This recipe is from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “Rose’s Christmas Cookies” book. It caught my eye for two reasons: firstly, I haven’t used cashews in a cake or biscuit recipe, and secondly, most of my male relatives are cashew-obsessed!
Making these biscuits really is the work of minutes. They looked so cute all puffy and fresh from the oven, and what a bonus that you get so many of them from one batch (this photo is only one tray from the three that I got)!
The biccies are subtly flavoured – you don’t get the big hit of cashew I anticipated, but the flavour does build in your mouth as you eat. Like anything with nuts they are best made a day in advance to give the nut time to develop its flavours. The biscuits aren’t oily or greasy in texture – my one complaint when eating cashews is that they are a particularly greasy nut - but here, the baking seems to mitigate that.
They keep like a dream in an airtight container and, unusually for biscuits, get better with age. In that respect I wish I was a cashew puffy!
Ingredients
115g unsalted butter, at room temperature
190g light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
120g sour cream
290g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
185g unsalted cashew nuts, coarsely chopped
Method
Preheat oven to 190°C /fan oven 170°C /375°F/Gas mark 5.
Line three baking sheets with greaseproof paper – if you don’t have three, don’t panic – just bake the biscuits in batches and then reuse the baking sheet.
Beat together the butter and sugar until light and whippy.
Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
Beat in the sour cream and ensure that all the ingredients are well combined.
Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cashew nuts and beat – very gently – until just combined.
Take a heaped teaspoon of the dough and place on the baking sheet. Place the next teaspoonful approximately 4-5cm away. Continue until the tray is full.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. I baked for 10 minutes, then turned the tray for any subsequent baking – it guarantees even baking.
Leave the biscuits to cool, still on their tray, on a wire rack.
When they are cool enough (and firm enough) to handle, lift them off and place them directly onto the wire rack to cool.
Store in an airtight tin.
Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.
20 comments:
The best thing about cashew nuts (for me anyway) is that they're quite inexpensive compared to almonds, hazelnuts, pecans and walnuts. I love how crispy and chunky the biscuits look!
Ooh yum, those do sound good. You're right cashews don't seem to feature much in baking. Nor does sour cream usually get into a biscuit. Am going to have to bookmark this one, even though I can't see any chocolate in the vicinity!
Love these look absolutely nice:)
They look great. And yay, a nutty biscuit I can eat without having to modify the recipe!
Have a lovely day out and about tomorrow.
These look perfect Puffy and light. Do they develop a crunch as they cool?
Unfortunately I am allergic to peanuts and cashews. WOuld it work with almonds? Or dried blueberries?
Hi Sensibilia
They would work with any nut I think - almond, hazelnut, pecan, macadamia - any nut that has a bit of oil to it!
Not sure about dried fruit as you'd lose the oil providing moisture.
They don't ever have a crunch, although they might if you make them smaller...I'm just greedy and always want big biscuits!
Happy baking
Thanks, CC - I will experiment!
These look amazing! Think I have a spare pack of cashews lying around somewhere.
Do you know I've never really thought about it before, but I too have never seen cashew nuts in a cake/biscuit before... until now! Good work CC! Have a great day out tomorrow
My hubby loves cashews too. So I will have to make him these.
These sound great - I received cashews for Christmas so this could be a good way to use them. Enjoy your day out and about!
YUM. I LOVE cashews, these look delectable (and I bet the raw mixture is delish too!)
I just love Cashew's. Love them! I am going to write down this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
I only ever use cashews in curries - and haven't come across them in baking recipes.
they loook really crunchy and quite delicious!
I love cashews but only ever use them in savoury dishes - clearly I'm wasting my time and should be baking with them more often! The texture looks lovely - wish I could try one right now :-)
Delicious - they sound yummy, it is strange that we don't use more cashews in baking:)
I bet these are seriously moreish! They look great.
Maria
x
Ooh, these puffies look creamy and dreamy!
These sound yummy, I bake a lot of Rock Cakes and these sound similar to these only lovely and nutty.
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