If you feel like baking cookies but aren't sure what kind, how about a cookie with a little bit of everything? Well, everything but eggs and butter. These are no-egg oatmeal cookies aka Vegan Cowboy Cookies.
Cowboy Cookies are legend, but their origin is hard to pin down. Some say they got their name because they were sturdy, filling treat that could be tucked into a cowboy’s saddlebag and keep him full on the trail. Others credit their rise to fame to First Lady Laura Bush, whose version won the “First Lady Bake-Off” in Family Circle magazine back in 2000. That's actually my favorite version thanks to that little bit of cinnamon.
No-Egg Oatmeal Cookies
This vegan recipe is good too, and perfect when you need to bake cookies without eggs. It's adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and very well loved. The recipe calls for oil instead of butter, so the cookies have a chewy texture, but of course no butter flavor. I tried to make up for that by adding a little cinnamon and using really good quality vanilla in the form of ground vanilla bean.
Pure Ground Vanilla Bean
You can make these with regular vanilla, but it was fun trying the recipe with the ground vanilla. I used a brand called Beyond Good. So far it lives up to its name. It is stronger than vanilla extract, but doesn't make things taste "overly vanilla" if that makes sense. It's alcohol free and perfect for ice cream and things where the vanilla needs to shine through, but it was very good in the cookies, especially combined with the cinnamon.
Vegan Cowboy Cookie Notes
Overall these are really simple to put together and the recipe scales well if you only need a half batch. The cookies are chewy and sturdy and can accommodate different types of add-ins like dried fruit, various nuts and other flavors of chips beside semisweet. The coconut helps the structure, but I think they'd be okay without it. I only used about ½ cup. I do think the cookies were slightly prettier when made with chilled dough. The cookies that were baked right away were great, but the cookies made with mounds of dough I'd chilled for 6 hours were a prettier shade of brown.
Recipe
Vegan Cowboy Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, measure lightly (250 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup grapeseed or sunflower oil (66 grams)
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar (150 grams)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (130 grams)
- 1 tablespoon ground flax
- ½ cup oat milk or almond milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder
- 2 cups quick cooking oats
- ½ to 1 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or toasted pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, then set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, oil and for about 2 minutes. Add the oat or almond milk, flax and vanilla and stir until blended.
- Stir in the flour mixture to make a soft dough, then stir in oats, coconut, chocolate chips and nuts.
- Scoop balls of dough with a medium or large cookie scoop, then set on parchment lined baking sheet and press the balls down slightly to that the tops are flat. If you want to prepare the dough balls ahead of time and bake later, scoop them onto a plastic wrap lined dinner plate (or tray), press to about ¾ inch thick, cover and chill until ready to bake.
- Bake the cookies for about 12-15 minutes or until they appear set. If using cold dough, the cookies will take longer.
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