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This recipe for crisp, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cashew nougat cookies is an Archway copycat. Similar to Russian tea cakes (or Mexican wedding cakes), these are a beautiful addition to Christmas cookie platters!
If you’re a fan of the iconic Archway cashew nougat cookies, you’ll want this recipe in your holiday cookie rotation. These meltaway-style bite-sized cookies have a deliciously crisp, delicate texture, and are beautiful on a cookie platter. They also travel well, making them the perfect sweet treat to ship to loved ones. Plus there are instructions on how to make the dough ahead of time, or freeze the cookies after baking.
The Inspiration: Archway Cashew Nougat Cookies
When my sister and I were little girls (and even well into our twenties when we lived in the same city!), we loved holiday teas. A festive tea paired with Christmas cookies on any given afternoon in December was a really special treat. One of our favorite cookies was Archway’s cashew nougat. Crisp, light, melt-in-your mouth texture and sweet, nutty flavor. Bliss.
For the past few years, I haven’t consistently been able to find Archway cashew nougat cookies at grocery stores in my area. Sometimes during the holiday season they’re easy to find, and other years I can’t find them to save my life. (Possible Explanation: Archway filed for bankruptcy in fall 2008 and was purchased by Lance (now part of Snyder’s-Lance), and their product line went from about 100 to 21. You can read more about Archway on Wikipedia and Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. I’m guessing that some years during the holiday season they still produce these cookies or at least produce them for distribution to some areas?)
In any event, I was no longer willing to leave my nostalgic cookie cravings to the whimsical hands of fate. This year, I developed a copycat recipe that I will be making (and sharing with my sweet sister who lives on the opposite end of the country as me) for years to come!
What Makes This Cookie Recipe a Winner
- Quick and easy – No fancy equipment, no chill time for the dough, and no fuss. This cookie recipe is started and finished (including the time it takes to clean up the kitchen) in under an hour.
- Small batch – This recipe makes a small batch; 16 cookies that all bake on one tray! You can always scale it up if you like, but this little batch is perfect if you just want a sweet treat on hand to pair with your afternoon tea or coffee break.
- Perfect for a sweet nibble – They’re small cookies, just two or three bites each, making them great for pairing with a mid-morning or afternoon tea or coffee pick-me-up when you want just a little nibble that won’t ruin your appetite.
- These travel well and you can make the dough ahead of time – If you’re looking for an easy holiday cookie that you can mail to loved ones or cookie dough that you can make and keep stashed in your freezer for a few months, you’re in luck.
- Nostalgic – If you grew up with the Archway version of these classic cookies, this recipe will bring you back.
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
- Unsalted butter – Butter adds rich flavor to these cookies. Make sure your butter is at room temperature (but not melted) so it’s easy to cream with the sugar.
- Sugar – Use granulated white sugar.
- Pure vanilla extract – For flavor and aroma.
- Pure almond extract – This bumps up the nutty flavor to enhance the cashews.
- Vegetable oil – In addition to butter, we use a little bit of vegetable oil in this cookie recipe. Oil helps us achieve the perfect crisp texture to simulate the classic Archway cashew nougat cookies.
- Flour – Use regular all-purpose flour.
- Cream of tartar and baking soda – These leavening agents have a couple functions in these cookies. First, they help create the perfect crisp, light, delicate texture. Additionally, they contribute a subtly tangy flavor (similar to the flavor that cream of tartar contributes to snickerdoodles).
- Salt – So the cookies aren’t bland.
- Cashews – Make sure your cashews are unsalted (either raw or roasted is fine here), and chop them finely.
- Powdered sugar – For rolling the cookies after they’re baked.
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F and get out a half sheet pan (or large cookie tray). (Don’t grease or line the tray.)
- Make the dough. Add the butter, sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and oil to a large bowl and beat until smooth. Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt, and beat until well-combined, about 5 to 7 minutes using an electric hand mixer. Mix in the cashews. (The dough will look like large wet crumbles, but should hold together well when you squeeze it. If it doesn’t hold together, beat in 1 teaspoon of water at a time until the dough holds together when squeezed.)
- Scoop the cookie dough. Use a 1-tablespoon scoop to measure out the dough and roll into balls. Arrange the dough balls spaced evenly apart (they will all fit on 1 half sheet pan because they don’t expand much).
- Bake the cookies. Bake until the bottom of the cookies are just golden, about 13 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the tray for 10 minutes, and then double roll them in powdered sugar. Cool completely before storing.
Make Ahead: How to Freeze This Cookie Dough Before Baking
If you’re looking for an easy make-ahead, freezer-friendly holiday cookie dough recipe, this one is perfect! Here’s how to do it:
- Make the cookie dough as directed.
- Scoop out and roll the cookie dough, and then arrange the dough balls so they’re not touching on a parchment paper-lined baking tray.
- Pop the tray of cookie dough into the freezer until the balls are frozen solid, about 2 to 3 hours.
- Transfer the cookie dough balls to a freezer-safe zip-top plastic bag and freeze for up to 3 months before baking.
- Bake the frozen cookie dough balls (no need to thaw!) at 325F until the cookies are golden on the bottom, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Pro Tip: How to Roast Cashews to Bring Out Their Nutty Flavor
For these cookies, you can use either raw or roasted cashews (whatever you use, just make sure they’re unsalted). If you’re using raw cashews, you can roast them to bring out their nutty flavor if you want.
To roast cashews, spread them out in an even layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until they start to turn golden and smell nutty, about 10 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Let them cool, and then finely chop them.
Variations
- Swap out the cashews – No worries if cashews aren’t your thing! You can use any kind of finely chopped nuts you like, or go with finely shredded coconut or mini chocolate chips instead.
- Skip the powdered sugar – And dip the bottoms in melted chocolate instead! (Make sure to let the cookies cool completely before dipping them.)
- For the fruit lovers – Skip the cashews and add 1/3 cup of finely chopped dried fruit (like raisins, apricots, figs, dates, etc.). Omit the almond extract, and add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of fresh citrus zest. (Side Note: Orange zest and dried cranberries mixed into the dough, and then with the bottoms dipped in dark chocolate after baking is a personal favorite of mine!)
Storage Tips
After cooling to room temperature, store these cookies layered between pieces of parchment paper in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Tips For the Best Cashew Cookies Recipe
- Make sure your butter is at room temperature, but not melted. If it was melted at all when you made the dough, you’ll have to chill your cookie dough for about 30 minutes to 1 hour before rolling the dough and baking the cookies.
- Your nuts should be finely chopped. It’s okay if there are a few larger pieces, but for the most part we want the nuts chopped fine to ensure uniform shaping and to prevent crumbling.
- When making this cookie dough, be sure to beat it long enough. You’ll notice that when you first start mixing, the dough will be quite dry and crumbly; as you continue, the flour hydrates and it’ll start to form large wet crumbs that hold together as a dough ball when you squeeze it. If you’ve mixed sufficiently it and your dough still isn’t holding together when squeezed, beat in 1 teaspoon of water at a time until it does, but make sure you’ve beaten it well before adding any water.
- Be careful not to over-bake, or you run the risk of losing their melt-in-your mouth short texture. These cookies are done when they’re just golden on the bottom.
- Double roll them in powdered sugar for the best coverage. The first roll should be 10 minutes after they’re out of the oven, while they’re still warm. After that, let them cool a few minutes longer and then roll them in powdered sugar a second time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shortbread and other meltaway types of cookies are crisp, light, and melt in your mouth. They essentially disintegrate into delicious oblivion when you bite into them! This is because of their high fat content, typically coming from butter (but also oil in this recipe).
Nope! They’re similar, but not exactly the same. Russian tea cakes use all butter (instead of a blend of butter and oil), don’t contain any leavening agents, and traditionally use walnuts or pecans (not cashews).
More Cookies For Nut Lovers
- Almond Croissant Cookies
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
- Florentines Cookies (Crisp & Lacy!)
- White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies
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Cashew Nougat Cookie Recipe (Archway Copycat)
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Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup finely chopped unsalted cashews (roasted or unroasted is fine; see Notes if you're using raw cashews and want to roast them)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F and get out a half sheet pan (or large cookie tray). (Don't grease or line the tray.)
- Make the dough. Add the butter, sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and oil to a large bowl and beat until smooth. Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt, and beat until well-combined, about 5 to 7 minutes using an electric hand mixer. Mix in the cashews. (The dough will look like large wet crumbles, but should hold together well when you squeeze it. If it doesn't hold together, beat in 1 teaspoon of water at a time until the dough holds together when squeezed.)
- Scoop the cookie dough. Use a 1-tablespoon scoop to measure out the dough and roll into balls. Arrange the dough balls spaced evenly apart (they will all fit on 1 half sheet pan because they don't expand much).
- Bake the cookies. Bake until the bottom of the cookies are just golden, about 13 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the tray for 10 minutes, and then double roll them in powdered sugar. Cool completely before storing.
Video
Notes
- To Roast the Cashews: For these cookies, you can use either raw or roasted cashews (whatever you use, just make sure they’re unsalted). If you’re using raw cashews, you can roast them to bring out their nutty flavor if you want. To roast cashews, spread them out in an even layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until they start to turn golden and smell nutty, about 10 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Let them cool, and then finely chop them.
- Recipe Yield, Serving Size, and Nutritional Information: This recipe makes 16 (1-tablespoon) cookies. The nutrition information given is for 1 cookie.
- Storage: After cooling to room temperature, store these cookies layered between pieces of parchment paper in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Make the cookie dough as directed.
- Scoop out and roll the cookie dough, and then arrange the dough balls so they’re not touching on a parchment paper-lined baking tray.
- Pop the tray of cookie dough into the freezer until the balls are frozen solid, about 2 to 3 hours.
- Transfer the cookie dough balls to a freezer-safe zip-top plastic bag and freeze for up to 3 months before baking.
- Bake the frozen cookie dough balls (no need to thaw!) at 325F until the cookies are golden on the bottom, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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