Ranger Cookies

star rating (18) rate this recipe »
Recipe photo

Ranger Cookies

star rating (18) rate this recipe »
Published prior to 2008

These cookies will knock your socks off with sweetness! Kids will love them with a glass of ice-cold milk; the more "mature" folks can enjoy them with a cup of hot coffee.

Ed Note: I’d heard rumors of "Ranger Cookies" for years, but never really paid enough attention to figure out what they were. Then recently, while idly flipping through the cards in my grandmother’s well-worn wooden recipe box, there they were: Ranger Cookies, carefully written out in her distinctive longhand. Wow, they must have been around longer than I thought! I checked some of my older cookbooks: There they were in the ’60s… in the ’50s… my search petered out after that, due to the dearth of older cookbooks in our library. Suffice it to say, Ranger Cookies have been a part of the American cookie landscape for probably half a century, at least. While many versions of this sweet cookie forego the chocolate chips, my grandmother added them to hers.

1 cup (6 1/4 ounces) vegetable shortening or butter
1 cup (7 1/2 ounces) brown sugar, firmly packed, light or dark
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup (2 1/2 ounces) shredded coconut
1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips
3 cups (2 3/8 ounces) crispy rice cereal or cornflakes

Beat together the shortening and sugars, vanilla and salt until fluffy; add the eggs and beat until smooth.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda; add the flour mixture to the shortening mixture and beat until well blended. Stir in the oats, coconut, chips and cereal, mixing just until blended.

Drop the dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake the cookies in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they're golden brown. Yield: 60 (2- to 2 1/2- inch) cookies.

Nutrition information per serving (1 cookie, 22g): 101 cal, 5g fat, 1g protein, 5g complex carbohydrates, 8g sugar, 1g dietary fiber, 7mg cholesterol, 79mg sodium, 41mg potassium, 9RE vitamin A, 1mg vitamin C, 1mg iron, 8mg calcium, 21mg phosphorus, 2mg caffeine.

This recipe reprinted from The Baking Sheet Newsletter, Vol. XII, No. 4, Spring 2001 issue.

Reviews

1 2  All  
  • star rating 03/19/2012
  • queenbee58 from KAF Community
  • I tired this recipe yesterday and it is excellent, reading another's post, I cut the white sugar to 1/2 a cup. I added a cup of cranberries and walnuts I also used rice krispies instead of corn flakes. I omitted the chocolate chips but every thing else was the same. My combination of ingredients had the right amount of crunch on the outside and chewy on the inside, the sweetness was just right. Suggestions for next time maybe cut down the cranberries and walnuts to 1/2 a cup so ingredients are distributed equally unless you like chunky cookies. This recipe will now be my go to recipe when I want a quick and easy healthy treat, as with all my recipes I always add a little Psyllium Husk (fiber supplement).
  • star rating 12/24/2011
  • Juanita from Rhode Island
  • This is THE BEST cookie recipe !!! The texture of the baked cookie is wonderful, tastes delicious, easy to prepare and to bake, easy to follow instructions. This has just become one of my two favorite cookie recipes!
  • star rating 11/24/2011
  • Bee from London
  • I had no cornflakes so replaced them with rice cereal flakes, add to this the rice crispies in the recipe, this cookie was super crunchy. Quite a delight. However, flavour wise, this recipe was rather one dimensional, far too sweet.
  • star rating 10/08/2011
  • archaeogrrrl from KAF Community
  • Awesome, just awesome. I played with the added stuff. I used unsweetened coconut and for the full amount of chocolate chips, I used 25% white chocolate chips and 75% dried cherries, and I am SOOOO glad I did. These are very sweet, I think semisweet chocolate chips and sweetened coconut would have killed me now, although I can see kids begging for more with more sugar. I also used butter, not shortening. Thanks y'all, I appreciate your hard work. Oh, I also put the recipe together by weight and made sure my eggs and butter were at room temp, and creamed the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. I think (maybe, but what do I know really) creaming the fat well is crucial for keeping the cookies light. LOVE being able to feel the crunch from the rice cereal.
    The creaming of the fat is important so that there aren't unmixed pieces that melt and leach out when the cookies bake.
  • star rating 09/27/2011
  • Alicia from Kirkland, WA
  • I hadn't baked cookies in a decade when I decided to make these scrumptious little numbers, and boy were they were worth the wait! Lightly crisp on the outside, dense and chewy on the inside, I chose to forego the chocolate chips and subbed in raisins to lower the fat content. I also used unsalted organic butter in place of shortening, and used Pumpkin Flax Granola as my cereal choice. The result was a deliciously moist and crispy cookie that everyone loved!
  • star rating 02/28/2011
  • mntypythn3077 from KAF Community
  • These were great. They disappeared so fast. I'll definitely make these again and again.
  • star rating 11/03/2010
  • vibeguy from KAF Community
  • Fantastic, very similar to bakery Ranger cookies. Since I don't use vegetable shortening, I used the butter substitution, browned it, combined with the sugar and let this mixture cool after two minutes of beating until just slightly warm to the touch, then proceeded to add the eggs and vanilla and non-flour/leavening ingredients, using 3 oz each of chocolate and butterscotch chips. When all of the non-flour ingredients were in and thoroughly combined, I stirred in the flour and refrigerated the dough before portioning and baking. I will be making these again soon - a touch of cinnamon and/or nutmeg is also good.
  • star rating 09/19/2010
  • lydiacotton from KAF Community
  • I leave out the coconut - due to allergies - and make them a bit larger than recommended - they always turn out great!
  • star rating 06/04/2010
  • Ranger Joe from FT Benning, GA
  • After reviewing several postings on several sites regarding recipes for Ranger Cookies, I thought it time to clear the air about what a ranger cookie is and is not. Firstly, it is not the traditional oatmeal cookie. There are plenty of recipes for those. The ranger cookie was originally baked as a high-energy snack for outdoor folk such as campers, hikers, boy/girl scouts, and the like. Although most recipes result in a moister, chewier version today, the recipes of old were intended to be some what dry to ensure they lasted well outdoors. I have tried this recipe (and many more like it) and find this one to be very good!
  • star rating 03/28/2010
  • Kari from WA
  • This is a fab recipe, and open to so many add ins! I use these to bribe my step-son (20 years old and strong as an ox) when I need heavy labor done around the house. I have made these many, many times, and have never had a problem. They also take well to the addition of ww flour; they are so sweet, no one notices! :) My mom used to make something similar with all the last bit of cereal that no one wanted and had gone stale.
1 2  All  

Community & education:

Online baking resources:

Ingredient guides: