Easy Cashew Butter Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Vegan)

Rich, decadent, and studded with chocolate chunks, these amazing cashew butter cookies are the perfect sweet treat or anytime snack. Learn how to make your own cashew butter at home, and bake a batch of these delicious cookies today! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan, but they taste so good no one would know!

Jump to:

• Cookies for Snacking on Anytime
• My Love for Cashews
• Why This Recipe Works
• Ingredients You’ll Need:
• Ingredient Notes/Substitutions:
• How to Make Cashew Butter Cookies (Step by Step):
• Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks:
• Recipe FAQs:
• Other Gluten-Free Cookies You’ll Love
• Dessert Recipes to Enjoy:
• Easy Cashew Butter Cookies (Gluten-free, Dairy-Free, Vegan)

Cookies for Snacking on Anytime

Whether you’re baking for a cookie exchange during Christmas or the holiday season in general, or simply want to snack on something sweet, cookies are always a good idea.

In fact, I believe in that so much that I’ve been baking non-stop this holiday season.

From almond butter cookies, oatmeal cookies and peanut butter cookies, to snickerdoodles, sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies, there’s no shortage of cookies at my home.

My Love for Cashews

And given that I love cooking with cashews (from grinding my own cashew flour, to making homemade cashew milk, to baking cashew bread and coconut cashew bread), I naturally also wanted to make cashew butter cookies.

Why This Recipe Works

• Simple Ingredients: To make these cookies, you’ll need simple ingredients that you might already have at home (or if not, they’re easily accessible at the grocery store).

• Easy to Make: These amazing flourless cashew cookies are insanely easy to make (especially if you already have cashew butter on hand – and if not, I’ll show you just how simple it is to make your own)!

• Rich and Decadent: Studded with chocolate chunks and filled with cashew butter flavor, these easy cookies are deliciously decadent, and will satisfy any sweet tooth!

• Crispy Outside, Soft Inside: Fresh out of the oven, these cashew butter cookies are crispy on the outside and soft and chewy inside. They have the perfect texture, and you’ll want to eat more than just one!

• Totally Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Vegan: The best part if that this recipe is completely gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan, which means that even those who have Celiac disease or have gluten or lactose intolerances can still indulge in these decadent cookies without worries!

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Here’s a visual overview of the ingredients required for this cashew butter cookies recipe.

(For exact measurements and quantities, please scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.)

Ingredient Notes/Substitutions:

• Cashew Butter: In this recipe, I teach you how to make your own cashew butter from unsalted roasted cashews, but you can always use 2 cups of store-bought unsalted cashew butter for convenience if you prefer.

• Sugar: I used cane sugar in this recipe, but feel free to use white sugar, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar or coconut sugar too. If you are diabetic or insulin resistant, I highly recommend that you use Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener (a 1:1 sugar substitute that has zero glycemic index and will not spike your blood sugar).

• Coconut Oil: I always prefer to use refined coconut oil in my cooking, as it has a more neutral taste (compared to extra virgin coconut oil which has a more pronounced coconut flavor and smell). Alternatively, you can also use another neutral vegetable oil.

• Flax Eggs: I used flax eggs but you may also use an egg replacer or chia eggs or aquafaba instead. Alternatively, if you are not vegan or allergic to eggs, feel free to use normal eggs instead.

• Chocolate Chunks: These are entirely optional, so feel free to leave them out if you don’t like chocolate. I used vegan semi-sweet chocolate chunks but feel free to use normal chocolate chunks or chocolate chips if you aren’t lactose-intolerant or vegan.

How to Make Cashew Butter Cookies (Step by Step):

1. Preheat and Line

Pre-heat oven to 350F (180C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.

2. Prepare the Flax Eggs

Combine the flaxseed meal and water together, mix well, and let stand for 15 minutes (see my post on how to make flax eggs).

3. Make Cashew Butter

Place the soaked cashews in the bowl of your food processor or electric blender, together with water and melted coconut oil, and process until you get around 2 cups of thick but creamy cashew butter.

(This may take at least five minutes and you may need to scrape down the sides of your food processor or blender as necessary.)

4. Prepare Cookie Dough

In a large bowl, combine the cashew butter, sugar, flax eggs, baking powder and salt, and mix well until you get a homogeneous cookie dough.

5. Fold in Chocolate Chunks

Gently fold in the chocolate chunks until they are evenly distributed.

6. Drop Cookie Dough on Cookie Sheet

Using a cookie scoop, drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet and gently flatten dough down with a spatula (the cookies will only spread very slightly).

7. Bake

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cashew cookies are firm on the top.

8. Cool Completely Before Eating

Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to completely at room temperature.

(Tip: It’s important that you let the cookies cool completely before eating or storing as they will continue to cook on the inside even after you remove them from the oven.)

Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks:

• Make Plain Cashew Cookies: If you prefer to make plain cashew cookies, simply leave out the chocolate chunks.

• Optional Add-Ins: Alternatively, you can swap out the chocolate chunks for equal amounts of your favorite nuts (such as chopped cashews or almonds), or even raisins or other dried fruit if you prefer.

• Crisp Them Up Again: As time passes, these cookies will lose their initial external crispness. However, you can easily crisp them up again by baking them for 5 minutes in the oven at 350F before eating.

Recipe FAQs:

Other Gluten-Free Cookies You’ll Love

• Almond Butter Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Gingerbread Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Easy Snickerdoodle Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Crunchy Almond Biscotti (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Easy Coconut Macaroons (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Easy Buckwheat Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Soft Pumpkin Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Sugar Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Oatmeal Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)

Dessert Recipes to Enjoy:

P.S. If you try this recipe, I’d love for you to leave a star rating below, and/or a review in the comment section further down the page. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to check out my entire Recipe Index for all the recipes on the blog. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram! Sign up for my Email List to get fresh recipes in your inbox each week!

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