Cashew Carmel Bites | Holiday Cookies

These are super sweet little gems and a little goes a long way. But who can resist cookies made with homemade cashew butter?


These are super sweet little gems and a little goes a long way. But who can resist cookies made with homemade cashew butter?

Cashew-Caramel Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen
Ingredients
1  2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2  1/2 cups roasted salted cashews
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
24 cubes soft caramel candy (7 ounces)
1/4 cup heavy cream
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour and salt together. Coarsely chop 1 cup cashews; set aside. Process remaining 1 1/2 cups cashews in a food processor until finely chopped. Pour in oil. Process until mixture is creamy, about 2 minutes.
2. Put cashew mixture, butter, and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually add flour mixture. Mix in reserved chopped cashews.
3. Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls; space 2 inches apart on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 6 minutes; gently flatten with a spatula. Bake until bottoms are just golden, 6 to 7 minutes more. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
4. Melt caramels with cream in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring. Let cool. Using a spoon, drizzle caramel over cookies; let set. Store airtight in single layers.