Chocolate chips, toffee bits, pretzels, pecans, and The Pioneer Woman BBQ sauce make these decadent Cowboy Cookies like no other cookie! SO SO GOOD!! Cream butter and sugar in standing mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and continue mixing. Add flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until well incorporated.
For the nuts: Melt the butter in a skillet and add the brown sugar and a pinch salt. Cook until the butter starts to bubble, about 3 minutes, then add the almonds and peanuts and stir to coat the nuts completely.
Laura switched up her recipe during her husband's second presidential campaign in 2004 to a similar oatmeal chocolate chunk recipe, but it's her first Cowboy Cookie that's become so famous.As with most things in Texas, Laura's Cowboy Cookies are big and completely stuffed with so many mix-ins: oats, coconut, pecans, and of course, chocolate chips.
Why are they called "cowboy cookies"? These cookies were made famous by former First Lady Laura Bush, who submitted them for a baking contest during the 2000 presidential election. Her Texas-sized, cowboy cookies beat out her competitor Tipper Gore's ginger snap recipe, and they began their road to fame from there!