Cashew Butter Cookies (Quick, Easy, and Gluten-Free!)

These delicious cashew butter cookies are rich, satisfying, and not too sweet. They also pack some protein while being naturally gluten-free!

These flourless cookies come together quickly for an easy treat, without having to spend too much time in the kitchen.

Why use coconut sugar? And do I have to?

You can use any granulated sugar you’d like, including cane sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar (which is what I used).

Coconut sugar is popular among vegans as it doesn’t use bone char for processing as typical cane sugar does.

It has a very similar amount of calories as cane sugar. However, coconut sugar retains some fiber and a small amount of nutrients, which makes it slightly lower than cane sugar on the glycemic index, so it doesn’t hit your bloodstream quite as quickly.

You can check out Healthline’s article on the health benefits of coconut sugar here. In addition, you can see Nourish by WebMD’s write up to learn more about the specific fiber (inulin) and nutrients found in coconut sugar here.

In addition, coconut sugar tastes a little less sweet than cane sugar.

All in all, it’s not dramatically healthier than cane sugar, but every little bit helps, right?

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Variations on this cashew butter recipe

Add-ins

Of course, feel free to add chocolate chunks!

Similarly, you could add in ingredients like chopped cashews, dried fruit like cranberries, raisins, or shredded coconut, or any mix-ins you’d like.

What if I have cashews and not cashew butter?

You can simply put about 2 cups of raw or roasted cashews in a food processor and make your own homemade cashew butter!

Optionally, you can add 1 tsp or so of additional oil, such as coconut oil, to help make it creamy. Then, just blend, blend, blend!

Make these cashew butter cookies vegan!

Instead of eggs, you can use flax “eggs” or chia “eggs” instead. (The recipe is at the bottom of this post.)

This will make the cookies slightly softer, which you may consider an additional benefit!

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Substituting different nut butters

Of course, if you like the idea of a gluten-free cookie, but can’t bear to break up with your beloved peanut butter (or almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.), you can adjust the recipe accordingly.

You’ll want to keep an eye on the cookies while they are baking though, as this could affect your bake time.

Storage

These cookies keep nicely in an airtight container on the counter for several days. If you have leftovers for closer to a week, you can pop them in the fridge.

For storage longer than a week, go ahead and freeze them.

These are not the sturdiest cookies, so wax paper between layers will help.

Freezing will help them stay in one piece, and you can eat them pretty quickly after taking them out of the freezer for a cookie with more structure.

Tips for Success

Cookie height and baking time

If you use a fork to squish these cookies down with a criss-cross design (like you would with peanut butter cookies), they will cook just fine in ten minutes.

However, if you don’t squish them down and they are taller, they will not spread out much on their own, so you will need to bake them for closer to 14 minutes.

Try to shape the cookie dough to roughly the same shape you want your end result cookies to be.

Handling hot cookies

These cookies fall apart extremely easily when they are warm, so be careful when handling them.

Let them cool completely before moving them to a storage container.

Related Recipes

You may also enjoy:

Cashew recipes

• Spicy cashew dressing (great for salads or grain bowls)
• Vegan cacio e pepe (with cashew butter)

Gluten-free recipes

• Broccoli frittata muffins with cheese
• Crustless tomato pie
• Eggplant Napoleon

Ingredients for Cashew Butter Cookies

Before you begin, you will need:

Edible Ingredients

• One 16 ounce jar of cashew butter
• 2/3 cup coconut sugar (or granulated sugar of your choice – brown sugar, cane sugar, etc.)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt (optional or to taste – if you use salted cashew butter you may not need any, but if you use unsalted you’ll likely want at least 1/8 tsp)
• Optional toppings: cashews, chocolate chips, finishing salt, shredded coconut, etc.

Tools and Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• Spatula
• Baking sheet(s)
• Cooling rack
• Parchment paper (optional but very helpful as these are a little crumbly)

How to Make Cashew Butter Cookies

1. First, preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
2. After that, stir the cashew butter in the jar until the oil on top is fully blended in. Then pour it all into a large mixing bowl.
3. Next, add the sugar, eggs, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Stir until thoroughly combined.
4. After that, shape your cookies and place them on a baking sheet (or two) lined with parchment paper. Somewhere around a tablespoon-full for each cookie works just fine. For a shorter baking time, flatten them down (see tips above). You can use a fork to make a criss-cross design, like you would for a peanut butter cookies, and/or garnish with any desired toppings: chopped cashews, chocolate chips, etc.
5. When the oven is hot, bake for about 10 minutes (14 minutes for un-flattened cookies). When the edges start to look a little brown, they can come out. Let them continue cooking on the pan for a couple minutes while you set up a cooling rack and add any finishing salt (if desired) or other last minute garnishes.
6. After that, carefully transfer the cookies to the cooling rack with a large spatula. They fall apart easily when warm/hot! Repeat until all cookie dough has been baked.
7. Finally, allow the cookies to cool (about 5 minutes) or serve warm and enjoy!
8. Store leftovers in an airtight container (see above).

I hope you enjoy these cashew butter cookies!