Sweet & Salty Cashew Cookies
Posted by Anna on 20 Jun 2007 at 11:39 am | Tagged as: Nutty Cookies
A friend of mine thinks the rising popularity of Asian cuisine somehow correlates with America’s growing appreciation for sweet/salty foods. My theory is that a large segment of the population is getting older and our cumulative “mature” taste buds need a lot of bang for the buck. I know mine do, and choosing today’s cookie from the Top 30 Mrs. Fields finalist list was a no-brainer. Hello, Sweet & Salty Cashew Cookies.
Another reason I chose this recipe was because I liked the idea of candying the cashews before adding them to cookie dough. Instead of just toasting them, you coat the cashews with egg white, sugar and salt and bake them for for 20 minutes. The only problem is, you might like the candied cashews so much you don’t want to put them in the cookies.
I followed the directions as written and for now, will link you directly to the recipe. If it goes away, let me know so I can paste it here. I did make one minor change to half of the dough. Instead of adding the pageant of different chips, I just used butterscotch chips. I kind of liked how the butterscotch played with the candied cashews without the interference of chocolate….but I liked the chocolate version too. All in all, it’s a great cookie.
Oh, one more thing. I think the shortening/butter combo is critical to the cookie’s texture. You can sub all butter, but you’ll get a different cookie….probably a flatter and not as crispy-edged cookie. At least that’s what I suspect. If you use all butter, let me know.
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on 20 Jun 2007 at 11:55 am 1.amela said …
I looked at those today and thought maybe I’d make them for my mom, who likes cashews. Plus they are something different.
on 20 Jun 2007 at 12:36 pm 2.Debbi said …
These caught my eye on the top 30 also. We love cashews and I’ll be trying these soon!
on 20 Jun 2007 at 12:43 pm 3.CindyD said …
Do you think pecans could be substitued for the cashews?
on 20 Jun 2007 at 12:44 pm 4.Anna said …
Personally, I’d go with butterscotch chips and white chunks. I like cutting up chunks of white chocolate rather than using chips.
on 20 Jun 2007 at 12:50 pm 5.Anna said …
Cindy, I love pecans but I went out and bought the cashews just for this cookie. You could use pecans, but I think you’d be cheating yourself if you didn’t try the seasoned/baked cashew version first.
on 20 Jun 2007 at 3:55 pm 6.AudreyJ said …
Anna -
A general baking question here. What do you do with all of your baked goods? I love baking, but I can’t (and don’t want) to eat everything I make. I’m not sure about passing out baked goods to random people.
Audrey
on 20 Jun 2007 at 4:00 pm 7.Anna said …
Audrey, today I gave my next door neighbor a bag of cookies. She’s always doing favors for me, so I like to share cookies with her. I ate one or two (am trying not to eat more today) and am going to send the rest to my husband’s co-workers.
on 21 Jun 2007 at 7:27 pm 8.Claire said …
These look great and I know my mom would like them…cashews are her favorite. We have a family reunion next weekend and I’ll probably make these for that.