If you are lactose intolerant, vegan or just want to avoid dairy products, adding cashew purée to a recipe is a healthy alternative to whipped butter. This week, I made a batch of wholesome chocolate chunk cookies with cashew purée.

This velvety purée has only three ingredients: raw cashews, water and a bit of oil. It’s simple to make and can be done in 5-6 minutes. The main kitchen equipment needed is a NutriBullet or a mini blender.

With their mild nutty flavour and buttery texture, cashews are ideal for making non-dairy cream, purée, spreads and butter. And yes, they are good for you.

Packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidant, cashews also contain omega-3 fatty acids and other heart-healthy fats. According to nutrition studies, if your diet is already low in saturated fat, consuming 1-2 ounces of raw cashews every day is good for your heart, circulation, bones and overall health.

Cashew purée

Ingredients

Makes a heaping 1/2 cup of purée (double ingredients for more)

• 1/2 cup raw cashews (80 grams)
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons oil such as canola or vegetable oil (for desserts) or olive oil (for savoury)

Procedure

Soak the cashews in a bowl with water – just enough to cover them. Cover and soak overnight. Alternatively, for a quick soak, cover the cashews with boiling water, put a lid on and soak for 2 hours. An even quicker soaking method is to put the raw cashews and water in a small microwaveable bowl with a lid on and microwave on high heat for 3 minutes.

When cashews are soft, with a fine mesh sieve, strain the water and rinse them under running tap water.

Put the softened cashews in the bowl of your NutriBullet blender and add the 1/4 cup of water and 3 tbsps of oil.

Whizz for 2 to 3 minutes until you obtain a creamy, velvety purée. Use a small rubber spatula or spoon to remove the purée from the blender. It will come out nicely given the smooth texture it has.

Add to your recipe. Voilà!