This post was originally published here January 18, 2014. I’ve since adjusted the recipe instructions slightly. And I’ve updated the text and photographs to reflect those changes.
Wow. Four cookie recipes in a row over here. I think I’m done.
Just to clarify, I’m not done eating cookies. Just blogging about them. You likely won’t see another new cookie recipe here before Christmas. But I think you’ve got enough to keep you busy! Heck. I might even try for something savory next!
There isn’t anything particularly Christmassy about these Chocolate-Dipped Salted Cashew Cookies. They’re not peppermint flavored. Or topped with red and green sprinkles. But I seem to mostly make them during the month of December, so I guess they’ve become a Christmas cookie to me.
These cookies are thick and toothsome (they don’t spread significantly during baking), with a bit of a crispity texture on the outside. And they’re FULL of chopped cashews, so you get some nuttiness in every single bite. I’m tired of desserts that claim to have nuts in them and then you get like one sad walnut in an entire brownie square. Lame.
To make sure these Chocolate-Dipped Salted Cashew Cookies have a nice salty punch, I used a combination of salted butter, additional salt in the cookie dough and some flaky sea salt for finishing. Trust me. This is not overkill.
I like to buy raw cashews and roast them myself for this recipe. But sometimes they can be more difficult to find. If you can only get pre-roasted cashews, simply skip that first step.
The cookie dough will seem a bit dry and crumbly. But that’s ok. When you shape the dough into balls, it will come together just fine. This is why I instruct you to form the cookie dough balls before chilling the dough. Because once the dough has been chilled, it will become difficult to work with. I used to do it that way and I always struggled. But now I’ve adjusted the instructions to make this part much easier!
Cheers,
Liz
Chocolate-Dipped Salted Cashew Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough:
- 1 1/2 cup raw, unsalted cashews
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoon) salted butter, softened at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 3/4 tsp. salt
For Finishing:
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 3 tsp. light corn syrup
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Spread the cashews out onto a rimmed baking sheet. Transfer to your pre-heated oven and roast for 8-10 minutes, or until they are lightly browned and starting to smell nutty. Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cooled, chop the cashews coarsely (you want the pieces to be about pea-sized). You can turn off your oven, but you’ll need to pre-heat it again later.
- In your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and brown sugar until well combined, stopping to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Then slowly add in the flour, baking soda and salt, beating just until no more white streaks remain. Add in the chopped cashews and beat to incorporate. The dough will look crumbly at this point. That’s ok.
- Scoop out tablespoon sized portions of cookie dough and roll them into balls. Place the cookie dough balls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and cover them with a piece of plastic wrap. Transfer to your refrigerator to chill for about 1 hour.
- If you’ve turned off your oven, pre-heat it again to 350 degrees.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper and place the chilled cookie dough balls about 1-inch apart from each other. Transfer the baking sheets to your pre-heated oven and bake for 14-15 minutes. The cookies should be puffed and slightly browned.
- Remove the baking sheets from your oven and use a spatula to press lightly on top of each cookie to flatten them slightly. Let the cookies cool on their baking sheets for about 5 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Once the cookies have completely cooled, combine the chocolate, butter and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until everything is melted and smooth. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the chocolate to cool for about 5 minutes. Then dip each cookie about halfway into the chocolate, letting any excess drip off, and place them back on their parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Before the chocolate dries, sprinkle with a pinch of flaky sea salt.
- Allow the chocolate to fully cool and set before transferring the cookies to an airtight container for storage. Cookies can be stored at room temperature for 4-5 days.
Notes
Recipe adapted from The A.O.C Cookbook.
I told myself I wasn’t going to bake any cookies in January. Look at what you’ve done! this could mean trouble!
Ha ha! I know! I have no willpower :-).
I lack the same willpower. Cookies are what makes my world go round. And cashews? I’m done for!
Right? I have absolutely no will power when it comes to cookies!
Yum!! Is the dark chocolate unsweetened?
Hi Cory, I used 70% dark chocolate for this recipe. Hope this helps!
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Hello! These look delicious. I’m wondering how many it makes and if Almonds might be good as well?
Hi Jeanne. The recipe makes approximately 3 dozen cookies. I haven’t tried with almonds, but I’m sure they would be yummy!
I made these exactly following the recipe. Is there a reason my cookie dough is more brown? I would imagine it’s because of the brown sugar but they are much darker than yours and the cookies did not turn out soft
Hi Leah, I really don’t know why they would be darker. That is very strange. It’s possible that your oven temperature isn’t calibrated correctly, so maybe they were actually getting baked at a higher temperature? I’m sorry they weren’t what you expected.
I tried to make these and they were a total flop. The dough was so crumbly I could barely get them together and then they all just fell apart in the oven. Not sure where I went wrong. The crumbs were tasty atleast!
Hi Annie. Sorry to hear you had trouble with the dough. If it’s very cold, it can be a bit crumbly. Maybe let it warm up a bit first before scooping it out, if you try them again. You can also sometimes add in a tablespoon or two of cold water as your mixing the dough, if it looks a little too dry. Hope this helps for the future.
These are the most amazing cookies ever! I made them for a niece whose two fave things are cashews and dark chocolate. Not being a fan of cashews myself, I didn’t even try them before sending them but my husband did. He raved, I tried them, and they are awesome. Have now made them a few more times and the recipe is perfect.
Yay! I was actually JUST looking at the recipe today, but it’s been years since I’ve made them myself. I’m going to make this this Holiday season for sure. Glad they were enjoyed by all!
How much flour? I see 2 all purpose flour and am guessing cups?
Thanks. They look delicious
Yes 2 cups. Just fixed it. Thanks for catching that!
thank you, great cookie recipe, I like the cashews, and chocolate dipped even more!
Thanks, Sabrina!