If you haven’t yet had the pleasure, a Cowboy Cookie is a chocolate chip cookie that’s bumped up with oats, coconut, nuts, and a touch of cinnamon. They’re stuffed with flavor and texture – in other words, they’re great. And so are these. These are a riff on the classic Cowboy Cookie, but we’ve swapped out the chocolate chips for some tart and sweet candied lemon peel. They have the same oatmeal-coconut chewiness with a fun new flavor twist (and a few other texture tricks up their sleeves, too).

Like many other cookies before them, these start by creaming together butter and sugar, though these use a combination of butter and vegetable shortening so you still get that lovely butter flavor but also a cookie that doesn’t spread too much.

After the eggs and usual dry baking ingredients get mixed in, there’s the aforementioned coconut and oats which are really what makes this a chewy “cowboy cookie,” and there’s also candied lemon peel, lemon extract, and a special surprise – crisped rice cereal!

There are no nuts in these Cowboy Cookies, but the rice cereal adds a nice light crunch in their place. They’re a cookie that’s jam-packed with mix-ins and yet they taste sunny and light and simply sweet.

When it’s time to make some cookies, it doesn’t have to be all chocolate chip all the time. These are a refreshing departure from the old stand-by and such a great way to mix up your cookie game.