Many of you will recognize these keto cookies from my cookbook, The Ultimate Guide to Keto Baking. It’s easily one of the most popular recipes from the book and I am always getting emails and messages about how good they are.
And you can see why. They are big and beautiful, and chockfull of delicious additions like pecans, coconut, and chocolate chips.
They are so good, in fact, that a lot of sites have republished it without my permission. This is the price of doing business as a creator sometimes. But I’m a little tired of it, to be honest.
I decided to fight fire with fire and post the full recipe here. Because if it’s going to be out there on the internet for all to see, I want to get the credit!
And I am so glad I made them again. They are easily one of my favorite keto cookie recipes!
What are cowboy cookies?
Imagine, if you will, a mashup of oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies with some coconut and pecans thrown in for good measure. And also imagine that they are considerably larger than your average cookie. Now you have the famous cowboy cookies.
For a keto version, we have to change things up a little. So we skip the oatmeal, switch up the sweeteners, and use almond flour instead of wheat flour. But the resulting cookies are just as mouthwateringly delicious, just as chockfull of goodness, as the original.
And with the addition of a little gelatin, they also have the ideal crispy-chewy texture. The edges get thin and crisp, but the center becomes soft and chewy!
Reader Reviews
These Keto Cowboy Cookies are extremely popular in All Day I Dream About Low Carb, a Facebook group devoted to my readers and followers. Please feel free to join us over there! Here’s what some of the members say:
“I caved and made Cowboy Cookies last night. They are fabulous! My daughter who struggles with giving up carbs but has committed to doing it said “these are SHUT UP GOOD!” That’s high praise indeed.” — Crystal
“I kept seeing the Cowboy Cookies over and over and over and over (you get the point…haha) from the Ultimate Guide to Keto Baking Cookbook, so I finally broke down and bought the cookbook. Wow, now I see what all the fuss is about, they are incredible!!!! You’d never even know they are Keto!” — April
“I went to the trouble of buying Carolyn’s cookbook, and so far (after nearly two weeks) I have managed to make exactly ONE recipe out of it: the Cowboy Cookies. EVERY time I suggest something else, hubby says “No, I want some more of those COWBOY Cookies!” — Georgene
Ingredients you need
- Butter: Make sure it’s well softened so you can beat it until creamy.
- Sweetener: I prefer an erythritol based brown sugar replacement, to get that crispy-chewy texture. See the Expert Tips section for more sweetener options.
- Almond flour: Always use well ground, blanched almond flour.
- Gelatin: A little grassfed gelatin helps give the cookies a chewier consistency. It is entirely optional.
- Coconut: I like to use the big coconut flakes but you can use shredded if that’s all you have. Make sure it’s unsweetened.
- Pecans: They can be raw, but it’s also really nice if they are lightly toasted.
- Chocolate chips: Both Lily’s and ChocZero work well in this recipe.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Step by step directions
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium high. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined.
- Add the almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until just mixed together. Stir in the coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips.
- Form the dough into 2-inch balls and space at least 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with silicone or parchment paper. Press the balls down with the heel of your hand to about 3/4 inch thick. These cookies will spread so give them room!
- Bake at 325ºF for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, switching the pans and rotating them halfway through. Let cool completely on the pans.
Expert tips
These keto cowboy cookies like to spread so make sure you give them plenty of room on the pans. If you prefer thicker cookies, try adding another 1/4 cup of almond flour and don’t press them down too much.
I prefer silicone baking mats to parchment paper, as they protect the bottoms of your cookies better. They also cause the cookies to spread more slowly.
The gelatin is entirely optional, but it does give the cookies that perfect chewy but crisp texture. The edges get crisp on the pan while the centers stay chewier.
This makes a big batch of big cookies! But you can easily cut the whole recipe in half for twelve large cookies. You can also make the cookies smaller, if you prefer.
Sweetener Options
Only erythritol will give you a crispy cookie, which is why I used PureCane Brown in this recipe. Any amount of allulose or xylitol will keep the cookies from crisping up properly. You can use those if you don’t mind a softer texture.
If you don’t have access to a brown sugar replacement, regular granulated erythritol sweeteners will suffice.
More delicious recipes you will enjoy
Keto Cowboy Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170.25 g) butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cup (250 g) brown sugar substitute
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- 2 cups (220 g) blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons (2.03 tablespoons) grassfed gelatin, optional, adds chewiness
- 1 ½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 1 cup (85 g) unsweetened flaked coconut
- 1 cup (109 g) chopped pecans
- 1 cup (180 g) dark chocolate chips, sugar-free
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line 2 cookie sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper. Set the oven racks to the second highest and second lowest positions in the oven.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium high. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined.
- Add the almond flour, gelatin, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until just mixed together. Stir in the coconut, pecans, and the chocolate chips.
- Form the dough into 2-inch balls and space at least 3 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Press the balls down with the heel of your hand to about 3/4 inch thick. These cookies will spread so give them room!
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, switching the pans and rotating them halfway through. Let cool completely on the pans.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Hi-
Unfortunately, I can’t use any type of erythritol or allulose sweeteners. I use Julian’s Bakery 100% Monk fruit sweetener or a liquid Stevia Extraxt only. Should I just test the sweetness before baking? Or do you have a reference of how much to use of either?
Thx
O.M.G…… These are so good and so easy!! My faves so far…
Great to hear!
These cookies are the absolute BEST! My husband said “They don’t taste keto!” and gobbled them up! Thank you, Carolyn, for creating these delicious recipes that help to keep my family eating healthy. Since my husband can never stop at one cookie, I make them smaller, so he can eat more than one at a time. 😉
That is my goal: “These don’t taste keto”!
I made these with a slight adjustment adding more pecans, more shredded coconut, and sugar-free lilies chocolate chips. I also added some dehydrated blueberries that I had made. Love love love these cookies!
I just made these now. I followed the directions exactly. They are so delicious. These will now be the only chocolate chip cookies I make. They are that good! Thank you for the recipe .
I followed the recipe but when I baked them at 20 min’s they came out very dark burnt bottoms, tried it at 15 same thing. I put in another batch for 10 min’s they were a little lighter. Last batch I did at 8 min’s. I don’t know what went wrong, I’ll keep them. The ingredient’s are to costly to throw away. Thank you
Are you using a sweetener with allulose in it?
These are my new favorite cookies, they are easy to make and freeze well. They are big cookies, you get 2 dozen from the recipe. Thank you for all your recipes Carolyn!
I am early on my keto journey (I am diabetic) and just learning about all this. I made the keto cowboy cookies and they were great. Even my husband thought they were great. I appreciate your recipes because they don’t call for crazy ingredients I will never use again. You give me hope that I can do this. Thank you!
I know grass fed gelatine is a better choice, but I have some Knox gelatine packages still.
Can I substitute equal parts using Knox instead of the G.F.Gelatine you call for?
It’s not a direct equivalent… use 1 envelope of Knox per my tbsp of grass-fed.
I just made these for the first time and I must say they may be my all time favorite keto cookie recipe!! Super easy to make. they came out perfect and delicious. I have made MANY of your fantastic desserts over the past several years.THANK YOU for continuing to put out wonderful recipes!!!
Can the coconut flakes be omitted? If not, then can it be substituted for something else like chopped walnuts?
Use sliced almonds, as they will have a similar texture.
can I double the recipe?
Of course!
Just made my cookies 🍪 awesome recipe 😋👍👵
Thanks for jogging my memory. I hadn’t made your Cowboy Cookies yet this summer. Planning on baking these delicious cookies tomorrow for a picnic outing.
Can I use regular gelatin?
I tried them 2 xs they are no way like the ones posted!!!!!! batter is dry crumbles does not hold together. very disappointed. did not taste for they looked horrible a clump of crumbs. I followed directions to the tee
I am sorry but you must be making some mistake somewhere. The photos are REAL and I don’t fake any of that. Plus you can see from the many reviews that people love these. In fact… you can WATCH me make them right here on YouTube and see that they turn out EXACTLY like the photos. https://youtu.be/5NILBaUBY_g
Please tell me what brands of ingredients you are using… are you using an almond flour that’s been defatted (dry and powdery)? That would be a huge issue.
FYI… If I created a recipe and ended up with a pile of crumbs, I would not post that recipe. I am a VERY well respected keto blogger whose recipes are widely acknowledged to be among the best. Particularly my baked goods, and in fact I wrote a book about keto baking. So instead of accusing me of faking my photos, ask me how I can help. I am more than willing to work with you to diagnose the issue…
I have made these cookies many times and the recipe is spot on. The cookies are very moist and delicious. They are my favorite cookie ever!
yay!