This recipe came to The Times in 2000 during the Bush-Gore presidential campaign when Family Circle magazine ran cookie recipes from each of the candidates’ wives and asked readers to vote. Laura Bush’s cowboy cookies, a classic chocolate chip cookie that’s been beefed up with oats, pecans, coconut and cinnamon, beat Tipper Gore’s ginger snaps by a mile.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 1 ½ cups packed light-brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups unsweetened flake coconut
• 2 cups chopped pecans (8 ounces)

PREPARATION
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in bowl.
In a very large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in sugars, and combine thoroughly.
Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla.
Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans.
For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup dough onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until edges are lightly browned; rotate sheets halfway through. Remove cookies from rack to cool.