Cashew Deliciousness

Someone brought these to a Christmas cookie swap I had in grad school. I can't remember to who(m)? I owe credit, but I do remember it was about a million degrees in my apartment. Christmas in Miami is HOT. Every holiday in Miami is hot, really.

The last time I made these I added a couple of tablespoons of dulce de leche to the batter, which I think makes them extra delicious. I did not do that this time and they are sadly, only plain old delicious. If you like the salty sweet thing, definitely try them. And I imagine if you don't feel like food processing cashews and oil, you could probably just substitute maybe a cup-ish (maybe 1 1/2 cups) cashew butter. But who knows. Be adventurous in the kitchen!

Cashew Caramel Cookies
(3 dozen)

1 2/3 c flour
1/2 tsp coarse salt
2 1/2 c roasted salted cashews
2 tbls plus 1 tsp canola oil
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c packed light-brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
24 soft caramel candy cubes (7 oz)
1/4 c heavy cream (I used skim milk)

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together flour and salt; set aside. Coarsely chop 1 cup cashews, set aside. Process remaining 1 1/2 cups cashews in a food processer until finely chopped. Pour in oil. Process until creamy, about 2 minutes.

Put cashew mixture, butter, and sugars in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, gradually mix in flour mixture and reserved chopped cashews.

Using a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop or a teaspoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake 6 minutes; gently flatten cookies. Bake until bottoms are golden, 6-7 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

Melt caramels with cream in saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Using spoon, drizzle caramel mixture over cookies, let set. store airtight in single layers up to 3 days.