Cashew Nut Cookies

Cashew Nut Cookies
Adapted from My Kitchen Snippets, January 2009
Makes 80 bite-sized cookies.

270g cashew nuts, roasted and salted (70g are for the garnish)
250g plain flour
60g cornflour
1/2 tsp baking powder
210g butter (or lard for a more authentic flavour)
100g sugar (could increase to 120g)
1 egg, separated
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Pick out the best-looking whole cashew nuts for the garnish.  Halve them lengthwise, where they naturally want to split.  If a nut doesn't split cleanly, try again with another nut, so you have 80 beautiful halves and maybe a few more to spare, and set aside.
Measure out 200g of the rest of the nuts, using up the broken bits, and either grind or finely chop them.
Sift flour, cornflour and baking powder into the same bowl as the ground nuts and mix.
In a separate large bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy.  Add in egg yolk and vanilla essence.  Mix well.
Stir in the dry ingredients and mix well.  Here, I get my hands dirty and turn the crumbly clumps into a dough ball.
Chill dough in fridge for 40 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180°C (or if using a fan-forced oven, 160°C).
Shape dough into small balls, around 2cm in diameter, and place onto lined baking tray.
Press a cashew nut half into each cookie ball, so that it is slightly flattened and cracks a little at the edges.
Beat egg white and brush onto cookies.
Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool and store in airtight container.

Retreat recipe here

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