Ranger Cookies: These quick and easy ranger cookies (also called cowboy cookies) are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Corn flakes and crispy rice cereal give these chewy cookies a crunchy texture that will make them a family favorite in no time!
Quick Overview: Cream together butter and sugar, add the wet ingredients, then stir in the dry ingredients. Scoop onto a baking sheet and bake at 350°.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I think the original ranger cookies (you know, the coconut ranger cookies with oatmeal) are delicious, but you know what’s better? Ranger cookies with corn flakes. Ranger cookies with Rice Krispies.
And THE BEST ranger cookies have all of those things in them! This ranger cookie recipe takes a classic for a little spin and creates something even better.
In this ranger cookies recipe you’ll find all of the classic ranger cookie ingredients (butter, sugar, coconut flakes, oatmeal) as well as some fun new additions to add crunch and flavor (corn flakes, Rice Krispies, walnuts if you like).
This is quickly becoming one of my new favorite cookie recipes (along with these easy homemade oatmeal raisin cookies) – you have to try it!
Jump to:
What are Ranger Cookies?
A ranger cookie is an oatmeal cookie that sometimes contains coconut or other yummy additions. But why is it called a ranger cookie?
Some say the cookie originated in Texas (so I guess that would make it a Texas ranger cookie), others say it was named “cowboy cookie” because it’s tough enough to withstand a day in a saddle bag.
But I think you can call it whatever you like, as long as you share some with me! These crispy-on-the-outside and chewy-on-the-inside cookies are so good, I never can seem to eat just one.
Ingredients
You can make these cookies with basic ingredients you probably already have your cupboard right now. And if you don’t, you can find them all super easily at the local grocery store!
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups quick oats
- 1 cup corn flakes
- 1 cup rice cereal (we used Rice Krispies)
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup chopped walnuts, optional
Step-by-Step Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed, cream the softened butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
[You can also do this in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or even by hand if you like.]
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract, mix on medium speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and then add this flour mixture to the sugar and butter mixture, mixing on low speed just until combined.
- Add the oatmeal to the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until combined.
- Fold in the cornflakes, rice cereal, shredded coconut and chopped nuts by hand with a sturdy spatula.
- Using a 1 ounce cookie scoop (or a tablespoon if you don’t have a cookie scoop), create 1 ounce cookie dough balls. Place your dough balls on the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees f for 9-12 minutes. The cookies will be golden brown around the edges and set in the center.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to let cool completely.
- Serve these ranger cookies alongside a glass or milk or a cup of coffee and enjoy!
Substitutions
This recipe is great as it is, but if you need to make changes we have a few suggestions…
- Gluten Free – use gluten free flour in place of the all purpose flour (you can usually find this in the natural food aisle of your local grocery store). The rest of the ingredients are already gluten free!
- No Eggs – you can replace the eggs in this recipe with flax eggs!
- Dairy Free – if you use a dairy free butter (like Earth Balance) you can easily make these cookies suit a dairy free diet!
Variations
The original recipe for these cookies already has a ton of fun extras in it, but if you’re the wild kind (like yours truly) and you still want more, try these…
- Chocolate Chip Cookies – add some chocolate chips (white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips – it’s up to you) to make these chocolate chip ranger cookies!
- Other “Chips” – You could also add in other fun “chips” that aren’t chocolate, like peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips.
- Raisins – if you’re a fan of oatmeal cookies with raisins, like me, try mixing in a handful of raisins! You could mix in any kind of dried fruit you like, as long as it’s chopped up in small enough pieces (cranberries, blueberries, mangos…).
Cookies are so fun because you can customize a basic recipe to no end and have a different cookie each time you bake them!
Equipment
We used a 1 ounce cookie scoop for this recipe, but if you don’t have one you can scoop your dough out with a regular old tablespoon from your cutlery drawer and then roll it into a ball. It works just as well.
What is the “scoop and level” method?
All this fancy term means is that instead of taking your measuring cup and scooping a full cup of flour, you use a spoon or other utensil to slowly fill up the measuring cup and then scrape it flat to ensure you are getting just the right amount.
If you need to see a more detailed example of what we mean, check out this blog post.
Storage
Store your leftover ranger cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, or freeze them for up to a month.
Expert Tips and FAQs
A ranger cookie is an oatmeal cookie that sometimes contains coconut or other yummy additions. But why is it called a ranger cookie?
Some say the cookie originated in Texas (so I guess that would make it a Texas rangers cookie), others say it was named “cowboy cookie” because it’s tough enough to withstand a day in a saddle bag.
But I think you can call it whatever you like, as long as you share some with me! These crispy-on-the-outside and chewy-on-the-inside cookies are so good, I never can seem to eat just one.
The answer to both of these questions, in my opinion, is baking time!
If you bake a cookie for slightly longer it will become harder, and the secret to a chewy cookie is to make sure you DO NOT overtake them. Keep a close eye on them when they reach the end of their baking time – as long as the cookie is a bit golden brown around the edges, it’s safe to pull them out.
If you are worried they aren’t quite done yet, let them sit on the pan for 5 mins or so (the heat from the baking sheet will actually continue cooking them a bit even out of the oven). Remember, you can always pop them back in the oven to bake a bit longer but you can’t unbake them!
The secret to a fluffy cookie is the creaming of the butter and sugar! The process of creaming together butter and sugar incorporates air into your cookie batter.
While it’s tempting to simply combine then together quickly and move on, letting your butter and sugar beat for a good 3-5 minutes will ensure there is plenty of air mixed in and you get a nice, fluffy cookie.
Related Recipes
If you are looking for more great recipes you can whip up on a dime next time company shows up unexpectedly, check out our easy peanut butter cookies and our chewy monster cookies! Or, if you love Crumbl Cookies, make sure you check out these key lime pie copycat cookies!
Recipe
Ranger Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour scoop and level method
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups quick oats
- 1 cup corn flakes
- 1 cup rice cereal we used Rice Krispies
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup chopped walnuts optional
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed, cream the softened butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. [You can also do this in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or even by hand if you like.]
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract, mix on medium speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and then add this flour mixture to the sugar and butter mixture, mixing on low speed just until combined.
- Add the oatmeal to the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until combined.
- Fold in the cornflakes, rice cereal, shredded coconut and chopped nuts by hand with a sturdy spatula.
- Using a 1 ounce cookie scoop (or a tablespoon if you don't have a cookie scoop), create 1 ounce cookie dough balls. Place your dough balls on the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees f for 9-12 minutes. The cookies will be golden brown around the edges and set in the center.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to let cool completely.
- Serve these ranger cookies alongside a glass or milk or a cup of coffee and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Marsha Trzaskoma says
These cookies are very good!!!
Jessica says
Awww yay! So happy you liked these ranger cookies too, thank you!
Lindy says
The original Ranger cookies from the 50’s used Wheaties instead of corn flakes or rice chrispy cereal.
Jessica says
Oh I remember Wheaties!!
Jessica says
Hi Adele. Oh goodness no… I’m not sure why it had 5 hours in there. It’s only around a 30 minute prep time. 🙂 Thank you for letting me know!
Alison B says
This has been a favorite of mine from my childhood. The sweet and salty, chewy/crunchy is perfect
Allyssa says
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Eden says
These cookies were awesome! They turned out so good and I can’t wait to make them again!
Gina Ceraso says
I can’t even tell you enough how much we loved these cookies. The crispies were a perfect addition!