Temple Day/Caramel Cashews

Washington DC Temple















Last Saturday, our ward had a temple day where we pulled weeds around the temple grounds, we ate dinner together and then did sessions in the temple.















Treagan and Diana pulling weeds on the grounds. Treagan is a friend from college that is out here visiting his brother. I love when Aggies reunite!















Caramel Cashew Fancies...
My favorite ice cream as a student at Utah State University was Caramel Cashew Aggie Ice Cream. I found a recipe for Caramel Cashew Cookies and for old times sake, I decided to give it a whirl. In a previous post I explained that I make one kind of cookie only (Chocolate, PB, Oatmeal cookies..yum) and so making something new was quite a stretch. Anyway, they were delicious and I highly recommend you try these at home!!

Caramel Cashew Cookies
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 embellishment.














Yields about 3 dozen cookies

1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups roasted salted cashews
2 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed lt. brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
24 soft caramel candy cubes (7 oz.)
1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Sift flour and salt. 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.
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.
3. Drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 6 minutes; gently flatten cookies. Bake until bottoms are golden, 6-7 minutes more. Let cool on wire racks.
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.