Description
Rich, tasty and delicious, these easy cashew nut cookies are perfect for celebrating Chinese New Year, or your holiday cookie exchange, or for snacking on any time of the year. Totally gluten-free and dairy-free too, but no one would know! Bake a batch of these delicious cashew cookies today!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups raw unsalted cashews
- 2 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your gluten-free flour blend already includes it) - 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup unsalted dairy-free butter, solid and cubed
- 2 small eggs (or 1 large egg), beaten
- 40 unsalted cashew halves, for topping
Instructions
- Blend Raw Cashews into a Fine Flour: Place the raw cashew nuts in the bowl of your high-speed blender or food processor and blend until you get a very fine cashew meal.
- Sift Cashew Meal: Sift the cashew meal through a fine-mesh sieve to filter out any large pieces. Return the large pieces to the blender or food processor and process until everything is finely ground.
- Whisk Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk the processed cashew meal, gluten-free all-purpose flour, and sugar together to combine.
- Cut Butter Into Flour Mixture: Add the cubed dairy-free butter and either use two knives or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture until you get a sand-like texture.
- Add Eggs and Knead Dough: Add the beaten eggs and mix well. Use gluten-free floured hands to knead the dough well until you get a smooth dough.
- Let Dough Chill: Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Preheat Oven and Line Baking Sheet: While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 320F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll Dough Into Balls: Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough and use the palm of your hands to roll the dough into a ball. Repeat until all the dough is used up (20 balls). Place dough balls on the parchment-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart.
- Flatten Dough Balls and Top with Cashew Half: Flatten each dough ball slightly and press a cashew half on top of the dough.
- Bake Until Lightly Golden: Bake cookies for 25 minutes until lightly golden on top. Allow the cookies to cool completely before eating.
Notes
Cashew Nuts: I like using raw cashew nuts, but you may also use roasted cashew nuts if you prefer for a darker brown color. Alternatively, you may use 4 cups of store-bought cashew flour if you rather not grind your own.
Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: I recommend using a good-quality gluten-free all-purpose flour blend that is made up of lighter flours/starches (such as rice flour, tapioca starch, corn starch, potato starch). I do NOT recommend using a gluten-free blend that is made up of heavier flours (such as garbanzo bean flour).
Xanthan Gum: Xanthan gum is the replacement for gluten in gluten-free flours and helps to bind the ingredients better together. If your gluten-free flour blend does not already include xanthan gum, make sure to add it in.
Sugar: I used granulated white sugar in this recipe, but feel free to use cane sugar, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar or coconut sugar if you prefer (just bear in mind that the darker the sugar used, the darker the color of the cookies will be). If you are diabetic or insulin-resistant, I highly recommend that you use granulated monkfruit sweetener (a 1:1 sugar substitute that is zero glycemic index and will not raise your blood sugar).
Dairy-Free Butter: I used unsalted dairy-free butter to keep this recipe dairy-free. You may also use solid coconut oil if you prefer (if so, I recommend using refined coconut oil which has a neutral flavor, as opposed to extra virgin coconut oil which has a strong coconut smell and taste). Alternatively, if you are not lactose-intolerant, feel free to use normal unsalted dairy butter instead.
Eggs: The eggs help to bind the ingredients together in this recipe. If you are allergic to eggs, or simply want to make this recipe vegan, feel free to use aquafaba or an egg-replacer.
Cashew Halves: Traditionally, cashew nut cookies in Asia are usually decorated with a cashew half on top of the cookie. You can buy cashew halves online, or make your own by simply cutting a whole cashew nut into half from top to bottom. However, feel free to leave out the cashew halves if you prefer.
Storing: To store, place the cashew cookies in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Chilling Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Asian
