Cashew Nut Butter Biscuits: Crispy Outside, Soft in the Middle

Cashew nut butter makes a biscuit that is noticeably more delicate and subtly flavoured than its peanut butter equivalent. The cashew brings a gentle, creamy nuttiness rather than the bold punch of peanut, resulting in something slightly more refined without being fussy. I adapted the famous Joy of Cooking peanut butter biscuit recipe, adjusted the ratios to use less cashew butter since it is a more expensive ingredient, and added chopped roasted cashews through the dough for texture. These are now my favourite nut butter biscuit, and I say that having made the peanut butter version many times.

If you prefer a bolder, more classic nut butter flavour, my peanut butter cookies use the same base recipe and are equally worth making.

I made my own cashew nut butter in my power blender. I haven’t had any success in making nut butter in a regular food processor before so I can’t say it’s possible even though the Internet says it is.

My cashew nut butter is  100% ground-up raw cashew nuts with absolutely nothing else added. Cashew nut butter is not easily available commercially but I have seen it in speciality and wellness shops. I like to make my own for obvious reasons. I get to control what goes in it and it saves me money. 

My cashew nut butter is very smooth & creamy. It’s not surprising that vegans use it to make fake cheese, so I added in extra chopped-up roast cashews for texture.

I wanted the dough to be perfect and not crumbly. I like my nut biscuit to be crispy on the outside and a little soft in the middle, but if you prefer it softer you can just reduce the baking time by two minutes. If you like them extra crispy, add another minute or two.

I’m giving half of these to my nephews, and the other half I am taking away with me this weekend. I’m going to have to practice all manner of restraint to get them to Friday intact.

As far as any nut butter cookie is concerned, I have found my best version so can now lay that search to rest. 

* notes – I added salt to the recipe and I used salted butter as it amplifies the flavour here. If you use salted roasted cashew nuts then leave the extra salt out. I love the flavour of Muscovado and Demerara sugar so used it instead of white sugar, but any dark brown/treacle sugar will work. If you are not a fan of too much sugar, reduce the quantity to 3/4 cup. 

Recipe – makes about 33 cookies (I used a 15 ml cookie dough hinged scoop, but used a tablespoon measure to achieve a similar result)

Coffee-flavoured cookies:

I made a variation with 1/4 cup coffee-flavoured cashew nut butter and 1/4 cup peanut butter (I like Yum Yum crunchy) and it worked out so well. If you are not able to get hold of coffee-flavoured cashew nut butter, you could add 1 – 2 teaspoons of espresso powder to the batter and add it in with the butter and nut butter.

*Pro Tip – Add toasted milk powder to the recipe to bring out a delicious nutty brown butter flavour. 1-2 Tablespoons.

Cashew Nut Butter Biscuits Recipe

Crispy on the outside and just slightly soft in the middle, these cashew nut butter biscuits are made with homemade or shop-bought cashew butter and studded with chopped roasted cashews for texture. A more delicate and refined alternative to a classic peanut butter biscuit, and just as easy to make.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:11 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 115 grams butter I always use salted
• 175 grams Demerara or muscovado sugar 1 cup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
• 1 large free-range egg
• ½ cup cashew nut butter use peanut butter or other nut butter if you prefer
• 210 grams flour (cake or all-purpose) 1 1/2 cups
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup heaped roasted cashew nuts chopped (about 40 – 45gms)
• Extra white or light brown sugar to roll the dough optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180C / 350 F and line two large baking sheets with non-stick baking or silicone paper.
• Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment beat the butter, cashew nut butter and sugar until well combined. Add the vanilla and egg and mix until creamy.
• Remove the bowl from the mixer and sift in the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the chopped nuts and then return to the mixer and briefly mix until it is thick dough and all ingredients are incorporated.
• Scoop out tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Toss these through extra sugar and place them on the baking tray allowing about 3cm (1.5  inches) space between each other. They will more or less double in size while baking.
• Press down in a criss-cross pattern with a fork to flatten the cookie and leave a pretty pattern.
• Bake for 10 minutes and until they just start turning a golden brown around the edges. Bake for a minute or two longer if you prefer them to be crispier.
• Remove from the oven and try and allow them to cool completely before you eat them

Notes

You can use any nut butter to make these biscuits.

I have also made these using a combination of cashew nut and peanut butter (1/4 cup each) and it worked out really well.

I have also made an option using coffee-flavoured cashew nut butter and peanut butter (1/4 cup of each). 

If you do not have coffee-flavoured cashew nut butter add 1 – 2 teaspoons of espresso powder to the dough at the beginning.

Servings: 30

A few other biscuit recipes you might like:

Shortbread biscuit balls with a chocolate middle

Alison Roman’s salted butter & chocolate chip shortbread cookies

Vanilla snap cookies

The best easy ginger & honey biscuits

Peanut butter shortbread

Airfryer choc chip cookies

White chocolate, cranberry & pecan nut cookies

Espresso chocolate chip cookies

My best-ever baking recipes on Drizzleanddip

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