Gosh dang, these cowboy cookies are yummy!

Howdy, stranger! Give these delectable cookies a try. Cowboy cookies, in my opinion, are a delightful post-workout snack that I look forward to sinking my teeth into after a cycle class or long jog. Oftentimes, when I would feel weak due to my low blood sugar, I would pop one before working out to keep me fueled for an hour. Philliam likes to pack some for his several hour bike rides and has found that it's more refreshing than snacking on energy bars. My parents likes to have one (1) cowboy cookie with their teas and my little cousin enjoys mindlessly snacking on a bunch due to its chewy yet crunchy texture and the "yummyness" factor. It's a win-win for me! I find it much better than packaged, store-bought cookies. I can't stand those. Unless it's the 9 boxes of Girl Scout cookies that I ordered. Now that's an exception. ^__^ Editor's note: Sorry for the ugly photo of my cowboy cookies. I didn't put any effort into rolling the cookie dough because I was too lazy. Yes. I'm lazy. At least I'm comfortable with admitting it. Although, these cookies are highly delicious... *munches* Anywhoo, here's a recipe that I've tweaked to my own liking to ensure that it will deliver enough energy after my workouts but are still delicious enough to enjoy rather than dreading (like those power bars *shudders*). Next week, I'm going to try adding some muscle/protein powder and see how that works out for me. Gather up these babies: 1 1/3 c flour (I like mixing 1/3 c organic oat brand flour into 1 c of regular flour for my cookies. If you don't want to, then just use regular flour. It doesn't really matter.) 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1 c cooking oats 1/2 c brown sugar 1/2 c white sugar 1 egg 1/2 c butter (one stick) 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 c m&ms (regular) 1/2 c dark chocolate chips 1/2 c assorted nuts (I use pecans, walnuts, and almonds) Follow these simple, exact directions: 1. In a medium sized bowl, melt the stick of butter in the microwave for 20-30 seconds then let it chill in the fridge until it reaches room temperature. I normally leave it in there while I'm gathering and preparing the dry mixture. 2. In a small bowl, mix the nuts, m&ms, and dark chocolate chips. Set aside. 3. In separate a large mixing bowl, mix the first five dry ingredients (flour, baking soda & powder, salt, and oats). Mix well. 4. Now add in the white and brown sugar to the flour mixture. Mix very well. Mix with your hands if you need to. Make sure the mixture is smooth with no bumps. Brown sugar has a tendency to clump so loosen them apart and mix with the other dry ingredients. Set aside. 5. Pour the candy mixture into the flour mixture and mix that really well. Get your hands in there if you have to. 6. Take the butter out of the fridge (make sure it's still liquid, if not, back in the microwave it goes). Pour in the vanilla. Crack the egg into the butter and vanilla mixture. Mix and beat. Make sure the wet mixture is not warm, but room temperature or slightly cold, otherwise, you'd have melted chocolate and discolored m&m's. 7. Now pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Mix well. Yes, do it. Mix it very well. 8. After mixing all ingredients together, stick the big bowl of cookie dough in the fridge to chill for 5 minutes. While waiting for the cookie dough to chill, I normally clean up my work station because it's just something that I'm programmed to do. Clean. I like a nice clean work space. Bet your bottom dollar, I do. 9. After 5 minutes, take the cookie dough out of the fridge and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 10. Now here is the fun part. Getting your hands dirty! I use an ice cream scoop to determine the size of my cookie, which is about 1 inch to 1.5 inch. Roll the cookie dough into balls and set it on a parchment covered baking sheet. Set each cookie ball 1 inch apart from one another. 11. Take a flat spoon and slightly press the top of each cookie dough balls so that way the cookies will have a nice, round form when baked. 12. Once the last cookie dough has been balled up, stick it in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes for chewy cookies or 12 minutes for crunchy, yet chewy in the middle, cookies. 12. After the timer goes off, immediately remove the cookies from the oven and let these beauties cool down on the counter before eating. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. And I mean it. I love my version of cowboy cookies. Enjoy!