Cashew butter cookies began as a last-minute recipe a couple of years ago, but now they’re one of my favorite things. Every time I finish testing and posting one version, I start formulating another.
I started dreaming of these Double Chocolate Cashew Butter Cookies when I posted their classic chocolate chip sisters last spring. As with many of my recipes, they were in the back of my mind for months before I ever cracked open a jar of creamy cashew butter and started playing around. But once I did…whoa.
These thick, puffy, chewy chocolate cookies are so, so good. And vegan. And grain-free. And dead-easy. Just…what?! Give me alllllll the cashew butter cookies!
This is a one-bowl, no-mixer, no-chill, cookies-within-30-minutes-of-a-craving recipe. Oh, and should you have some modicum of self-control, these two-bite treats keep incredibly well at room temperature for upwards of a week. In fact, I think they get better as time goes on. The buttery cashew flavor mellows and melds with the cocoa and chocolate chips, and the results are brownie-like and wonderful ❤
I find good quality, reasonably-priced cashew butter at Trader Joe’s, but if you don’t happen to live in a spot smack in between two TJ’s, never fear. I haven’t tried it, but I am 96% sure you could make these with well-stirred natural peanut butter. And honestly, I think the only way to improve this recipe would be to add peanut butter.
Double Chocolate Cashew Butter Cookies {Vegan & Grain-Free}
makes about 2 dozen small cookies
1 cup creamy-style cashew butter
1/3 cup cocoa powder (natural or dutch process)
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
3 tablespoons aquafaba (chickpea canning liquid) or 1 flax egg*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips + more for topping
Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together cashew butter, cocoa powder, light brown sugar, baking powder and salt until combined. Mix in aquafaba (or flax egg) and vanilla. Fold in dairy-free chocolate chips.
Scoop dough by the tablespoon and form into balls. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared pans and press down to flatten. Bake 10-11 minutes, until puffy and no longer wet looking. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for ten minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely. Top warm cookies with more chocolate chips, if desired. Repeat baking process with any remaining dough.
Let cookies cool completely before storing in an airtight container. They’ll keep well at room temperature for at least a week.
Note:
To make a flax egg, use a fork to whisk together 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed and 2 tablespoons warm water. Let sit for five minutes, until thickened. Continue with recipe as written.
I must have a thing for sweetened condensed milk right now—this is the third post in a row that requires cracking open a can of the good stuff.
Can you blame me? It’s just so versatile! If you want something to be smooth, creamy, or structurally sound without a million ingredients, sweetened condensed milk is probably the ingredient you want. See exhibits 
Sweetened Condensed Milk is probably most popular as the key ingredient in Magic Bars (aka 7 Layer Bars, aka Hello Dollies). In those, it acts as a soft, chewy filling and a vehicle for various chocolate chips, nuts, and coconut. I don’t currently have a recipe for traditional Magic Bars—rest assured, you can find a million of them online—but I have taken the basic formula and put it on a 
That’s right—Vanilla Malt Magic Bars, y’all! They’re soft and chewy with a big vanilla malt flavor and a buttery cookie crumb crust. The filling is studded with white chocolate chips and broken pieces of Golden Oreo, and the tops are ever so slightly crackly thanks to the way sweetened condensed milk caramelizes in the oven.
These bars require just seven ingredients and come together quickly and easily…again, because sweetened condensed milk makes things a snap.
Oh, and they stay soft and delicious for days on end because…well, you know.
I had no intention of making a third (or 
So, what’s so special about a macaroon crust? For one, it’s basically a big chewy, crisp-edged coconut macaroon cookie that you can bake and fill with whatever no-bake filling you like.
There is no “for two.” It’s that simple.
Now, there are many ways to make a macaroon crust. Some have flour, some contain egg whites. I looked at a few options before realizing that it would probably work with just two ingredients: sweetened flaked coconut and sweetened condensed milk.
I folded the ingredients together and pressed the mixture into a heavily-greased springform or tart pan.*
Half an hour later, it was toasty at the edges and light-golden in the center.
I filled it with chocolate ganache and let it set up in the fridge before slicing.
(I also gave it a few swipes with the back of a hot spoon for some rustic glossiness and because I am a control freak.)
Who knew five Ingredients and no grains could make something this irresistible?! Silky chocolate ganache filling + toasty coconut crust 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
It’s like eating a chocolate-coconut candy bar…but classier because it’s a tart. We all know how much classiness matters when you’re sneaking cold wedges of Chocolate Macaroon Tart out of the fridge after your bedtime. Not that I’ve ever done that. Twice. On the same night.
Happy 
Last week, I needed a win. I needed a win badly.
I was reeling from a personal tragedy, having a difficult time getting myself out of bed in the morning, and couldn’t get any recipes to work properly. I suffer from depression and anxiety, so some of this is just part of my normal life, but there’s something about having recipes—something with which I am supposed to have some modicum of talent and control—repeatedly fail that sends me into a tailspin.
I woke up Friday morning determined to get one recipe to work. Just one. Something I thought would be easy and only take two or three tries: a chocolate variation on my single-serving 
Over the course of two hours, I ran the gamut of cookie failure. Too flat, too puffy, too dry, too chemical-tasting—you get the idea. Here are four of them:
But then I looked at my tried & true 
Also, crucial to cookie success? Underbaking. If you bake this cookie until it’s fully done, you’ll end up with a chocolate M&Ms frisbee. This is because cocoa powder tends to dry things out and also because I use a teaspoon of water here in place of the usual egg (a little trick I learned from the regular chocolate chip version). Underbaking will yield crisp-chewy edges, a crackly top, and a soft, fudgy center. Yesssss.
I had a bunch of M&Ms leftover from making 
Well, there goes one more January full of savory recipes (well, 
I’ve gotta be real with you though: I’m glad to be back to making desserts. The annual sugar break was good for my mind and body, but I really missed serving up sweets! I’ve got some great new 
Y’all, these are a 
These simple-to-make bars are flavored with the popular “
Monster Carmelitas are a texture lover’s dream! The egg-free (!) cookie layers are buttery and a little crumbly with melty chocolate and crispy, crackly M&Ms candy coating, while the caramel layer tows the line between sliceable and pleasantly gooey.
I mean, does dessert get better than this?!
No. No, it does not.
e2 bakes brooklyn 