Salted Caramel Cashew Cookies
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Salted caramel cashew cookies are a chewy, sweet-and-salty cookie that hits all the taste buds.
Is everyone else as deeply in love with salted caramel as I am? One look around Pinterest makes the answer to that pretty obvious: duh.
When it came time for cookies this season, I knew immediately I wanted to make salted caramel cashew cookies. I’ve had the flavor before in a packaged cookie, but I wanted my cookies to be more chewy and more chock-full of flavor overall. At the same time, I wanted them to be easy to whip up any day of the week.
Thanks to the existence of caramel bits, which are pellet-size unwrapped caramel pieces, what would otherwise be sticky prep work is eliminated.
You could cut the bits into even smaller pieces if you want more evenly distributed caramel, but I like the big bursts you get. I used these same bits in my Caramel Apple Muffins and know they’re a winning ingredient.
Now, cashews don’t often figure into cookies, but they’re a great pairing with caramel and salt, so I couldn’t leave them out. I broke them into pieces, but left a few halves here and there in the mix.
If you decide to make really big cookies, keeping the cashews as larger halves works wonderfully. You can also save a few to press into the top of the cookie when you remove them from the oven, for ultimate presentation.
I loved sharing these salted caramel cashew cookies with fellow Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap participants, and, of course, gobbling up the ones I received in return. My only regret was not making a double batch so I could have eaten some of these myself!
I don’t participate in the cookie swap every year but I always regret it during the years I don’t. Getting mail, especially from fellow bloggers, and especially especially edible mail, is incredibly fun. My kids loved it too, and ate at least half of the cookies we received. Can’t say I blame them.
I used fleur de sel for sprinkling on these cookies, because it’s flavorful but not overwhelming. If you want a big salty punch go ahead and use Maldon sea salt flakes, or go different and try some smoked salt.
If making these into large cookies, be sure to add 2-3 minutes extra baking time.
Salted Caramel Cashew Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 ounces butter, softened
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup caramel bits
- 3/4 cup chopped cashews
- Fleur de sel, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment or a Silpat.
- In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
- Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture until combined, then stir in caramel bits and cashews.
- Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets, about an inch apart. Sprinkle each with fleur de sel.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to rack to cool completely.