Nut butters are great for making baked goods and sauces.
I love the sweet, mellow taste of cashews, but I choose low fat peanut butter for this recipe to lighter up the fat content and because it’s easy to find.
Makes 4 dozen cookies
Mini Cashew Cookies
Ingredients
- Non-stick cooking spray
- 3/4 cup reduced fat smooth peanut butter
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 6 tablespoons trans-fat free margarine
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/3 cup ground golden flax meal
- 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne chili powder
- 48 whole cashews (about 1/4 pound)
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat three large cookie sheets with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the cashew or peanut butter, brown sugar, and margarine. Mash them together with a wooden spoon until well combined. Stir in the eggs whites and vanilla extract.
- Sprinkle the flour, flax, oats, baking soda, salt, allspice, and ground cayenne over the egg mixture. Stir well, until a firm dough starts to form and the flax and oats are incorporated.
- Coat a melon baler or small teaspoon with cooking spray. Spoon out the dough and place 1/2 inch a part on the cookies sheets. Press one of the cashews into the top of each cookie. Bake 5 to 6 minutes, until the nuts begin to brown and the cookies are still soft to the touch. Cool on cookie sheets 1 to 2 minutes before transfering to a wire rack to cool completely. Once the cookies have cooled, dust with powder sugar. Store in an air-tight container for up to three days.
Nutritional Stats Per Serving (1 cookie): 70 calories. 2 g protein, 6 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat (0 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 63 mg sodium.
Weight Watchers® Points Plus: 2
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As a healthy cooking expert, health coach and TV host, 
My next cookie to make
Looks delicious
I made these on Saturday 3/7 for the kid next door. They absolutely loved them. They only left me crumbs. I let their mother know that the cookies were healthy and she was surprised because her children never liked anything healthy. I gave her the recipe and the website.
Some substitutions I made on the 2nd batch. I used almond butter and added unsweetened coconut s (shredded). Kind of tasted like a toasted almond drink.
Thanks a lot Jen for another great recipe.
Albert
PS this 2nd batch was for me.
Hello 🙂
I Live in the UK, and I’m not sure which brand of Margerine/Butter is Trans-fat free.
Do you have a suggestion for a brand I can use, or an alternative in the recipe if I cannot get the trans-fat free margerine?
Many thanks indeed for this wondeful site! My adventure to healthy eating has finally begun.
I Look forward replies,
Nats
Hi Natasja!
That’s a great question. I wish I knew more about the products in your neck of the woods but there is a way to tell if margarine contains trans-fat. Be sure to look at the ingredients list on the margarine package. Anything listed as “hydrogenated” is a sign that it has trans-fat. Butter doesn’t contain trans-fat but it is high in saturated fat, which raises cholesterol levels, so that’s why I call for the trans-fat free margarine,
Thank you very much for your speedy reply 🙂
I will go to the Supermarket today and spend some time in the Dairy section. I really want to find the best low-fat brand I can.
I’m always worried that once margerine is heated during baking, that it becomes Hydrogenated fat. This is urban myth from what I can tell and from my searches on Wikipedia. Would you agree on this matter?
Thank you Skinny Chef! And thank you for your help and wonderful recipes 🙂