Low-Carb Keto Cowboy Cookies are an all-the-textures, all but the kitchen sink sort of cookie, loaded with goodies to make you swoon! Easy to make, grain-free, and sugar-free, these lumps of gooey deliciousness are magnificently addicting.
Have you heard of Cowboy Cookies?
I’m a self-proclaimed under-the-rock dweller, so it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that I discovered them.
My guess is if you haven’t heard of Cowboy Cookies, you’ve probably eaten them without even realizing it. That was the case for me!
Let’s chat.
What are Cowboy Cookies?:
Chocolate Chip Cookies + oats + pecans + shredded coconut = cowboy cookies.
Some folks use walnuts instead of pecans.
Essentially, the traditional recipe for cowboy cookies are a regular chocolate chip cookie with oats, pecans (or walnuts), shredded coconut and a touch of cinnamon added in. They’re huge on flavor and texture and they are just a pure delight to eat and share!
Laura Bush’s Cowboy Cookies have become very popular, and what we’re doing here is simply a low-carb / ketogenic version of that.
These keto cookies are ideal for those who are watching their blood sugar or who follow a keto diet.
Because I believe anything with the name “Cowboy” is serious business, I wanted to be sure these cookies lived up to their reputation, so I made them ultra large.
If you’re serving guests or kids, I’d recommend going with standard sized cookies as opposed to large cookies
But if you’re like me and my partner and love your sweet treat to be proportionally sized to your sweet tooth, go big, friend!
Ingredients for Keto Cowboy Cookies:
Almond Flour: Since we’re taking the low-carb approach to this treat, we’re replacing regular flour with almond flour. I recommend using finely-ground almond flour for the best results.
Unsalted Butter: Bringing that classic buttery flavor and chewy texture, we need unsalted butter to act as the fat portion of the recipe. It makes these cookies taste so rich and divine!
Use softened coconut oil or vegan butter spread for a dairy-free version.
Sugar-Free Brown Sugar: Replacing regular cane sugar, we need a brown sugar substitute. You can use your favorite brand of sugar-free granulated sweetener. My favorite is golden monkfruit sweetener.
If you can’t find sugar-free brown sugar, any kind of granulated sugar-free sweetener will work, such as erythritol, Swerve, or regular monk fruit sweetener.
Large Eggs: A couple large eggs at room temperature help the cookies rise so that they’re soft and chewy.
Pure Vanilla Extract: If you keep vanilla extract on hand, toss in one teaspoon vanilla extract. This brings warmth to the cookies that makes them so irresistible.
Oat Fiber: As I mentioned earlier, traditional cowboy cookies include oats, but oats contain a decent amount of carbs. So what’ll we do to lower the net carbs?
I recently heard about oat fiber, which is exactly as it sounds. It’s the fiber from the oats only, thereby removing the carbohydrate and leaving you with an oaty flavor.
If you aren’t following a strict keto diet, you can replace the oat fiber with 1/2 cup of old-fashioned oats. This is my recommendation if you use oats regularly in your diet. Oat fiber can be difficult to find at any local grocery store and may need to be sourced online.
You can also replace the oat fiber with ½ cup of additional almond flour.
Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips: Taking the place of regular semisweet chocolate chips, we need sugar-free chocolate chips.
You can also use dark chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips if you aren’t on a strict ketogenic diet.
Ground Cinnamon and Sea Salt: A touch of cinnamon brings warm flavor and sea salt enhances the whole experience. Be sure to include both!
Baking Powder: The leavening agent that helps the cookies rise and ensures they don’t spread out too far during the baking process.
Raw Pecans and Unsweetened Shredded Coconut: The two key ingredients that make this great recipe so loveable! Chopped nuts and toasted coconut bring buttery nutty flavor and fun texture, which is why the original recipe is adored.
Do I Need To Toast The Coconut and Pecans For Cowboy Cookies?:
Okay, here’s the deal. Traditionally, the shredded coconut and pecans are lightly toasted in a skillet on the stove top before they are added to the cookies. This enhances the flavor of both and is well worth the added effort.
If, however, you’re just psyched about cookies in general and don’t care about the toasty richness, you can easily skip the toasting part.
For those of you who do want to toast, proceed with caution as these ingredients burn quickly when left unattended.
Here’s what you do:
Add the shredded coconut and pecans to a small non-stick skillet and heat over medium-high on the stove top, stirring every 20 seconds or so, until the nuts and coconut begin turning a golden-brown and become fragrant.
Immediately transfer to a plate to cool. Don’t allow them to cool in the skillet because they will continue cooking and may burn. Proceed with the rest of the recipe!
Now that we’ve covered the basic ingredients for this great recipe, let’s make a batch of these cookies!
How to Make Cowboy Cookies:
We use the same exact method as regular chocolate chip cookies!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add the butter and sugar-free brown sugar to a stand mixer (or mixing bowl if using an electric hand mixer) and beat on medium-high speed until combined and fluffy.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the mixing bowl, then add one egg. Beat until combined, then add the other egg.
Again, scrape the sides of the mixer with a rubber spatula.
Stir together the remaining (dry) ingredients in a bowl and pour it into the mixer with the wet ingredients.
Beat on medium-high until the dough is very well combined, thick, and sticky. If the dough seems very sticky, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
Scoop the cookie dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake for 8 to 13 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies – for regular sized cookies, go with 8 to 11 minutes, and for larger cookies, bake for 11 to 13 minutes.
Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
That’s it! Your ticket to incredibly gooey, rich, flavorful chocolate chip cookies with all sorts of added bonuses all built in for the most delectable treat.
Store cookies in an airtight container or in a zip lock bag in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also freeze cookies for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
If you make 22 cookies, each cookie contains 162 calories, 16 grams of fat, 2 grams of fiber, 2 grams of net carbs, and 2 grams of protein.
Note that the nutrition facts are calculated using specific products so you can re-calculate them based on the specific brands you use.
Looking for ways you can customize keto cookie recipes? Here are some options.
Recipe Adaptations:
- Make the recipe paleo by using coconut sugar instead of sugar-free brown sugar.
- If you use regular brown sugar in your baking and don’t need these cookies to be low-carb, use regular light brown sugar.
- Swap the pecans for walnuts.
- Make the cookies dairy-free by using softened coconut oil instead of butter.
And that’s it! These easy cowboy cookies are a great option for those who love a sweet treat but don’t want to spike their blood sugar.
The addition of the toasted pecans, shredded coconut, and cinnamon bring so much life to the cookie!
If you love making keto recipes, here are more low-carb reader favorites for you to enjoy.
More Keto Dessert Recipes:
- Keto Pecan Snowball Cookies
- Keto Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Espresso Keto Brownies
- Keto Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins
- Keto Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
- Vanilla Keto Ice Cream
- Keto Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
- Keto Chocolate Nuggets
Have a wild ride with these cowboy cookies!
Keto Cowboy Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 Tbsp unsalted butter softened, not melted
- ½ cup sugar-free brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups finely ground almond flour packed
- 1/3 cup oat fiber*
- 2/3 cup pecans chopped
- ⅔ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup sugar-free chocolate chips
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the butter and sugar-free brown sugar to a stand mixer (or mixing bowl if using an electric hand mixer) and beat on medium-high speed until combined and fluffy.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the mixing bowl, then add the eggs and the vanilla extract. Beat until the wet ingredients are combined and creamy. Again, scrape the sides of the mixer with a rubber spatula.
- Stir together the remaining dry ingredients in a bowl and pour it into the mixer. Beat on medium-high until the dough is very well combined, thick, and sticky. IF the dough seems too wet or sticky, refrigerate it for at least one hour prior to baking.
- Scoop the cookie dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheet, making any size cookies you like. The cookies will spread during the baking process, so give the dough balls plenty of room to expand. Bake for 8 to 13 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. For regular sized cookies, go with 8 to 11 minutes, and for larger cookies, bake for 11 to 13 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
I made these cookies a lot years ago, and they were a favorite recipe for several years. I am glad to see that you made them healthier. Time to make them again!
I’m so happy to hear Cowboy Cookies are already a favorite! Hope you love this version too! xoxo
Would substituting quick-cooking steel cut oats work in place of the oat fiber? I know it will result in higher carb cookies, but it’s what I have on hand. Would the cookies come out okay?
Hi Evelyn!
You can substitute regular oats for the oat fiber for sure! I would use 1/2 cup since the oat fiber is denser 🙂 Hope you love the cookies!! xoxo
These look GREAT! I noticed that the carb count is 2 grams and the fiber count is as well. So, are these zero net carb cookies?
That’s what I calculated, although I could hardly believe it! I almost feel like I calculated them incorrectly, but that’s what I’m getting. xoxoxo
@Julia,
My calculations come out to 2 net carbs per cookie. There are carbs in almond flour, sugar free chocolate chips, pecans, unsweetened coconut and even in the oat fiber. No way they can be zero net carbs
Thank you for sharing, Lori!
Very tasty but very fragile, fall apart crumbly. I couldn’t find oat fiber so subbed coconut flour. Is that the issue?
Hi Kelli,
The coconut flour is the culprit. Coconut flour can’t be used as a 1:1 replacement for any other flour, as it absorbs four times the amount of liquid. In the future, you can add more almond flour to replace the oat fiber 🙂 xoxoxo
These look amazing, do you think there is any way to make them with an egg substitute?
Going to make these, sounds amazing. FYI I’m going to add 1/2 cup Hemp Hearts for that oatmeal “feel”. They are a great substitute for Oatmeal
@Vapetress, thanks for the suggestion. I’m going to give them a try.
Not a big coconut fan… any thoughts on a substitution that won’t ruin the texture? These cookies look amazing!
Hi Marissa! I would just replace it with almond flour 🙂 Hope you enjoy!! xo
The cookies are not spreading while cooking. Are you supposed to flatten them before popping in the oven? Or just flatten them when they come out of the oven?
The ingredient list has 1.5 tsp of vanilla extract, but the recipe never calls for you to add the vanilla extract. Did I miss something? I’m assuming it’s added at the beginning.
Hi Charles! Apologies for the confusion! Yes, you’ll add the vanilla at the same time as adding the egg 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Ces biscuits sont les meilleurs de tous!!!!! Goute le paradis.
Could you replace oat fiber with flax meal?
Hi Wendi! I’m not sure as I haven’t tried it myself. If you’re not wanting to use the oat fiber, you can replace it with more almond flour for a sure result. It may be worth trying flax meal but I would be concerned the cookies would turn out gritty. I wish I could give you a more definitive answer! xo
@Wendi, I just tried these and used flaxseed meal. turned out fine. they are a soft cookie…and delicious. I used 1:1 flaxseed meal for oat fiber.
That’s great to know they worked without eggs! Thanks so much for circling back to let us know!
Very Tasty!!! Thanks!! but they definitely need to be flattened down a bit before baking. My first tray were like balls and cakey inside. Second one I flattened down somewhat and much better.
I’m so happy you like them, Lisa! Thanks for the tip – sometimes the cookies spread and sometimes they don’t depending on the temperature of the dough going in, so this is very helpful to those who want the flatter cookies 🙂 xoxo
Can I replace the oat fiber with vital wheat gluten?! If yes is it gonna be same amount?!
Hi Christina! I’ve never used vital wheat gluten so I’m not sure what the absorbency is like. If you think it absorbs liquid similarly to oat fiber, I would definitely say yes! Hope you enjoy! xo
I’ve made these cookies twice already. They turned out delicious each time. Yummy!!!
I’m so thrilled to hear it, Lisa! Thanks so much for letting me know! xoxo
I don’t know if I missed it somewhere in the recipe, but do you use a 1 1/2″ cookie scoop or a heaping tablespoon to make the 22 standard size cookies?
Just made these ND they are absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing
I’m so happy you enjoy them, Kim! Thank you for letting me know! xo
Just got done making these and I actually got 30 decent size cookies out of the recipe making them only 1.5 carbs per cookie and they are delicious
So thrilled you enjoy them, Lori! xoxo
I’m an experienced baker, and so many of the low carb desserts I have tried are complete disasters. Not this one! It’s fabulous! I used 2/3 c of oats, but will try to pick up some oat bran for the future. It was a pleasant surprise after so many other poor recipes!
I’m so happy you enjoy the cookies, Kammy! I appreciate the feedback and sweet words! Love that you added oats – I bet that made for such a lovely texture! xo
@Kammy, just as a heads up..Oat BRAN is not the same thing as oat FIBER. No net carbs in the oat fiber, but around 12 net carbs for 1/2C oat BRAN. Maybe you already knew it, I just thought I’d clarify- happy baking!
I make the sugar Cowboy cookies normally but tried these keto with oat fiber, pleased with the result! Nice texture and soluable fiber is a good thing. Thanks for the keto recipe, this is a keeper.
I’m so happy you enjoy them, Tamara! Thanks so much for sharing your experience! xo
Taryn, have you ever tried making your own brown sugar using your own joyfilled eats natural sweetener blend with some molasses? I realize it may change carbohydrate count. I’m not a big fan of swerve. I always experience an aftertaste. I love your sweetener blend. Thanks for all your great recipes
Great recipe! Soft and moist, even after refrigeration. Had to use a blend of allulose and erythrotol with molasses to make brown sweetener. Otherwise used all listed ingredients. I’ll definitely make again.
Love it! Thanks for sharing your experience, Zelma!
Hello, I followed the recipe as written. But, my cookies still crumble when I pick them up off of the cookie sheet. Any ideas why?
Hi Charisse! How long are you waiting to remove the cookies from the cookie sheet? It sounds like they may need more time to cool. Have you tried letting them cool off completely before moving them?
How long and what temp if you wanted to make these into bars?
Hi Sharyl! I would do 350 for 18-22 minutes in a 8″ x 8″ pan 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Hi, I used trim healthy mama’s baking blend for the flour and oat fiber. The cookies turned out good.
Aww I love that! Thanks so much for sharing, Tracy! xo
Has anyone ever used a unflavored beef gelatin powder as a binder? I would like to use oats instead of the oat fiber. But from what I’ve read in the comments. The cookies seem to be really crumbly if you play around with the recipe too much.
I never heard of these cookies but definitely interested in trying to make them. But for someone with a nut and tree nut allergy what can be substituted for the almond flour and pecans? She can eat coconut though.
Hi KeKe! I’d recommend following this recipe instead, which uses gluten-free all-purpose flour instead of almond flour: https://www.theroastedroot.net/gluten-free-cowboy-cookies/. There’s no need to replace the pecans with anything else. If your family likes dried fruit like dried cranberries, you could give that a go 🙂
excellent cookie! does not take low carb at all! thanks for a great recipe
I’m so thrilled to hear that, Marcia! If you’re able to share which brand of sweetener you used, that would be amazing! I know some people struggle to find a good sugar-free sweetener that doesn’t have an aftertaste. Thanks so much for swinging back around to share your experience! xoxo
My cookies didn’t spread!
Hi Michelle! Did you refrigerate the dough? If so, that could be the culprit. I don’t refrigerate the dough unless it appears too wet and sticky, which happens if the butter is too soft. I typically prepare the dough then bake it straight away. Let me know if this helps!
I made these and the flavor is fantastic except the cooling effect of the erythritol. I’ve been using monk fruit allulose blend and I did not have the brown sugar substitute with that combo. I’ll need to get that and try it again. Otherwise these are definitely a 5 star cookie. Texture is a little more fragile but very similar to regular cookies. This is a keeper in my book!!
Thanks so much for the feedback, Dee! I often use monk fruit sweetener now too and love the result. I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience! xoxo
Can you substitute coconut flour for the oat fiber? Would I need to increase any liquid?
I can’t wait to make them
Hi Lynn! You can replace the oat fiber with more almond flour. I wouldn’t recommend using coconut flour because the dough will turn out too dry 🙂 Happy baking!
Just made these today! Can’t wait to indulge ;)) Cooling on the rack now.
Made a few subs in the ingredients: used 4.5 Tbsp coconut oil & 4 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce, 1/3 c Lakanto Golden, 1.5 c ground oats, 1 scoop fiber, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, 1 c walnuts, didn’t have shredded coconut so omitted, 2/3 c (70% cacao chocolate chips)
Baked 350, for 18 min.
Thanks for sharing this yummy treat recipe 😋
Thanks for sharing, Suz! I like the idea of swapping out some of the fat for applesauce – I’ll have to try this too!
Wow! Where have these been all of my life?? I love chocolate chip cookies and have been making Julia’s “Keto Chocolate chip Cookie Bars” over and over for the last couple years as the are the perfect thing for my sweet tooth and diet preferences. And they are easier than cookies. Cowboy cookies are the next level! I didn’t have enough butter so I used half butter and half coconut oil. I didn’t have brown sugar but used Pyure brand granulated sugar. I didn’t have oat fiber so used extra almond flour as Julia says above. I made about 24 cookies (so they were smallish) and had to cook them a little longer – about 15 minutes to make sure the were firm enough. I think if I use oat fiber and all butter next time they would be even more perfect. Thank you for this recipe and even making a “gluten free cowboy cookie bar” recipe so I can make these even faster! Amazing.
This comment made my day, Mary! I’m happy you enjoyed the cookies in spite of the changes and I hope you enjoy your next batch even more! xo