CHESTNUT, CHOCOLATE & HAZELNUT COOKIES

My previous post involved caramelised chestnuts, and I mentioned that I’d blitzed some of them up until smooth to give a bowl of luxurious purée. I ate a couple of spoonfuls of the stuff straight, but I’m not a sugar monster, and needed something to tone it down. I decided to experiment with baking it in to a batch of cookies, tempering the sweetness by adding a good measure of cocoa powder and a handful or two of roughly chopped hazelnuts. I’m not usually a fan of sugar coating, whether in the figurative or literal sense (although there’s always a place for tact, and now and again, a freshly made sugared donut.) But the frosty looking, crunchy crust on these that came into being on a last minute whim ate like a revelation. It turns out, I do like sugar coating after all!

 

 

Ingredients

200g chestnut purée

120g flour

60g good quality cocoa powder

1 egg

Pinch of salt

30g sugar, plus extra for rolling

Splash of milk

50g hazelnuts, roughly chopped

 

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt into a large mixing bowl.  Add the sugar, then  combine these dry ingredients with a fork.

Throw in the chestnut purée and the egg.  Still using the fork, mix until just combined (you may need to add a splash of milk.)  Add the chopped nuts and stir through, then use your hands to bring together into a ball.

Break off small pieces of the dough and roll between your palms until approximating golf ball size.  Roll each in a good coating of sugar, then place on a lined baking tray (mine made sixteen small cookies.)

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 6 minutes, until cracked and crisp on the outside but still a little soft in the centre.  Lovely warm, but mine were even tastier on the second day.  Great with a strong cup of coffee!

Tags: Baking, Chestnuts, Chocolate, hazelnuts, Nuts