Gluten-Free Cowboy Cookie Bars featuring chopped pecans, shredded coconut, oats, and chocolate chips! These chewy, gooey cookie bars are a family favorite, and they disappear quickly!
While I typically keep my desserts on the healthier end, I acknowledge that sometimes life calls for celebration and when we’re celebrating, cowboy cookies are in order.
In case you haven’t had a chance to try my Gluten-Free Cowboy Cookies or my Keto Cowboy Cookies, you can look at them as an enhanced chocolate chip cookie, as they contain crunchy nuts, shredded coconut and oats in addition to chocolate chips.
The end results are buttery, chewy cookies with nutty flavor and texture and plenty of pockets of chocolatey deliciousness.
While the cookie version is extraordinary, I’m here with the bar form of the classic cookies for those who are into cookie bars over standard cookies.
I sometimes prefer making cookie bars because all of the bars in the center of the baking dish are nothing but gooey center cookie texture, whereas the bars around the edges have a substantial edge, ideal for those like me who go wild over the crispy edge.
In essence, your gooey center lovers and your crispy edge lovers are getting the best of their respective worlds.
Made in one bowl with no refrigeration time, the bars come together quickly and easily.
Let’s discuss the basic ingredients for cowboy cookies.
Ingredients for Cowboy Cookie Bars:
Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: The base of the cookies is gluten-free all-purpose flour, taking the place of regular all-purpose flour.
I recommend Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, which I find results in the best texture.
If you prefer a different brand of GF flour, feel free to use it, although keep in mind results will vary from brand to brand.
Pecans, Quick Oats, Shredded Coconut, and Chocolate Chips: The classic ingredients that make cowboy cookies cowboy cookies!
Chopped pecans, quick cooking oats, shredded coconut and chocolate chips are what identify a cowboy cookie as such.
Unsalted Butter: The ingredient that gives cookies its luscious rich flavor! Softened butter provides that iconic cookie flavor for an inviting treat.
If you need the cookies to be dairy-free, you can either use dairy-free butter such as Earth Balance Butter or softened coconut oil.
If using coconut oil, reduce the amount to 12 tablespoons.
Brown Sugar: Packed brown sugar is what I use to sweeten the cookies because I like that it comes with a little moisture and depth of flavor. Any kind of granulated sweetener works here, including regular cane sugar, maple sugar, or sugar-free sweetener.
Egg: One large egg helps the cookies rise and keeps them held together nicely. If you have the time, bring the egg to room temperature before using it.
Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla brings warm flavor to the cookies.
Baking Powder: The leavening agent here. Baking powder helps the cookies rise and prevents them from spreading during the baking process.
Cinnamon and Sea Salt: Sea salt helps enhance all of the flavors to really make the cookies pop, and the cinnamon adds a warm nuance. Don’t skip either one!
Recipe Customizations:
- I like using unsweetened coconut and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Dark chocolate chips, sugar-free chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, and white chocolate chips work too.
- Coconut flakes work in place of shredded coconut.
- Replace the pecans with walnuts or omit the nuts altogether.
- Use old-fashioned oats or rolled oats instead of quick oats.
Now that we’re familiar with the simple ingredients, let’s bake a batch of cookies!
How to Make Gluten-Free Cowboy Cookie Bars:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 8” x 8” cake pan with parchment paper.
Add the softened butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
Cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until the butter sugar mixture is fluffy. Note: if you don’t own a stand mixer, use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat until the wet ingredients are well combined.
In a separate bowl, stir together the gluten-free all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and sea salt (dry ingredients).
Leaving the mixer on medium-low speed, slowly pour the flour mixture into the mixer with the wet ingredients. Mix just until combined.
Add in the pecans, oats, shredded coconut and chocolate chips and mix until the solids are well-distributed throughout the dough. Note: if the dough seems overly greasy, refrigerate it for 20-40 minutes. Otherwise, proceed to the next step without refrigeration.
Transfer the cowboy cookie dough to the prepared baking dish and use a rubber spatula to press dough into an even layer. If you’d like, sprinkle the top of the dough with extra chocolate chips, shredded coconut, flaky sea salt, and/or chopped pecans.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden-brown around the edges. I bake mine for 22 minutes, which results in a crispy edge and a very gooey center.
For chewy, underdone cookie bars, bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 168 to 178 degrees F. To check the internal temperature, insert a digital thermometer into the center of the bars.
For cookie bars with a golden brown crisp that have set up but are still gooey, 22 to 25 minutes. Harder, crispier cookie bars, 28 to 30 minutes.
Allow cookie bars to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing. The longer you wait to slice the bars, the cleaner the slices will come out.
To slice bars easily, Pull on the edges of the parchment paper and lift the full batch out of the baking dish and transfer it to a cutting board. Be sure to use a sharp knife to cut the bars in order to get clean slices.
How to Store Cookie Bars
Store bars in a zip lock bag or an airtight container at room temperature on the counter for up to 2 days. You can also store bars in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freeze bars for up to 3 months.
For an even more decadent treat, serve the cookie bars warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
The next time you’re looking to impress your friends and family, whip up these delightful cowboy cookie bars!
For me, the flavor profile of these cowboy bars is just unbeatable.
If you’re a cookie lover, also try out these reader favorites.
Favorite Cookie Recipes:
- 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Cranberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Almond Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Coconut Flour Cookies
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts
Enjoy this chewy cookie bar at all your holiday celebrations!
Gluten-Free Cowboy Cookie Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
- 13 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ⅔ cup raw pecans chopped
- ⅔ cup quick oats or rolled oats
- ⅔ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 8” x 8” cake pan with parchment paper.
- Add the softened butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until the butter sugar mixture is fluffy. Note: if you don’t own a stand mixer, use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat until the wet ingredients are well combined.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the gluten-free all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and sea salt (dry ingredients).
- Leaving the mixer on medium-low speed, slowly pour the flour mixture into the mixer with the wet ingredients. Mix just until combined.
- Add the pecans, oats, shredded coconut and chocolate chips and mix until everything is well-distributed throughout the dough. Note: if the dough seems overly greasy, refrigerate it for 20-40 minutes. Otherwise, proceed to the next step without refrigeration.
- Transfer the cowboy cookie dough to the prepared baking dish and use a rubber spatula to press dough into an even layer. If you’d like, sprinkle the top of the dough with extra chocolate chips, shredded coconut, flaky sea salt, and/or chopped pecans.
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden-brown around the edges. I bake mine for 22 minutes, which results in a crispy edge and a very gooey center. For chewy, underdone cookie bars, bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 168 to 178 degrees F. For cookie bars with a golden brown crisp that have set up but are still gooey, 22 to 25 minutes. Harder, crispier cookie bars, 28 to 30 minutes.
- Allow cookie bars to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing. The longer you wait to slice the bars, the cleaner the slices will come out.
- To slice bars easily, Pull on the edges of the parchment paper and lift the full batch out of the baking dish and transfer it to a cutting board. Be sure to use a sharp knife to cut the bars in order to get clean slices.
Notes
Nutrition
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Can I use maple syrup instead of brown sugar?
Hi Talia!
I haven’t had a chance to test the recipe using pure maple syrup instead of brown sugar yet, so I can’t speak to the final result. My suspicion is making that switch will change the texture of the cookie bars, as the combination of granulated sugar, butter, and flour is what results in the classic chewy texture. Nevertheless, if you’re willing to experiment, I think it’s worth a shot. If it were me, I would cut the butter down to 8 tablespoons, and use 1/2 cup of pure maple syrup. This doesn’t guarantee an amazing result, but that’s what I would try if I were to test it 🙂 Let me know if you end up trying it!
These cookies sound great 👍
Thanks, Julia! Let me know if you try them! xo