Nut butters are one of those things that seem more difficult to make than they really are. All you need is nuts and a little bit of oil to help the nuts blend together smoothly in a food processor. Instead of using peanuts, opt for cashews, which have a richer and slightly sweeter taste. Add a fair amount of salt to give it a more savory taste that works great as a dip or spread on a sandwich. The effect is similar to peanut butter, but milder. If you want to make”chunky” nut butter, finely chop a handful of cashews beforehand, then stir them into the butter once it is blended.

One type of cookie seems to consistently turn out to have a good chew: peanut butter, especially if you bake them at a low temperature. The problem is that they are peanut butter flavored. You can get around this and achieve the same chew with cashew butter. The cookies turn out perfectly chewy and, incredibly, you don’t taste cashew at all. The mild, lightly sweet, buttery flavor is blended into the cookie. Try this with chocolate chips, raisins, or any other add-in you like in your cookies.

Celebrate the planet’s natural delights by baking a batch of these sweet snacks filled with a harvest of ingredients from all around the world. Here’s some background info on the tasty add-ins: Raisins: California, the only place in the United States that harvests the grapes used to make raisins, is the world’s No. 1 supplier. Pineapple: Thailand produces approximately 20 percent of the world’s pineapple crop, surpassing the Hawaiian Islands. Brazil nuts: The complex growing environment this tree crop requires prevents it from being grown on farms. Instead, it’s harvested directly from the rain forests of Brazil, Peru, and other South American countries. Chocolate: Africa’s Ivory Coast is the largest producer of cocoa beans, the ingredient that gives chocolate its unique, irresistible flavor. Coconut: The Philippines and Indonesia are the world’s leading producers of copra, or coconut meat.

Inspired by the famous ice cream, these buttery cookies are loaded with cherries, chocolate, and optional macadamia nuts. To kick these up a notch for adults, try soaking the dried cherries in cherry liqueur overnight before draining and continuing with the recipe. Moist, delicious, and bursting with flavor in every bite, these cookies are sure to make your 10 best cookies list.

Take these chocolate treats, individually wrapped in plastic wrap, to your next tailgate party. Makes 1-1/2 dozen (18 footballs).