Ranger Cookies (Oatmeal Cookie Recipe)
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Old-fashioned Ranger Cookies kick a basic oatmeal cookie recipe to the next level; no boots required! Golden ranger cookies are energy packed with chewy oats, crispy rice cereal, and rich chocolate. A perfect take-along snack for busy days!
If you’re looking for more delicious recipes with oats, you’ll also love Snickerdoodle Homemade Granola, Easy Apple Crisp, Cinnamon Roll Baked Oatmeal, and Cherry Crumb Pie.
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Table of Contents
Why Are They Called Ranger Cookies?
Consensus says, “we ain’t sure!” Just like the Hello Dollies Legendary Cookie Bar Recipe, there are a lot of opinions, not facts, about why this splendiferous oatmeal cookie recipe is called a ranger cookie. They are also referred to as Texas Ranger cookies, Lone Ranger cookies, oatmeal cereal cookies, and many variations thereof! I just call them delicious!
Similar oatmeal cookie recipes with coconut, pecans, chocolate, and oats are called cowboy cookies in today’s modern baking. The cowboy cookie version spread like wildfire when not-yet-First Lady Laura Bush published her recipe in a Family Circle bake-off contest in 2000. The submission for Texas Governor’s House Cowboy Cookies beat out Tipper Gore’s Ginger Snaps, and history was made.
Why You’ll Fall In Love With This Gussied-Up Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
These days, it’s downright budget-friendlier (and tastier) to whip up a batch of homemade cookies. Ranger cookies are just the thing when your jr. rangers start caterwauling they need some grub before chow time. (I’m really liking this wild west slang, after this section, I’ll let up-mostly!) haha
- QUICK & EASY: A ranger cookie recipe can be pulled together with pantry staples in two shakes of a dog’s tail (quickly).
- Favorite For The Cookie Jar: Sturdy take-along oatmeal cookie snack that holds up in your rucksack (backpack) when you’re on the go.
- Amazing Texture: Ranger cookies with rolled oats are kinda crunchy, kinda chewy, and kinda darn-good delicious!
- Satisfy A Sweet Tooth With A Burst Of Energy: These carbo-charged oatmeal cookies are hoe-down worthy and a nice change from power bars when you’re on the trail (hiking) 🙂
What You Need For Fixin’ A Ranger Cookie Recipe
This elevated oatmeal cookie with crisped rice cereal is a texture and flavor-packed treat! The key to great baked goods is maintaining and rotating your panty basics; you need the freshest ingredients for the freshest taste!
For specific amounts, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- The Creamed Stuff: Butter*, Brown Sugar*, & White Sugar; Beaten Eggs & Vanilla
- The Sifted Stuff: All-Purpose Flour*, Salt, Baking Soda
- The Tasty Stuff: Old-Fashioned Oats, Crispy Rice Cereal, Chocolate Chips, & Chopped Pecans (Optional)
Tips For Success
- Butter needs to be room temp and soft to the touch (not greasy)
- Firmly pack the brown sugar for the correct measurement.
- Spoon flour into a measuring cup and level with a knife.
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How To Make Ranger Cookies With Crispy Rice Cereal
All you need to rustle up some ranger cookies are the usual cookie suspects; an electric mixer, a large mixing bowl, a sifter, measuring implements, a baking sheet, oven parchment, and a cooling rack.
When you are making this recipe, you’ll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.
- Cream butter and sugars, then mix in beaten eggs.
- Add sifted dry ingredients and vanilla to the butter/sugar mixture and combine.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients and refrigerate covered for about 30 minutes.
- Roll ranger cookie dough into 1-inch balls and set 2” apart on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake ranger cookies in preheated oven until the edges are golden brown.
- Cool cookies on the pan for 5 minutes; transfer them to a cooling rack.
- Store cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.
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FAQs For Make Ahead Ranger Cookies And Storing Cookie Dough
I recommend you use refrigerated ranger cookie dough within a two-day window. Some bakers say you can keep raw cookie dough in the fridge for 4-5 days, but that seems a little dicey for optimum flavor in a fresh-baked cookie.
I vote for the cookie dough. Nothing beats the taste or smell of freshly baked cookies. There’s no set rule with this ranger cookie recipe; just keep in mind your freezer. Some tend to “flavor” other foods, no matter how well you wrap or store your food. Baked cookies are one of those foods that can really carry over a “freezer” taste when thawed.
No. But let it thaw in the fridge until you can manipulate the dough. You’ll need to re-chill the dough if the dough warms to room temp, so the butter solidifies. Otherwise, the dough will spread, and you’ll end up with thin discs instead of chewy golden ranger cookies!
Yes, but…if you didn’t pre-portion cookie dough, that’s another story, obviously. Add an additional 2-3 minutes to the baking time. You want the edges to be golden brown, but the center will be slightly lighter.
Not reeeally. Most cowboy cookie recipes include added coconut, cinnamon, pecans, and chocolate chips. However, different versions of ranger cookies and cowboy cookie recipes abound. Many of the ingredients seem interchangeable, depending on the author and the era. Although in my research, I viewed a photocopy of a handwritten oatmeal cookie recipe with cornflakes circa the 1930s. The ranger cookie recipe included coconut (with, of course, shortening) and no chocolate. Waddaya gonna do? Make some fantastic ranger cookies and add or change what you like! Your rangers could be cowboys and vice versa.
Recipe Notes/Tips
- It’s always a good idea to read the full recipe before you start.
- Don’t overmix the cookie dough, you will end up with flat, crispier cookies.
- Don’t skip chilling the dough. The time in the fridge solidifies the butter which prevents the cookies from spreading too much while baking.
- Don’t overbake the cookies. They will continue to cook on the pan as they cool. Remove them from the oven as soon as the edges start to turn golden brown, for a crisp edge with a chewy center.
- I prefer old-fashioned oats over quick oats for ranger cookies. You can actually use either, but they do yield a different texture. Old-fashioned rolled oats are ideal for baking cookies because they retain their texture. Quick oats don’t retain their texture.
- You can use shortening instead of butter for a softer cookie.
How To Store Ranger Cookies
Completely cooled cookies can be stored in an airtight container or bag for up to one week on the counter.
Freeze Ranger Cookies
Baked Ranger cookies freeze wonderfully. Store the cookies in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw cookies on the counter/room temperature for a few hours before enjoying.
Freezing Ranger Cookie Dough
For freezing ranger cookie dough, mix and roll the cookies per the recipe. Flash freeze the dough balls by placing them in a single layer (close together, but not touching) on a large sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper and place the whole pan in the freezer for about 1 hour (or until dough balls are frozen).
Once the dough balls are frozen, transfer them to an airtight freezer-safe container or bag. Mark them with the baking temp and time. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Pull out as few or as many as you’d like to bake at a time. Add 1-3 minutes to the baking time, if frozen.
Ranger Cookie Recipe Variations & Additions
- There are plenty of mixins to fancy up a good ranger cookie, starting with different flavored baking chips from butterscotch to expresso bean. If that leaves you feeling like a long tail cat in a room full of rockers, then white chocolate chips are a good place to start.
- M&M’s, raisins, craisins, peanuts, coconut or almond slices add texture and crunch! I’m a bit partial to pecans, but it’s your call.
- A great way to save time and increase the flavor of ranger cookies is to allow the dough to chill in the fridge for several hours. Like pie dough, the flour absorbs moisture, and the gluten bonds loosen. You get a more evenly baked, flavorful, and chewier textured cookie.
- You can portion out ranger cookie dough into balls, refrigerate them on the cookie sheet, and then pop them directly into the oven.
- Well, ma’am, if your young whippersnapper ate all the crispy rice cereal, you can mosey on over yonder to the cupboard and wrangle yerself a box of corn flakes, raisin bran, or the like. (ok, I’m done!) 🙂
More Classic Cookie Recipes To Try
- Homemade M&M Cookies
- Drop Sugar Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Classic Spritz Cookies
- Cake Mix Cookies
- The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Ranger Cookies
Old-fashioned Ranger Cookies are energy packed with chewy oats, crispy rice cereal, and rich chocolate chips. A perfect take-along snack for busy days!
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup crispy rice cereal
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Add beaten eggs and mix well.
- Sift dry ingredients together and add to the butter/sugar mixture. Add vanilla and mix well.
- Stir in oats, rice cereal, chocolate chips, and nuts. Cover the dough and chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet and set aside.
- Roll cookie dough into 1-inch balls and place on a sheet pan 2 inches apart.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.
- Remove from the oven, let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- It’s always a good idea to read the full recipe before you start.
- Don’t overmix the cookie dough, you will end up with flat, crispier cookies.
- Don’t skip chilling the dough. The time in the fridge solidifies the butter which prevents the cookies from spreading too much while baking.
- Don’t overbake the cookies. They will continue to cook on the pan as they cool. Remove them from the oven as soon as the edges start to turn golden brown, for a crisp edge with a chewy center.
- I prefer old-fashioned oat over quick oats for ranger cookies. You can actually use either, but they do yield a different texture. Old-fashioned rolled oats are ideal for baking cookies because they retain their texture. Quick oats don’t retain their texture.
- You can use shortening instead of butter for a softer cookie.
Completely cooled cookies can be stored in an airtight container or bag for up to one week on the counter.
Baked Ranger cookies freeze wonderfully. Store the cookies in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw cookies on the counter/room temperature for a few hours before enjoying them.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 238Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 217mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 2gSugar: 20gProtein: 3g
Nutrition information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin, and freshness of ingredients used and are just estimates. We encourage, especially if these numbers are important to you, to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.
Hi there, I'm Cheryl!
As a wife, mom, and caffeine enthusiast, my journey has taken me from bustling mornings with my family to sharing delicious recipes, home care tips, and heartfelt decorating insights with wonderful readers like you. My love for baking, photography, and tidiness shines through every post I craft. Dive into my world and discover the art of homemaking, one tidy moment at a time. Read more...
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