Salted Cashew & Caramel Chews

Name: Salted Cashew & Caramel Chews
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: about 3 dozen.
Ingredients: 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened; 1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar; 2 large eggs; 1/4 cup hot caramel ice cream topping; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 3/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, divided; 1-1/4 cups lightly salted cashews, divided

Nothing says "welcome home" like warm, gooey, chewy cookies right out of the oven with a cold glass of milk—mmm, heaven. You don't need a plate. Just grab and go. —Paula Marchesi, Lenhartsville, Pennsylvania

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup hot caramel ice cream topping
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1-1/4 cups lightly salted cashews, divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in eggs, caramel topping and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Stir in 1-1/3 cups chocolate chips and 3/4 cup cashews.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
In a microwave, melt remaining chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies; sprinkle with remaining cashews. Let stand until set.

Nutrition Facts

1 cookie: 184 calories, 9g fat (5g saturated fat), 21mg cholesterol, 68mg sodium, 24g carbohydrate (14g sugars, 1g fiber), 3g protein.

Originally published as Salted Caramel Cashew Chews in Taste of Home November 2014

Reviews

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gina.kapfhamer

Dec 15, 2017

My boyfriend's mom made these for the annual Christmas cookie contest at work and THEY WON! An easy to make recipe, that's a HIT for the holiday dessert table (or really, for any time at all).
meaganteal

Mar 8, 2015

Not really sure how I feel about these. I couldn't taste the cashews, either inside and on top, they didn't really add anything. I made the first batch as written, then the second batch, did not add the cashews. The third batch was drizzled chocolate and the left over caramel sauce. We preferred it the third way.
heyutoo

Jan 15, 2015

I made these for the first time this past Christmas...Wow! They were awesome. I think it could go without the cashews inside, since it was hard for me to taste them. However, having them just on top would be fine in my opinion. Enjoy!!
delowenstein

Oct 18, 2014

I made these for the first time! I DID adjust this recipe by using 1/2 each packed brown sugar and granulated sugar instead of all brown sugar! I DID have caramel syrup which I used, rather than hot caramel sauce. I also used 1 tsp. each baking soda and salt.These cookies spread quite amply and I did use parchment paper for the baking sheets! I also used 1 tsp. almond extract rather than vanilla extract! I also used 1-1/2 tsp. vegetable shortening with the remaining chocolate chips and instead of cashews as I didn't have them available, I used toffee-coated Planter's peanuts! I dropped by teaspoonfuls onto the parchment-paper-lined baking sheets and I would say that I got close to 4 to 4-1/2 dozen! I purposely like to use a teaspoon rather than a TBSP. so that I can stretch the dough and get more mileage out of the recipe! I used a saucepan to melt the balance of the chocolate chips and the shortening and then just allowed the melted chocolate to sit with a lid over the saucepan to keep the chocolate spread pliable! These cookies were really good, too!Paula Marchesi, thank you for this recipe! It's a great addition to my recipe collection and also makes the standard chocolate chip cookie special with the cashews/chocolate topping!Certainly the caramel adds so much to this recipe as well! delowenstein:-)P