Jan's Cashew Nut Cookies

These cashew nut cookies get their soft, cake-like texture from sour cream in the dough, which keeps them tender days after baking. Brown sugar gives the base a warm, caramel-like sweetness that pairs naturally with the buttery richness of chopped cashews folded throughout.

After baking, each cookie gets a smooth vanilla icing spread over the top and a whole cashew pressed into the center as a garnish. A drop of red or green food coloring in the icing makes these festive enough for holiday cookie trays.

The sour cream also reacts with the baking soda for a gentle lift, so these puff up slightly instead of spreading flat.

Pro Tips

• Cream the butter and brown sugar until genuinely light and fluffy. This takes a few minutes with an electric mixer and creates the airy texture.
• Drop by teaspoons, not tablespoons. These are meant to be small, two-bite cookies.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes and pull them when they still look slightly underdone. They firm up on the sheet as they cool.
• Let the cookies cool completely before icing. Warm cookies melt the icing and it slides right off.

Variations

• Swap cashews for walnuts or pecans in both the cookie and the icing garnish for a different nut profile.
• Drizzle with melted chocolate instead of vanilla icing for a chocolate-cashew combination.
• Add a pinch of cardamom to the dough for a subtle, aromatic twist.