🥜🍪 Cashew Shortbread Cookies
Buttery, tender shortbread cookies packed with finely chopped cashews and delicately scented with cardamom and vanilla. These cookies have a wonderfully crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture, with little bits of roasted cashew adding a satisfying nutty crunch to every bite.
They’re simple enough for everyday baking yet elegant enough for holidays, afternoon tea, cookie boxes, and gifting.
⏱️ Recipe Information
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Chill Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 12–15 minutes
Total Time: About 1 hour 5 minutes
Yield: 24–30 cookies
Difficulty: Easy
Method: Oven-Baked
🛒 Ingredients
- 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (90 g) powdered sugar
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (60 g) cashews, finely chopped
- ½ tsp (1 g) ground cardamom
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp (1 g) salt
Optional Garnishes
- Whole or halved cashews
- A light dusting of powdered sugar
- Melted white chocolate
- Extra finely chopped roasted cashews
- A tiny pinch of ground cardamom
👩🍳 Instructions
1. Prepare the Oven and Baking Sheets
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Set them aside.
2. Prepare the Cashews
If using raw cashews, lightly toast them in a dry skillet over medium-low heat for 3–5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove them as soon as they become lightly golden and fragrant.
Allow them to cool completely before chopping.
Finely chop the cashews, but don’t grind them into a powder. Small pieces provide the best texture throughout the cookies.
3. Cream the Butter and Sugar
Place the softened butter in a large mixing bowl.
Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2–3 minutes, until smooth, pale, and creamy.
Add the powdered sugar gradually.
Continue beating for another 1–2 minutes until light and fluffy.
Don’t overbeat the mixture to the point that it becomes excessively airy.
4. Add the Vanilla and Cardamom
Add the vanilla extract, ground cardamom, and salt.
Mix briefly until evenly incorporated.
The cardamom should be noticeable but subtle, complementing rather than overpowering the buttery cookie.
5. Add the Flour
Add the flour gradually in two or three additions.
Mix on low speed just until the flour is mostly incorporated.
The dough will initially look crumbly.
Stop mixing as soon as a soft dough begins to form.
Overmixing can develop gluten and make the shortbread less tender.
6. Fold in the Cashews
Add the finely chopped cashews.
Use a spatula or your hands to gently fold them through the dough until evenly distributed.
The finished dough should be soft but firm enough to shape.
7. Chill the Dough
Form the dough into a thick disk.
Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Chilling allows the butter to firm up and helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking.
8. Shape the Cookies
Lightly flour your work surface.
Roll the chilled dough to approximately ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.
Use a round cookie cutter, approximately 2–2½ inches (5–6 cm) in diameter, to cut the cookies.
Transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) between each cookie.
Alternatively, shape the dough into small balls and gently flatten each one with your palm or the bottom of a glass.
9. Add Optional Cashew Garnish
For a decorative finish, gently press a whole or halved cashew into the center of each cookie.
You can also lightly sprinkle the tops with finely chopped cashews.
10. Chill Again
For especially neat shortbread, place the shaped cookies in the refrigerator for another 10–15 minutes before baking.
This extra chilling step helps the cookies maintain their shape and produces a crisp, delicate edge.
11. Bake
Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 12–15 minutes.
The cookies should remain relatively pale on top.
Look for lightly golden edges rather than deeply browned cookies.
Avoid overbaking, as shortbread is at its best when the center remains delicate and buttery.
12. Cool
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.
They will be quite delicate while hot.
Carefully transfer them to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.
The texture will become firmer and more crumbly as they cool.
⭐ Chef’s Tips
Use softened butter, not melted butter: Melted butter changes the structure of the dough and can cause excessive spreading.
Don’t overmix: Once the flour disappears, stop mixing. Overworking the dough can make the cookies tough.
Finely chop the cashews: Smaller pieces distribute the nuts more evenly and make the cookies easier to shape.
Toast the cashews: A few minutes of gentle toasting dramatically enhances their nutty flavor.
Keep the dough cool: If the dough becomes sticky while shaping, refrigerate it for another 10–15 minutes.
Don’t wait for the cookies to become deeply golden: Shortbread should generally remain pale with only lightly golden edges.
Use powdered sugar: Powdered sugar creates a finer, more delicate texture than granulated sugar.
🥜 Easy Variations
Pistachio Cardamom Shortbread
Replace half or all of the cashews with finely chopped pistachios.
Almond Shortbread
Replace the cashews with finely chopped toasted almonds and add ½ tsp almond extract.
Chocolate-Dipped Cashew Shortbread
Once completely cooled, dip half of each cookie into melted semisweet or white chocolate.
Allow the chocolate to set before serving.
Coconut Cashew Shortbread
Add ¼ cup (20 g) finely shredded unsweetened coconut to the dough.
Orange Cardamom Shortbread
Add 1 tsp finely grated orange zest for a bright citrus note that pairs beautifully with cardamom and cashews.
Cashew Rose Shortbread
Add ½ tsp rose water along with the vanilla for a delicate floral variation.
☕ Serving Suggestions
These cookies are especially delicious with:
- Black tea
- Chai tea
- Coffee
- Espresso
- Hot chocolate
- Masala chai
- A glass of cold milk
They’re also beautiful arranged on a dessert platter or packed into decorative cookie tins for gifting.
🧊 Storage
Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Place parchment paper between layers if stacking them.
The flavor often becomes even better after a day or two as the buttery and cardamom flavors develop.
❄️ Freezing
Freeze Baked Cookies
Place completely cooled cookies in an airtight freezer-safe container.
Freeze for up to 2–3 months.
Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Freeze Cookie Dough
Shape the dough into a disk, wrap tightly, and freeze for up to 2 months.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling and shaping.
🥜🍪 Final Result
These Cashew Shortbread Cookies are wonderfully buttery and delicate, with a tender melt-in-your-mouth crumb, subtle floral cardamom, fragrant vanilla, and little pieces of rich cashew throughout.
They’re simple ingredients transformed into an elegant cookie that’s perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.
Buttery, nutty, delicately spiced, and irresistibly crumbly. 🥜✨🍪