Coconut Oil Cowboy Cookies

Trying to find recipes that use an alternative to butter used to be a challenge. Don’t get me wrong, I love butter but since I have a colleague who doesn’t eat dairy, I’ve been looking around for new recipes to try. Thankfully, since coconut oil is so popular now, there are lots of recipes that are dairy free, or can easily be tweaked to make them dairy free.

I have made cowboy cookies before, they are very similar to chocolate chip cookies, with extra mix-ins. This recipe originally called for chocolate chips, dried cranberries and coconut. I swapped out the coconut for crispy rice cereal, since I had some on hand. You could certainly add whatever you would like, just as long as there aren’t too many mix-ins for the dough to handle.

Like any chocolate chip-type cookie, these are easy to make. You can use whatever ingredients you have on hand. If you are making these dairy free, make sure that your chocolate chips don’t contain dairy. Regular semi-sweet chips do have dairy, bittersweet ones often don’t, plus there are several dairy free varieties out there on the market. I really like cowboy cookies or the very similar ranger cookies, and these are no exception. My only change I would make is to add some nuts, or something that adds crunch. I had hoped the crispy rice cereal would add a crunch, but not too much.

Coconut Oil Cowboy Cookies

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup melted coconut oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ cup chocolate chips

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup crispy rice cereal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flour, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.  In a large mixer bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar, and egg. Mix on medium until smooth. Add the coconut oil and vanilla and stir on medium to incorporate. Add the flour mixture and stir on low, just until combined. Stir in the chips, cranberries, and rice cereal with a spatula.

Scoop the dough into the prepared baking sheets, using about one tablespoon of dough for each cookie.

Bake for about 8 minutes, until set. The cookies will be soft. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from The Wholesome Dish