Cashew butter puts a unique spin on the expected in these chewy Cashew Butter Oatmeal Cookies.
Not too long ago, I received an assignment from one of the publications I write for about the nutrition of cashew butter. Having limited experience with this particular nut butter, I was basically starting at square one. I’m your typical American when it comes to nut butters–as in, peanut butter is my gold standard. When our family lived in Germany a few years ago, the lack of this grocery staple in stores led to much weeping and gnashing of teeth (until my mom arrived from the States bearing some precious PB).
Doing a bit of research for my article led to some interesting revelations about cashew butter. Even though it has a teeny bit more calories than peanut butter, its fats are 80% unsaturated (aka the healthy kind). Plus–how weird is this?–certain antioxidant compounds in cashews have been associated with improved vision and eye health. You can read my full article with all cashew butter’s health benefits here.
Coincidentally, I happened to receive a few samples of cashew butter shortly after writing my article. One of which was this intriguing salted caramel variety.
Up until now, I’ve been noshing it slathered on graham crackers and as a dip for green apples. (Not sure if it’s giving me superhuman vision yet, but it sure is tasty.) With its creamy texture and comparable flavor to peanut butter, I figured I could put it to work in some of the other vehicles I’d normally use PB for…like cookies!
These Cashew Butter Oatmeal Cookies are a twist on the usual peanut butter oatmeal cookies. They’ve got the craveable crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside you know and love in the best peanut butter oatmeal cookies, with a slightly different taste. I especially enjoyed the hint of salted caramel in the variety I used, but you can easily use any kind of cashew butter here.
I guess I’ve come full circle on my cashew butter journey. Now that I know a bit more about it and have used it in several ways, I’m all aboard on the nut train. And I’m pretty sure if you try these cookies, you will be, too.
Cashew Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 c. butter, softened
- 1/2 c. cashew butter
- 1/3 c. brown sugar
- 1/2 c. white sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
- 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- generous 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine butter, cashew butter, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, and egg. Blend with a hand mixer until well mixed, 1-2 minutes.
- Add oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix by hand until combined.
- Form into balls and drop onto greased baking sheet. Bake about 12 minutes until tops of cookies are set. Cool 10 minutes and store in an airtight container.
Notes
EXCELLENT recipe! I did make a couple of modifications and used almond flour instead of AP; I added a cup (total) of walnuts and pecans. These will NOT last long! Great taste and texture. This recipe makes 2 dozen cookies.