Honey Cashew Butter Cookies

Looking for a cookie to put out for Santa?  You could do worse than these honey cashew butter cookies, adapted from a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens 2011 Christmas Cookie book.

1/2 cup roasted cashew butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup summer (amber) honey
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4ths cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped cashews (optional)

In a large bowl, beat cashew butter and butter until thoroughly blended and fluffy.  Add the sugar and honey and combine thoroughly.  Add the egg and mix well.  Stir in the vanilla extract and combine.  In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, soda, baking powder and salt.  Add this to the cashew butter mixture, and mix to combine well.  Add the chopped cashews if using.  Cover and chill dough for about 30 minutes.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place them about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  (If you decide not to use parchment, no need to grease the cookie sheets.)  This is a very soft dough, so if after 30 minutes of chilling, it's still difficult to form into balls, add another 1/8th to 1/4th cup of flour.  Flatten the balls by making criss crosses with the tines of a fork dipped in flour.  Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes until the cookies are lightly browned on the bottom and taking care not to over-bake.  Let cool for about a minute on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack.  Store at room temperature and tightly covered for up to five days, or wrap well and freeze for up to three months. Makes about 50 cookies