This is the first time I’m trying gluten free cookies and they turned out amazingly yummy! As we started to see chestnuts at markets, I thought I must add it in my cookies and these Gluten Free Chestnut Cookies came out! I must warn you: These cookies are highly addictive since they are melting in your mouth! I know you will ask for more after having the first bite and this will be one of your favorite cookie recipe even if you are not following a gluten free diet!
I decided to make something gluten free when one of my pinterest friends opened a Gluten Free board and invited me there to share gluten free recipes. Go check Pascale's board to see many more tasty gluten free recipes!
These chestnut cookies look so much like classic Turkish Flour Cookies, but they are quite different with the ingredients they contain. The only and the best similarity they have is that they’re both melting in mouth! You don’t want to count how many you eat at a time, so making these cookies in bite size is always better!
I’m so much inspired by smitten kitchen’s Roasted Chestnut Cookies and turned it into a gluten free version. I roasted the chestnuts beforehand and made the cookies the following day since I find peeling the chestnuts quite boring and laborious!
Although I made a cross on each chestnut, waited in cold water for some time and then roast, they weren’t peeled easily. If you know an easier way of it, I would love to hear it, please share it in the comment section.
The best part of this recipe is that you don’t need to peel the chestnuts in one piece since we grind them in a food processor. You will love that nutty flavor in these cookies! Nobody can guess what these cookies have inside!
The recipe at smitten kitchen was calling for a mixture of cinnamon and powdered sugar to coat the chestnut cookies, but I used cinnamon powder only. I do love its scent, which is a great welcome to coming chilly days.
As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!
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Gluten Free Chestnut Cookies
Cookies with rice flour, corn starch and ground chestnut.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 17 minutes
- Total Time: 47 minutes
- Yield: 35 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Turkish
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 500g chestnut, ¾ cup when roasted, peeled and ground
- 1 cup rice flour
- 150g butter, at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ tsp vanilla powder
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp cinnamon, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 200C.
- Cut a small X on each chestnut, wait them in cold water for 30 minutes and roast them for 20 minutes.
- Cool on a tray and peel. Put them into a food processor and grind well. Transfer into a large bowl.
- Add in all the other ingredients except cinnamon and mix with your hands until it doesn’t stick to your hand.
- Preheat oven at 170C.
- Line baking pans with parchment paper.
- Make balls from the batter as big as a teaspoon and place them on the parchment paper leaving ½ inch between each.
- Bake them for 17 minutes and cool them on a rack.
- Sift cinnamon powder on them when cold.
- Store these cookies in an airtight container for a week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 102
- Sugar: 4.9 g
- Sodium: 1.3 mg
- Fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 15.7 g
- Protein: 0.8 g
- Cholesterol: 14.5 mg
Keywords: chestnut cookies, chestnut flour cookies, chestnut cookie recipe
Lorena Mims says
Could you please let me know if the rice flour you are using is regular or the special "mochi" type rice flour?
Zerrin says
Hi Lorena! I use regular rice flour.
Lorena Mims says
Thank you!
Mirna says
Hi. Can I substitute rice flour by almond flour? Thank u
Zerrin says
Hi Mirna, I've never tried it with almond flour, so I don't want to mislead you but I guess it will work. I'd love to hear the result if you try.
Ruth Morrisson says
Can this be made with chestnut flour? I have a bunch from when I was trying a recipe for chestnut flour pie crust for my choir's holiday potluck (one member and another member's spouse both have Celiac's.
Zerrin says
Hi Ruth,
Hope I'm not too late. Yes, you can use chestnut flour in this recipe.
Shirley says
my trick for peeling chestnuts is to not carve an X but score the chestnut all around the 'belly' into the white flesh. Then roast them (about 12 to 15 per round) in a very hot oven for about 10 minutes. This causes the chestnuts to expand and the skin halves to part. Then take them out of the oven (put another batch in) and peel as soon as vingers can stand the heat. Most chestnuts will easily loosen from the skins, especially when they are still hot.
Zerrin says
Thank you Shirley for sharing your trick with us. I have a full bag of chestnuts. Will definitely try it tonight.
Thomas says
Again, another unclear recipe. In step 4 you say to mix all the ingredients. Does this include the 1 cup of powdered sugar ? Is the cup of powdered sugar for later after they are cooked ?
Zerrin says
Hi Thomas, soory but I don't understand what is not clear there. You will mix everything including powdered sugar, except cinnamon. Powdered sugar is inside the cookie dough. No need for it after they are cooked. I used cinnamon powder for topping when they are cooked and cold.
Abby says
Peeling chestnuts can be difficult, however the best way to do so is to make your cross cut in the shell and then microwave 15 seconds per nut. Only do a handful at a time to ensure the nuts are hot when you peel them. The papery skin under the shell is the difficult part. When the nut is hot, the skin will come off easy. No need to soak the nut before hand. The heat from the microwave will bring out the sweetness of the chestnut. Chestnuts are a very good choice of nut to eat. You can also grind the nut and make chestnut flour as well. My family owns a Chestnut farm in Idaho and we use them many different ways. One of our favorites around the holidays is to dip them in chocolate! YUM!
Pascale De Groof says
Awesome Zerrin! Thank you so much@ This weekend I will have to get chestnuts which I love so much and give this a try, but I am pretty sure that those cookies are going to be yummy.
vickie says
Just wondering how crumbly these are? I bake GF a lot and usually use xanthan gum to hold things together better. Could you substitute Splenda for the sugar? My little friend is Type 1 diabetic and Celiac so substitutions are a fact of life for her. Thank you for the wonderful recipes.
Zerrin says
Well, these cookies are not too crumbly, they are stiff enough and when you bite they don't crumble completely. They are still melting in mouth though. Egg yolk was enough to hold things together. As for the substitution, I've never used splenda in baking, so I'm not sure if it is ok for the consistency of the batter. Would love to hear the result if you try. My husband is Type 1 diabetic too and he prefers eating one or two of these as one portion and he doesn't have fruit or any other carb in that meal. He substitutes these cookies for fruit this way mostly in the afternoon, when he's more active.
Hala Issa says
Thank you. I've been recently diagnosed with Gluten intolerance. So these are a welcome gift. 🙂
Do you think I can use canned chestnuts? Raw chestnuts are not readily available in our area.
Zerrin says
Sorry to hear that! There are so many great gluten free recipes and I'm sure you will not have difficulty in adapting a gluten free diet. I've never used canned chestnuts, but I think they work fine too. If they are wet, you should dry them well and then grind.