Showdown: Cowboy Meets Monster

 Cowboy

Meets  Monster

Cook's Notes: As of late I've read and reviewed several western-themed books. I have found it has now spilled into my baking. Cowboy meets Monster is a combination of two classic cookie recipes. I found they both had similar ingredients so it was easy to merge the two and create an Every Ready Cowboy Cookie Special. These cookies are crisp and filled with chocolate, oats, peanut butter, nuts, coconut, and my favorite M& M's. They're the perfect cookie treat for any time of the day. I even enjoyed one for breakfast as never too early for a cookie.

Ever Ready Cowboy Cookie Special

Cook's notes: The recipe makes 26 cookies.
Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon. baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup M & M s (plus additional for pressing on outside of cookie - optional)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (plus additional for pressing on outside of cookie - optional)
• 3/4 cup combination of pecans or walnuts and coconut toasted

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone pad. Toast coconut and nuts, set aside. 
• In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar with an electric mixer, for 1-2 minutes. Add in the creamy peanut butter, vanilla and egg, and beat again.
• Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Add in the quick oats, M&Ms, and chocolate chips, and mix until combined. Refrigerate 45 minutes to chill dough.
• Flour hands to roll dough into balls or use a cookie scoop to form large dough balls (my cookie scoop was heaping with dough). Press additional M & Ms or chocolate chips into the balls if desired. 
• Place dough balls on a parchment-lined paper or a silicone pad baking sheet.
• Baking tip: Bake cookies for 5 minutes and use a fork to flatten each cookie.
• Bake cookies for a total of 11 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.