chestnut sandwich cookies
rye cinnamon sablé biscuits sandwiched with roast chestnut cream
finally chestnut season and finally time to crack into my favourite souvenir from my trip to japan last december: this book that contains only chestnut dessert recipes!
i was inspired by these adorable sandwich cookies pictured below, which were simple sable biscuits sandwiched with a chestnut cream filling
is it worth making your own chestnut cream? after spending an hour burning my fingertips trying to peel hot chestnuts, i’m honestly not sure
it’s definitely worth hunting down a tin of (sweetened) chestnut cream for these
ingredients
roast chestnut butter
makes two jars
1kg chestnuts, yielding about 450g chestnut flesh
120g white sugar
330g water
1 tsp vanilla paste
pinch salt
optional: 20g butter
rye cinnamon sablés
140g butter, room temperature
pinch salt
pinch cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
125g caster sugar
1 egg
270g rye flour
method
roast chestnut butter
if peeling your own chestnuts, preheat the oven to 180C
prepare a large pot of boiling water
score each chestnut deeply then transfer to the boiling water
let boil for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a baking tray
bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and aromatic, shaking occasionally
peel the chestnuts while hot, discarding any discoloured or rotten chestnuts
if the inner layer keeps sticking that means they have cooled down too much! pop them back in the oven or into a pot of boiling water to keep hot and try again
weigh your chestnut yield and adjust the water and sugar amounts accordingly
add the caster sugar (120g) and water (330g) to a medium pot
cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolved
add the chestnuts (about 450g) and cook for 5-10 minutes until the sugar syrup has slightly thickened
add the vanilla (1 tsp) and a generous pinch of salt
blitz with an immersion blender until smooth
optionally, add 20g of butter and blitz again until incorporated
cover and let cool completely
rye cinnamon sablés
in a food processor, blitz the butter (140g), vanilla (1 tsp) and a pinch each of salt and ground cinnamon until smooth
add the sugar (125g) and blitz again to combine
add in the egg (1) and blitz until just incorporated
add in the rye flour (270g) and pulse until the dough just comes together into a mass
transfer to a work surface and pat into a flat disk
wrap in plastic wrap and let chill for at least an hour
preheat the oven to 180°C
roll out to 3mm thick and punch out your biscuit shapes
transfer to a lined baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes until just set and golden brown at the edges
let cool completely on the tray
assembly
transfer your cooled chestnut butter to a piping bag with a fluted icing tip
pipe a generous dollop of chestnut butter onto every second cooled biscuit and sandwich together
