Chestnut, chocolate & pears cookies

Being Italian, eating chestnuts during the holidays is a must, whether it’s roasted chestnuts that I picked up in the woods with my family, chestnut paste on toast or chestnut flour in baked goods, I think that nutty sweet flavour just makes every food taste cosier!  The combination of chocolate chip cookie (i.e. one of the cosiest food in the world) and chestnut taste absolutely awesome! Brown butter and pear just make everything more nutty and flavourful!

Chestnut flour is naturally sweet so these cookies contain less sugar than most chocolate chip cookies, pears also keeps them chewy on the inside while the outside is nice and crispy.

Inspired from the Top With Cinnamon Cookbook

Recipe (makes 15 cookies)

Ingredients

• 5 oz butter
• 1 cup chestnut flour
• ¾ cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped dark chocolate
• 1 pear (peeled and chopped into small cubes)
• Flaky salt for sprinkling (optional)

Instructions

1. Put the butter in a small sauce pan and cook on medium heat until foamy and smells heavenly like hazelnut. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the brown butter to a small bowl. Let it cool for 15 minutes.
2. In the meanwhile, combine all dry ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer.
3. Pour over the brown butter and vanilla, whisk until perfectly combined (it should look clumpy).
4. Add the egg and whisk briefly.
5. Mix in the chopped chocolate and pears.
6. Form 1 tbsp bowls of dough using your hands and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
7. Refrigerate for at least an hour (maximum 5 days!)
8. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
9. Sprinkle the cookies with flaky salt and bake them for 12 minutes.