As a kid, I was NOT the biggest fan of oatmeal cookies. Or anything to do with oatmeal for that matter. I HATED it. Maybe because it got too mushy easily or just seemed vaguely healthy, I couldn’t stand it! However, as an adult, I LOVE oats and all of their many uses in my baked goods. These cookies are absolutely delicious, especially straight from the oven! This recipe makes about 48 small cookies and if it was up to me, there wouldn’t be any left by now! These cookie are also part of my new quest for durable and mail-able baked goods! This recipe was from Antoni Porowski’s cookbook, “Antoni in the Kitchen”. Antoni is most well-known for his role in Queer Eye on Netflix specifically for his guacamole and other cooking skills. His original recipe looked delicious but I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand so I had to get a little creative with my substitutions and ended up making a somewhat similar cookie. The way I’ve been describing it to my friends has been a coconut-oatmeal-raisin-chocolate-cardamon cookie; a bit of a mouthful if you ask me! Antoni’s original recipe called for candied ginger along with all the other ingredient so feel free to add that instead of raisins if you’d like!

Honestly, another super simple cookie recipe. It takes a little bit of time to assemble because of the laundry list of ingredients but it’s worth the effort! I made these on a recent snowy day and they were just the thing to warm up my frozen self! If you do have any issues getting all the ingredients, I would recommend checking out the New York Times Cooking website for a good substitution guide. Otherwise, just go with your gut! However, do not leave out the cardamon. It adds a wonderful warmth that really makes the cookie and I couldn’t imagine a worthy substitution. Also, cardamon is a great spice to have on hand regardless because of the flavor punch it adds to any recipe. Also, the pecans need to be roasted for this recipe. It really helps to bring out the flavor of the pecans and is easy to do; there are instructions in the first step of the recipe. I’ve been doing the roasting first thing in the morning so that the pecans are cool by the time I get to baking. I hope you enjoy these cookies just as much as I did and happy baking!

Cardamon Cowboy Cookie Recipe

• 114 grams (1 cup) pecans
• 198 grams (2 cups) old fashioned oats
• 150 grams (1 1/4 cup) All Purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
• 170 grams (12 tablespoons or 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 257 grams (1 cup + 3 tablespoons) packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 120 grams (1 cup) bittersweet chocolate chips
• 138 grams (3/4 cup) raisins
• 26 grams (1/2 cup) shredded unsweetened coconut

1. Heat oven to 350F with the rack in the middle of the oven. Once heated, roast pecans for 8 minutes or until fragrant. Once cool, coarsely chop.
2. Whisk together oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and cardamon in a medium bowl. In a separate large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until blended. Add the flour mix to the butter bowl and beat slowly to combine. Fold in the chips, raisins, coconut, and pecans.
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight. This is to let the flavors ferment. If chilling overnight, let the dough stand at room temperature for 45 minutes before scooping.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F with racks in the middle and lower thirds of the oven. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
5. Drop dough in heaping tablespoons (this made cookies that were a little small for me so try two tablespoons) and make sure dough is spaced an inch or two away from other dough balls. Bake for 14-16 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. Let cool on the pan for five minutes then use a spatula to transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Please use a spatula, my fingers got very burnt on the molten chocolate on the sides of the cookies.
6. Once cool, eat!