Here are some tasty little cookies I made and donated to help raise funds for the Sydney Story Factory, a non-profit creative writing centre for young people in Redfern. The Bake Sale vs Cake Stall had one requirement. The item I donated needed to fit an Americana/Australiana theme. Too easy. So many choices and so many delicious things I could choose to bake.

When I was in London’s Borough Market in 2010 I tried a cookie at one of the street vendors. Cowboy cookies. Packed with rolled oats, pecans, cranberries and other tidbits, I vowed to try my hand at them myself. Three years later and I have.

I’ve based my recipe on Laura Bush’s Texas Governor’s Mansion Cowboy Cookies (a bit of a mouthful), cutting back on the unnecessarily high sugar content. I also played around with the ingredients, changing a few of the quantities and adding cranberries, just like I had in London. This mixture makes a lot of cookies, so feel free to portion half of the dough into 1 tablespoon balls, pop them onto a board, and freeze for later baking. When frozen, take them off the board and keep in a plastic bag. This is exactly what I did, so cook them frozen for about 20 minutes, rather than 10.

cowboy cookies

makes 110

• 3 cups plain flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 1½ tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 325 g butter, softened
• 150 g dark brown (or muscovado) sugar
• 150 g brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla paste
• 260 g dark chocolate chips
• 350 g rolled oats
• 75 g shredded coconut
• 100 g dried cranberries, chopped
• 225 pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Combine the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to aerate and combine.

In another large bowl beat the butter until smooth, adding the sugars, and beating for a couple of minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined. Add the chocolate, oats, coconut, cranberries and pecans. Stir well. Using a tablespoon measure, scoop balls of the dough and place onto a lined baking sheet, pressing down slightly and keeping 4-5 cm between each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes, allow to cool on the tray for a couple of minutes, before transferring to a rack. Continue baking until all of the dough is cooked.