Chestnut Shortbread Cookies

It is Chestnut season.

I never really ate chestnuts growing up. It’s just not something that was included in our holiday food rituals.

The first memory I have eating chestnuts is from when I lived in Japan. I have fond memories of chestnuts tucked in the middle cakes or mochi.

A few years later I explored using chestnuts in savory dishes. I’ll have to share my chestnut cream soup sometime soon.

I always try to make my recipes allow the bold slightly sweet, earthy chestnut flavor to be fully present. I think these cookies do just that.

This chestnut shortbread screams fall to me- something about the chestnut is intrinsically blended into memories of stoking the wood stove and bundling up as winter approaches in our tiny little cedar cabin on Hood Canal.

I love that these cookies are extremely simple to make. And if you don’t let yourself get distracted by using cookie cutters or rolling out the dough, which I sometimes do, these tasty cookies can be ready in a matter of 15 minutes.

Even better they are gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and STILL bursting with flavor. Not to mention the added bonus that these can be prepared in just one bowl. Taste AND time-efficient!

The naturally gluten-free nut is different from other nuts. Because they have a higher carbohydrate content, they bake differently from other nuts. This makes them perform a little bit more like a grain than a nut in the baking process, which translates to a lighter cookie, well slightly.

I also like chestnut because it is a local food for me. The chestnuts I use are from a small farm in Washington state, called Ladd Hill Chestnuts.

In my book, chestnuts have a whole bunch of positive attributes going on!

Nutritionally speaking chestnuts contain manganese, molybdenum, and copper and a good source of magnesium, vitamin C as well as vitamins B1, B2, and B6, and folic acid. Which translates to a fiber-rich, immune boosting, bone strengthening, blood pressure lowering, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant-rich, nervous system soothing, and memory boosting nut.

And now, here is how to make it into a nutrient-dense and delicious cookie!

CHESTNUT SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Ingredients:

1 cup chestnut flour, sifted (I get mine from Ladd Hill Organic Chestnuts here)

¼ cup coconut oil, melted or butter

¼ cup maple syrup or honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 pinch unrefined sea salt

Directions:

Melt the coconut oil in a medium-size bowl in the oven while you preheat to 400°F. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper.

With oven-safe gloves, pull the bowl out of the oven as soon as the coconut oil is 75% melted. Add all the other ingredients. And mix with a terms bachelor until smooth. Knead the dough with your hands if necessary.

Roll the dough into small 1-inch balls and place on the cookie sheet. Using back a measuring cup gently smash the dough balls until they are 1/4 inch thick or less.

Arrange on the cookie sheet so that the cookies are not touching. These cookies will not expand while cooking.

Bake at 400° for 8-10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are slightly brown. Remove them from the oven and let them cool on racks.

Store in an airtight container

Variations:

Press chocolate chips, crushed nuts, dried fruit, candied citrus, or whatever else your heart desires into the cookies before baking.
Substitute the coconut oil for butter.
Use honey instead of maple syrup.
Spice it up with ¼ tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves.