In my Freshman year of college, I was lucky enough to live in a dorm that was more of an apartment-style setup and had a full kitchen. I was also lucky enough to have a wonderful housemate and we would bake and cook together and teach each other everything we knew about cooking. (Which at that point was not much, because, hello first year away from home.) But one of the best things about that is that it introduced me to things I hadn’t grown up with or ever thought to make myself.

Like these Texas Cowboy Cookies. Growing up, when I baked with my mom we pretty much made two things on rotation — Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies. There was the occasional Peanut Butter Cookie or Oatmeal Cookie, sure, but until I baked with my friend I’d never had a cookie quite like these. They’re chock full of delicious stuff (like, REALLY chock full) and have a chewy texture that’s not full oatmeal cookie but not quite basic cookie either. I was enamored with them that first time I baked them with my friend and I still am today, decades later.

They’re easy to be enamored with. I mean, they have everything. They have the delicious buttery, brown sugar base that any good cookie has, yes, but they also have oats and pecans and coconut and peanut butter chips AND chocolate chips and a touch of cinnamon that really seals the whole deal.

It almost seems like too much, but I can promise you it’s not.

I can also promise you that you want to use an electric mixer to start your dough but switch to a sturdy wooden spoon when it comes time to stir all that stuff in.

They’re a big cookie. As they should be — they’re named after Texas, after all. You want quarter cup portions here but even so, they only take twelve minutes or so to bake.

And please chill your dough. An hour is enough to keep the shape and texture in its ideal form but an overnight chill will really help meld those flavors. (I’m rarely that patient so I’m not judging if you don’t make it past the hour mark.)

I’ve made these a million different ways — with just chocolate chips, with walnuts instead of pecans, without the coconut… It all works. I love the texture, I love how over the top they are, and I really do love that little kiss of cinnamon that plays amongst all the other flavors. It’s unexpected but it’s just so good!