These easy cashew butter cookies are soft, salty, lightly sweet, totally irresistible, and ready in 20 minutes! Perfect when you want just a few bites of something rich and nutty. Vegan and free from gluten, oil, and refined sugar.
We vegans love our cashews, right? But usually the delicious nut is being blended into mac and cheese sauce, dairy-free nacho cheese, or other creamy sauces.
So when I spotted a jar of cashew butter on the "last chance" shelf at the grocery store last week, I figured why not snatch it up and turn it into the star of a recipe.
Though I always have raw cashews on hand, for some reason I never make cashew butter. In baked goods I usually go for peanut butter, almond butter, tahini, or sunbutter to add richness and replace oil.
But cashew butter has its own beautifully unique flavor, and these quick and easy cookies highlight it nicely.
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Why You'll Love These Cookies
Quick and Easy
When you find yourself craving just a few bites of something rich and sweet but aren't in the mood to bake a complicated dessert, cookies to the rescue! These golden cashew cookies call for just 10 minutes of prep and 10 minutes of bake time.
Rich Flavor
Do you remember Pecan Sandies? Maybe they're still available, I'm not sure. Anyway, I loved them when I was a kid, with their sandy, sweet, almost shortbread-like-but-not-quite texture.
In a way, these cashew butter cookies remind me of Pecan Sandies. The texture is different, so I can't quite put my finger on the similarity. I suppose it's just the intensity of the nuttiness!
These are essentially a lightly sweetened bite of cashew butter in cookie form, in other words, very satisfying. These aren't a cookie you'll want to eat 3 or 4 of! Nope, a little goes a long way with these, and sometimes that's exactly what you want!
Simple, No-Fuss Recipe
To make these cookies all you need are one bowl, a cookie sheet, and about 20 to 30 minutes.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
I tested these with a gluten-free 1:1 baking blend because I wanted to share a cookie specifically for the gluten-free folks out there. If you prefer to use oat flour or another whole-grain flour, I suspect they'll turn out just fine. I find most healthy cookie recipes to be fairly forgiving in that way.
If you don't have coconut sugar feel free to substitute another granulated sweetener like organic cane sugar or light brown sugar.
While the chopped cashews aren't necessary, I do think the added texture is really nice. If you don't have cashews feel free to substitute another nut or seed.
Instructions
Making these cookies is as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4! Here's a quick glance at the process:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- In a mixing bowl cream together the wet ingredients. Then add dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Scoop up approximately 1.5 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Place on the baking sheet and use a fork to create a criss-cross pattern on top of each cookie.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, keeping a close eye on the bottom of the cookies during the last couple of minutes so they don't' burn.
The cookies will be soft straight from the oven. Allow to cool for 5 yo 10 minutes before serving or moving to a cooling rack.
Allow the cookies to cool completely before storing.
Additions
Feel like experimenting with stir ins? Try these cookies with raisins, currants, chopped dried cherries, or cranberries. The burst of tart dried fruit tastes amazing with the cashew butter!
Storage
Store cashew cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerated for up to a week. They can also be frozen for longer storage.
I hope you enjoy these quick and easy cashew butter cookies! If you give them a try let us know in the comments below.
More vegan cookie recipes:
- Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
- 1-Bowl Sunbutter Cookies
- Tahini Oatmeal Cookies
- Gluten-Free Thumbprint Cookies
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Protein Cookies
- Orange-Tahini Cookies
- Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
📖 Recipe
Cashew Butter Cookies (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted cashew butter
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar - Sub other granulated sweetener, if desired.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup chopped raw cashews, optional
- ⅓ cup 1:1 gluten-free flour blend - I used Bob's Red Mill. Sub oat or wheat flour, if desired.
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk
- pinch of flaked sea salt, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the cashew butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, and cashews until thoroughly combined. Add the flour and baking powder, and mix well until no visible flour remains. The dough will be very dry and thick. Add the milk, and mix again until it has been fully absorbed.
- Using a tablespoon or a 1.5 Tbsp cookie scoop, scoop up dough and place on baking sheet. Use a fork to create a criss-cross pattern on the top of each cookie, gently pressing down to flatten into shape.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes, keeping a close eye on the cookies near the end. Cashew butter tends to burn quickly/easily, so a bit less done is better than overdone in this case. The cookies will be soft straight out of the oven. Immediately sprinkle with flaked sea salt, if using. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then slide the entire sheet onto a cooling rack.
- Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.
Helen
These cookies are fantastic! Thanks so much for the recipe.
Brittney Chung
Can i use cashews and throw them into a food processor instead of cashew butter?
Lori
Absolutely, process them into cashew butter. Enjoy!
Nada
Great recipe. Thank you
Pam Ravizee
Can you add dark chocolate chips to this recipe?
Lori
Sure, that sounds great to me!
Leah
Wow these are sooo yummy!!!! I baked mine for 9-10mins and they were just perfect! Slightly crunchy around the outside and beautifully soft and fluffy on the inside. So more ish! I used cashew milk in mine too. Next batch may drizzle dairy free chocolate ontop!
Karen Ricketts
"Delicious" just isn't a strong enough word for these cookies. They're similar to shortbread cookies, except much, much better. I made my own cashew butter for these (ground cashews in our high-speed blender). These melt in your mouth - our new favorite cookie.
Lori
Wow, such awesome feedback, Karen. Thank you!!
Khalidah
May I know the purpose of adding vegan milk in the recipe? What will happen if I omit the milk? Thanks...
Lori
Hi, yes you can omit the milk. It just makes the dough a little bit softer and easier to mix, but omitting it won't cause a problem. 🙂