Thailand: Trisara’s Nutsable Cookies

This time last year, I was relaxing near my own personal infinity pool, just outside of my little private villa, surrounded by lush palms and other tropical greenery, on the side of a steep hill overlooking the Andaman Sea in Phuket, Thailand, at Trisara, the dreamiest resort I’ve ever come across.

I didn’t see Kate Moss, who apparently also loves it there, mainly because I couldn’t pull myself away from what was so relaxing, and so perfectly isolating, and also, delicious…

Besides the fantastic Thai cuisine I ordered via room service every day, next to my minibar and fridge that was constantly stocked with fresh smoothies, was a little jar that was refilled time and again with these lovely shortbread cookies, which I’d nibble on throughout the day, next to the pool, crossword puzzle nearby, or a magazine…or nothing at all.

I loved them so much that I asked for the recipe, and the manager there happily gave it to me, telling me that it was one that her Australian grandmother used to make. Well, of course, I thought to myself. No wonder they were so good.

The other day, I made them here in Paris, and tried – not too successfully, as you can see – to make these shortbread cookies into cowgirly horses. The result – a yummy cookie in a sort of cartoony horsie shape.

Trisara’s Nutsable Cookies

1 ¼ cup butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup ground cashews

Mix the flour and ground cashews together in a bowl and set aside for a sec.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add egg, then flour and cashew mixture. (I didn’t have ground cashews, so I substituted a mixture of ground almonds and hazlenuts.)

Cover and chill dough overnight, or for 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees f.

Roll out dough, and cut into whatever shape you’d like – or simply make one large sheet and cut into sticks, which is what they did at Trisara – and place on cookie sheet.

I dusted mine with cinnamon and sugar, too.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly colored. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Like any shortbread cookie, these taste best after they’ve been allowed to cool (not that I didn’t try them warm, anyway, with leftover morning coffee).