Texas Buffalo Chips

Everything’s bigger in Texas, and these cookies prove it. Scooped with an ice cream scoop, each one bakes into a massive, loaded disc packed with oats, cereal, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and chopped pecans. They’re called buffalo chips for a reason.

The dough uses both margarine and shortening, which creates a cookie that’s chewy in the center and crisp around the edges. Shortening holds its shape better at baking temperatures, so the cookies spread just enough without going flat.

With four cups of flour and all those mix-ins, this is a stiff dough. Don’t be tempted to add liquid. The eggs and fat provide all the moisture needed, and a stiffer dough means the cookies hold their height.

Pro Tips

• Only six cookies per sheet. These spread significantly, and crowding creates one giant merged cookie instead of individual rounds.
• An ice cream scoop gives you uniform cookies that bake at the same rate. Eyeballing it means some finish before others.
• Let them cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before moving. They’re fragile when hot and firm up as they cool.
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature. The oats and coconut keep them moist for days.

Variations

• Use butterscotch chips instead of chocolate for a caramel-flavored version.
• Swap pecans for peanuts and add a tablespoon of peanut butter to the dough for a peanut-forward cookie.
• Fold in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips for a holiday version with red and white throughout.