Cashew Thumbprint Cookies with Cajeta Caramel Sauce

Make buttery and nutty cashew thumbprint cookies embellished with a dollop of goat’s milk caramel (cajeta). You can make 24 of these one-biters fast and easy — the perfect cookies for a get-together over a cup of coffee.

📝 Ingredients

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 large separated egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup finely chopped roasted salted cashews
• 1/2 cup Cinnamon Goat's Milk Caramel Sauce
• 24 whole cashews

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Combine: butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, beat on medium speed for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
2. 2Add: egg yolk, vanilla extract, orange zest, and salt, and mix thoroughly. Stir in flour, and mix to combine.
3. 3Wrap: the dough in a large sheet of plastic wrap and press into a disk. Then chill the dough for 2 hours.
4. 4Preheat: oven to 325F, and prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. 5Make the cashew sugar: In a small bowl, combine the finely chopped cashews with the sugar. In another bowl, beat egg white until frothy.
6. 6Roll dough: into 1-inch balls. Dip balls in egg white, and then dip in the cashew sugar.
7. 7Place balls: on the prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Press the centers of the balls down with your thumb. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from oven, and press the centers down again using the end of a wooden spoon. Return the cookies to the oven and bake 6 to 8 minutes more until they are golden brown.
8. 8Cool cookies: 2 to 3 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
9. 9Fill: cookie centers with caramel sauce, and then top each cookie with one whole cashew.