Cashew Cookies with Salted Date Caramel Filling

If you follow along with this blog you might notice a trend of me REALLY getting into certain foods.  Whether it was the brussels sprouts binge of 2014 or the toasted coconut fiasco of 2013… I definitely have my moments.  These Cashew Cookie sandwiches combine 2 of my new obsessions – dates & cashews.  I have long been a fan of cashews and use them in everything from Avocado Pesto to Paleo Cheese Dip, but it was time to get some sweets in the mix.  You know the classic peanut butter cookie recipe?  If you don’t, it consists of 1 cup of peanut butter, 1 cup of sugar and 1 egg.  I thought, well i’m sure any nut butter would work right?  So I switched in some cashew butter (i buy mine at Trader Joes), some coconut sugar instead of regular, and voila!  I also brought down the sugar to 3/4 cup because I knew we didn’t need them to be too sweet as there would be an ooey gooey caramely date filling.  If my last post about dates didn’t convince you – this recipe will.  Dates are majestic creatures and even made an appearance on my pizza last night!

Oh and PRO TIP for ya.  If you are so blessed to have a trader joe’s near you (sorry lovely sister in Montana!) – then here is a cashew tip that will save you money.  You can buy 1 pound of raw cashews for 7.99, but right next to those you will find 1 pound of raw cashew pieces for about 5.49!!  These are perfect for things involving crushing said cashews – like these cookies!  You can thank this penny pincher later. (insert kissy face emoji)

Squeezing filling into sandwich cookies is my favorite!!

Eating cookies is a close second though….  Pin it puhlease??

Cashew Cookies with Salted Date Caramel Filling

---

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Cookies:

• 1 cup cashew butter
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 egg

Caramel Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups dates
• 1 cup cashews
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons water

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a mixing bowl combine cashew butter, coconut sugar and the egg. Whisk until combined then scoop 12 equal sized balls onto the cookie sheet. Take your palm and slightly flatten each dough ball. Bake for 11 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
2. While the cookies cool, take out your food processor with blade attachment. Add cashews to the food processor and pulse until the nuts are about the size of a pea. Then add in dates, vanilla, salt and water. Process until the mixture is smooth. Then transfer the “caramel” to a large ziplock bag and cut about 1/2 inch off the corner.
3. Lay one cookie down, bottom up, and squeeze about 1-2 tablespoons onto the cookie. Top with another cookie to make a sandwich.
4. ***This recipe will make 6 sandwich cookies with extra filling. You can double the cookie recipe and make 12 sandwiches without changing the filling amount!