Wild Bill Chewies

This past weekend, we drove to Alabama to visit my future father-in-law (aka: Chris' Dad, Bill). I call him my future father-in-law because it's only a matter of time that he will be, so why not?!  Bill LOVES sweet treats (especially made by yours truly). He requested another Pumpkin Roll, which I brought in addition to a few other goodies like these delectable cookies!

I had in mind something I wanted to make, but when I went to make it, I realized it wasn't going to work with what I had on-hand. So, I had to resort to Plan B, which really didn't exist. I had no Plan B. Nadda. Nothing. Zilch. I panicked for a quick minute and then decided to just wing it. Some of my best failures have turned into my best successes by just winging it, so I figured I had nothing to lose. This was definitely one of those moments and it quickly rose to the top of my list of cooking successes.  I'm not trying to toot my own horn or anything...toot toot!

When they came out of the oven and I "tasted" a bite for the first time, I winced, hoping that they wouldn't be too terrible and I could just pass them off as a good cookie.  But they were SO much more. I made Chris try them and his eyes lit up the moment they hit his tongue. SUCCESS! I had no idea what I was doing, but these cookies are chewy and soft and packed with powerful bites of chocolate, oats, coconut, caramel and pecans.

My next challenge was coming up with a name for them as I really didn't know what to call them.  I thought Bill may be able to assist with that, so I waited to see what his verdict would be.  He immediately grabbed one from the bag....and another.....and another. That man ate 4 cookies that night! Insane! The first thing he said when he ate them was, "They're more of a chewy than a cookie." All of a sudden, it came to us: Wild Bill Chewies! There you have it, folks, a cookie named after one of the neatest and sweetest guys I have ever known!

Wild Bill Chewies

Ingredients
2 cups Flour
1 Tsp. Baking Powder
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt
2 sticks Unsalted Butter, softened
1 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 cup Sweetened Coconut, shredded
1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate Chips
3/4 cup Pecans, chopped
7 oz. Caramel Chews, chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, and sugar until creamy (approximately 5 minutes). Add in eggs and vanilla; beat on low until well blended. Add half of the flour mixture; beat on low until combined. Add the remaining flour mixture and continue to beat on low until combined. Fold in oats, coconut, chocolate chips, pecans and caramels into the dough. - To chop the caramels, unwrap them and using utility/kitchen shears, cut them in half and then in half again to make into smaller pieces.

Spoon dough into tablespoon amounts and drop onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until browned on the bottom. Let cool and store in an air-tight container for up to 1 week.

Yields: 3 dozen
Source: With a Cherry on Top