Rich creamy cashew butter is the star of these cashew cookies. The cookie dough is rolled in granulated sugar and powdered sugar to create the crinkle cookie effect.
Move over peanut butter.
We’re all about cashew butter these days!
Cashew may not be the first nut you think of for desserts.
However, I assure you, cashews provide the prefect balance of rich and creamy to sweet dishes.
Cashew is the main ingredient in Sans Rival Cake, a Filipino dessert consisting of crunchy cashew meringue and French buttercream.
Table of Contents
Cashew Butter Cookies
Fans of peanut butter cookies and almond butter cookies will appreciate the creaminess of these cashew cookies!
No stand mixer needed for this cookie recipe. No need to chill the dough, either.
A sturdy spatula and a large bowl will do just fine.
This is a simple straightforward cookie that only requires a handful of ingredients.
I recommend using brown sugar, either light brown or dark brown variety. The molasses in brown sugar adds flavor and helps to keep the cookies soft and chewy.
Granulated white sugar will result in a crispier, crunchier cookie. If that’s what you like, go ahead and swap it in!
For the best results, use high quality cashew butter! The kind that requires a little stir before use.
I highly recommend using a brand that only had one ingredient: cashews!
What is cashew butter?
Cashew butter is simply cashew nuts blended and processed to a paste. It is very rich and creamy.
It can be made using raw or toasted/roasted nuts. Roasted varieties taste better. They tend to be richer and more complex in flavor.
You can certainly make homemade cashew butter simply using a food processor. Luckily, many brands now offer this delicious nut butter.
I used Spread The Love Basic Cashew Butter. I also recommend Thrive Market Organic Cashew Butter (note: this version has added oils).
How to make nut butter crinkle cookies
Room temperature butter and eggs is the key to easy mixing.
Leave butter out on the counter for 20-30 minutes before mixing. To speed up the process, slice butter into tablespoons and microwave at half-power in 10 second intervals until desired texture and temperature is achieved.
To quickly bring eggs to room temperature, place cold egg in a bowl of warm water for about 8 minutes.
Like any standard cookie recipe, start by creaming the butter. Add the sugar, cashew butter, egg, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
Then, add in the dry flour ingredients. Mix until just combined.
Use a 1.5 Tablespoon cookie scooper (#40 scoop) to portion out the dough. It is important to have uniform sized cookie dough. The cookies bake evenly when they’re all the same size.
Roll the dough in a bowl of granulated sugar. Then, roll the dough in a bowl of powdered sugar until fully coated.
The coated cookie dough should look like the photo above.
Don’t worry if the cookie balls aren’t perfect rounds. That’s okay! They will still bake into rounds/circles.
Pop the sugar coated cookie balls in the oven for about 15 minutes. The cookies will magically create these crinkly, earthquake surface towards the last 3 minutes of baking.
The cookies will be rather fragile immediately out of the oven. Cool cookies on the hot baking sheet for about 3 minutes.
Then, use a spatula or mini offset to transfer warm cookies to a wire rack to cool further. Residual heat from the pan will continue to bake (and dry out) the cookies.
It is better to err on under-baked versus over-baked cookies.
Other Recipes that Use Cashew Butter
- Kale Apple Smoothie is made with cashew butter, honey, and almond milk.
- Cashew Butter Granola Bars make for a great afternoon snack!
- Swap out the peanut butter for cashew butter in this Hyper Monkey Blended Smoothie made with espresso, frozen banana slices, and chopped dark chocolate.
Storage and Leftovers
The cashew cookies will keep for one week stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
An airtight container is very important. Exposure too much air will harden these cashew butter cookies.
How to keep cookies soft and chewy
To ensure these cashew butter cookies remain soft, store the cooled cookies in an airtight container along with a small piece of bread (or a cupcake or muffin).
Use the microwave to restore days old cookies to their original soft and chewy glory. Place one or two cookies on a microwave safe plate. Heat for 10 to 15 seconds. Cool before enjoying.
Cashew Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour, (195 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, (113 g), room temp, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar, (200 g), packed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg,, room temp
- ¾ cup cashew butter, (195 g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar, for rolling
- ½ cup powdered sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or reusable silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Add butter to a large bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to beat butter until smooth. Add brown sugar and vanilla. Mix until creamy. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
- Add in egg and beat until well combined. Add in cashew butter. Mix until smooth.
- Add flour mixture to mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until there are no longer any dry streaks of flour. Alternatively, use a spatula to fold in flour. Do not overmix.
- Use a 1.5 Tablespoon cookie scoop (#40 scoop) to portion out the smooth dough. Roll dough balls in granulated sugar. Then, roll in powdered sugar until well coated. Place cookie balls at least 2-inch apart on prepared baking sheet.*Don't worry if the balls are not perfect rounds. The dough will still bake into a circle.
- Bake the cookies until the edges are set and the cookies are cracked on top, 15-18 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Cool cookies in baking sheet for 3 minutes. Then, use a spatula or mini offset to transfer cookies to wire rack. Cool to room temperature.
Notes
- It is better to err on side on under-baked versus over-baked cookies.
- Baking time works best when cookies are portioned using a 1.5 Tbsp cookie scoop (#40 scoop)
- Do not allow cookies to completely cool on the baking sheet. Residual heat form the baking sheet will continue to bake (and dry out) the cookies.
- Use high quality cashew butter. Preferably one that is 100% cashews with no other added ingredients, except salt.
- Brown sugar gives the cookies warm molasses flavor and helps to make the cookies soft. You may use light brown or dark brown sugar. Do not sub in granulated white sugar.
- Cookies will keep for one week stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
- To ensure cookies remain soft and chewy, store cooled cookies with a small piece of bread, cupcake, or muffin.
- Alternatively, use the microwave to restore days old hard cookies to their original state. Place one or two cookies on a microwave safe plate. Heat for 10 to 15 seconds. Cool before enjoying.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Hi, can this recipe be made in advance?
Yes, you can make the dough ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge. However, the dough will be a bit difficult to scoop cold. Let it sit out for 10-15 minutes to soften.
For my oven 15 minutes was way too long and they are undercooked. Next time I’ll try 10-12. Tasted really great!
Oh wow! I just made these cookies using Octonuts Sea Salt Caramel Cashew Butter, and they are amazing! Slightly crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. They look exactly like the photo with a crackled crust…beautiful! You can really taste the cashew butter, so use a variety that you like. This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thank you for sharing it!
Absolutely excellent! Very rich taste and super easy to make.