A few months ago I started this routine to eat better, exercise more, and indulge every so often… a girl has got to live.  With that being said, recently I was eating at a great salad restaurant in Pasadena CA, in trying to be healthy and really keeping to my new goals.  My son was with me and wanted a cookie.  I picked him up high enough so he could see what was in the display case. He turned and looked at me and said “What’s that smell? Is it coconut or cinnamon?” I replied “Both.  It’s called a Cowboy Cookie.” He said “Do you want to share the cowboy cookie?” He used the key word “share.”  This way I could have just a portion of it and also because he is an only child, I could teach him the value of sharing.  I said “of course!”  Little did I know it would be a slippery slope down hill.  One bite into this cookie I knew I was gonna crave it all the time.  My boy too fell hard for the coconut chocolate cinnamon oat pecan flavor.  Who wouldn’t?  Since then I have been making my own version of the heavenly cowboy cookie to “share” with my son.  Not all the time but sometimes.

Many moons ago I worked at a post production studio where we recorded sound for big animated movies and cartoon series.  Lots of famous celebrities would come in for voice over work.  One day a huge starlet came in and instead of going straight to her studio to start working she stopped to smell a bowl of chocolate instead.  I told her “go ahead, and get a few pieces of chocolate.”  She smiled and said, “That’s okay honey, I’ve been on a diet for the last ten years and never get to have a piece of chocolate, but the next best thing is smelling it.  It keeps me thin this way.”  I remember thinking that she must have the willpower of the strongest human on this earth.  How could she smell something and not go in to taste?

Recently I was shopping at Walmart and found a whole new collection of Air Wick air fresheners inspired by the beloved brands of Snuggle, Baby Magic, and Cinnabon. I think that it is smart of Air Wick to partner with those brands, they all evoke the comfort of home.  Just like that a light in my head went on.  When I want all the comforts of something sweet I don’t nessecarily have to eat it, I could just smell it and Air Wick just made it so easy to do that with their Cinnabon scent.  I couldn’t resist, I grabbed the Snuggle scent because fresh laundry is always enticing, Baby Magic because I miss that new born scent, and of course the grandfather of them all, the Cinnabon scent, which caters to my food palate. Smells so good you can practically taste it.

Ingredients for Cowboy Cookies:

• 3/4 – cup butter (room temp about 1 1/2 sticks)
• 3/4 – cup sugar
• 3/4 – cup dark brown sugar (packed)
• 2 – eggs
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 – cups unbleached flour
• 1 – teaspoon baking powder
• 1 – teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 – tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 – teaspoon salt
• 1 – cup pecans (chopped)
• 1 1/2 – cups sweetened coconut
• 1 1/2 – cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 1/2 – cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large mixer cream sugars and butter until smooth.
3. Add in one egg at a time  and continue mixing to combine. Add in the vanilla extract, and mix till completely combined.
4. In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together.
5. Slowly pour the flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture. Continue to mix until all combined.
6. Fold in pecans, coconut, oats, and chocolate chips into the dough.
7. Ball up 3 tablespoons of dough and place on a baking mat lined cookie sheet about 3 to 4 inches apart. 
8. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden crisp around the edges.
9. Allow to cool on baking sheet.
10. Eat this now!