Salted cashews—both ground into a butter and chopped—give these cookies deep flavor. Soft caramel candies are melted and drizzled over the tops of the baked cookies for an easy embellishment.

　　

Ingredients

makes about 3 dozen

　　1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

　　1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

　　2 1/2 cups roasted salted cashews

　　2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil

　　1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

　　3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

　　1/2 cup granulated sugar

　　1 large egg

　　1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

　　24 soft caramel candy cubes (7 ounces)

　　1/4 cup heavy cream

　　

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together flour and salt. Coarsely chop 1 cup cashews; set aside. Process remaining 1 1/2 cups cashews in a food processor until finely chopped. Pour in oil; process until creamy, about 2 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Put cashew mixture, butter, and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture and reserved chopped cashews.

　　

Step 3

Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake 6 minutes; gently flatten cookies. Bake until bottoms are golden, 6 to 7 minutes more. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

　　

Step 4

Melt caramels with cream in a saucepan over low heat, stirring. Let cool. Using a spoon, drizzle caramel over cookies; let set. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature in single layers up to 3 days.

　　Martha Stewart's Cookies