This variation of the classic peanut butter cookie is a great way to use up that nut butter sitting in the back of your fridge. Cashew butter cookies are easy, delicious, and something you’ll want to make again and again.

Everyone knows peanut butter cookies, but have you ever tried to make cashew butter cookies? I can say that if you like cashew butter more than peanut butter, you’ll love the cashew butter cookies version as well. Now the great thing about this recipe is that the butters are 1:1 substitutes. If you have a favorite peanut butter cookie recipe already, just sub in cashew butter.
If you don’t have a favorite recipe already, then this cashew butter cookie recipe is my favorite. They are soft and chewy with a great yet subtle nutty flavor. I personally like cashew butter over the more popular peanut butter, so I was very happy that these cookies turned out so delicious. I also love almond butter cookies, especially with plenty of semi-sweet chocolate chips!

For this recipe I used Trader Joes cashew butter. I like it, but you can use any brand you prefer. I do recommend using a creamy and salted version though. Creamy because it mixes better into the cookie dough, and salted because I don’t add any extra salt with the dry ingredients. For a non-salted version I recommend this organic one, just be sure to add a pinch of salt to the cookie dough when mixing.

The first thing you need to do for this cashew butter cookies recipe is to cream together the butter and sugars. I used a mix of white and brown sugar for these cookies. I also used a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, but you can cream the ingredients by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer.

After the butter and sugars are creamed, you can add the cashew butter. For this recipe I use 200 grams of cashew butter. Let the paddle do the work while you prepare the dry ingredients. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Turn the paddle onto the lowest speed and spoon in the dry ingredients one tablespoon at a time.

The result is a shiny, smooth, oily (nut butters have tons of fat), ball of dough. I use a tablespoon to scoop out a piece of the dough, roll it between my palms, and place the balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. You can also use a silicone mat as well.

Just like with traditional peanut butter cookies, we are going to make a hatch pattern using the tines of a fork. Press down on the ball one way, and then turn the fork 90 degrees and press down again. This will turn the dough into a disk shape with the recognizable pattern.

These cashew butter cookies bake in the oven for just 9 minutes! That’s all it takes for delicious perfection. When you take them out, they will still look a little undercooked, but that is okay. They finish on the pan resting for 5 minutes before being moved to a wire rack to cool.

You do have to let these cashew butter cookies rest for 5 minutes, but if you want to eat them really warm and soft, you can have a treat before putting them on the wire rack. You just want to let the inside cook a bit more outside the oven so it is properly done. Enjoy!

Prefer more cake-like cookies? Try my soft lemon cookies or the holiday favorite pumpkin cookies!

Cashew Butter Cookies
Equipment
- Baking Tray
- Stand Mixer (optional)
Ingredients
- 180 grams Flour AP
- 200 grams Cashew Butter creamy and salted ideally
- 110 grams Butter softened
- 100 grams Granulated Sugar
- 100 grams Brown Sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius or 350 Fahrenheit.
- In a stand mixer on paddle attachment cream together the butter and the sugars. Then add in the egg and the cashew butter.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Turn the stand mixer to its lowest speed and slowly spoon in the dry ingredients once spoonful at a time. Once all the dry ingredients are combined turn off the mixer.
- Tilt the contents of the mixer onto a table (you don't need to flour the table, there is so much fat in nut butters this dough is far from sticky) and quickly knead it into a ball/mound. If you notice the dough cracking and grainy, it is not mixed enough so put it back in the mixer. If it is smooth and feels greasy you've done it right.
- Take a heaping tablespoon (basically 2 tbsp) of dough and roll it between your palms into a ball. Place the ball on a parchment or silicone mat lined baking tray. Repeat for all the dough.
- Use the tines of a fork to make a cross-hatch pattern on the tops of the cookies. See pictures in the article body for example.
- Place the tray in the oven and bake for 9 minutes. Remove and let sit on the hot tray for 5 minutes, then move the cookies to a wire rack to cool. They will come out looking under cooked, but they will finish in the 5 minutes outside the oven on the hot tray.