How to Cook Chestnuts
If you are thinking of having a healthy and delicious food, then you should go for chestnuts. Chestnuts are of high nutritional value. Not too many foods have the same amount of nutritional value as the chestnut. They are low in fat with high water content. Chestnuts are full of carbohydrates, and are free of gluten and low in fat with no cholesterol. The methods to properly cook chestnuts are shown below.
Some people will usually boil chestnuts in order to peel them. Instead, throw them in a flat pan in the oven and roast them for about 30 minute. You will notice that the skin will start to peel. That's when you can pull them out and let them cool.
Chestnut Torte
This torte is delicious and easy to make. You will need the following ingredients:
- ½ pint whipping cream (or plain with sugar)
- 2 sticks of butter (soften it first)
- 1 cup of brown sugar (make sure this is packed, I like using the dark brown sugar, then again, this is up to you.)
- 1 large egg
- 5 tbsp. plain flour
- ½ tsp of chestnut extract
- 1-½ cups of toasted nuts (you can use a variation of walnuts and chestnuts or even pecans.)
Toast the finely chopped nuts first and let them cool before adding the mixture. Meanwhile, cream soft butter and sugar then add the egg. Slowly add the flour, stirring all the time. Add the extract and stir it into the liquid in the bowl. Put aside a handful of nuts, and then add the rest of the nuts into the mixture. Place a piece of waxed paper on table and spoon the mixture into the paper in the shape of a long roll.
Sprinkle the remaining nuts on the roll. Roll the waxed paper and seal the ends. Freeze for about 3 hours. or until it's is firm. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving and cut off the amount you are going to serve. Keep in mind that this is extremely rich, so you may want to cut it into small pieces. Top this off with the fresh whipped cream. This recipe will serve 10-12 people. You can always place this dessert back into the freezer. It will stay for a while.
Chestnut balls these are a delicious treat for anytime of the year, but are mostly seen in the south during Christmas. You will need the following ingredients:
Chestnut Balls
- 1 cup of Shortening
- 3 tbsp. Powdered sugar
- 2 cups of flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp of Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup of broken Chestnuts
- Brown paper bag
Take all your ingredients and mix them well in a bowl. Then make them into a ball or into small balls depending on how you want to serve them. Bake these balls on a greased cookie sheet for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. (Make sure you preheat your oven, as it will always save you cooking time. If the oven is already per-heated, then the chestnut balls will only take 20 minutes. Therefore, it's best to turn your oven on and then prepare your mixture.
Once you have taken these out of the oven, take a brown paper bag and fill it with powdered sugar. This recipe will make 5-6 dozen balls, again depending on the size of your chestnut balls.
