptions (baking time and Belgian chocolate - which is my favorite as it is not overly sweet), this is a great recipe to try!
      Wishing you a great weekend, my friend!

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  7. Wow - here I am an American and once again you know more about my country than I do! I had no idea there was a cookie contest among the first ladies. I love the photos in these - probably my favorite props of yours! (Maybe because I see real cowboys all the time here in Arizona!) Thanks for sharing your version of Laura's cookies! Liebe Grüße ~ David

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    1. Dear David - you know what's funny - when I took the pics for this post I was thinking about the nice pics that you posted of the rodeo that you attended with Mark and the cowboy hats you were wearing! this post was a lot of fun to put together - soooo glad enjoyed it!
      Liebe Grüße nach Arizona,
      Andrea

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  8. Andrea, my family enjoys these Cowboy Cookies too! Now, I'm craving them!! I completely LOVE your pictures for this post!

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    1. Dear Marcelle, aww, I am happy to learn that you enjoy my pics/the presentation for this post! It was a lot of fun to put together! And (after I took the pics) the Cowboy was a gift to the birthday girl - I am glad to report that she loved the figurines AND the cookies!

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