Fresh from the oven - Cashew Cookies

Last week, during the flurry of end-of-the-year school parties, J had an "Amigos Party", to celebrate the end of their studies of Central and South America.  They were asked to bring food representing these areas.  Scouring the web, I found a recipe for Brazilian Cashew Cookies, which sounded tasty, so I gave them a try.

3/4 c. raw cashews (3 1/2 oz.)
1/2 c. Featherlight Flour Mix
1/3 c. corn starch
6 Tbsp. Spectrum shortening
1/4 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grind 1/2 cup of the cashews in a food processor to flour, being careful not to turn them into cashew butter.  Spread nut flour on baking sheet and toast for 6-8 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.  Cool completely.

Mix flour, cornstarch and xanthan gum, set aside.  In another bowl, beat shortening and sugar for 3 minutes.  Add toasted nut flour and salt.  Mix.  Reduce to low speed and add flour mixture.

Form dough into rectangular block and roll out between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a 10"x8" rectangle.  Chill dough 10 minutes.

Coarsely chop remaining nuts.  Sprinkle on cookies.  Bake until golden, 14-16 minutes.  Remove and cool.

My notes: Since this was for a class party, I rolled the dough into logs (I made a quadruple batch), in plastic wrap, then chilled and sliced into rounds.  The cookies were very crumbly after they were baked and I thought they were a flop.  Left them on the trays overnight, though, and the texture improved, although still crumbly.  The taste was a hit with everyone.