Chestnut Cookies with chocolate chips are soft, buttery, subtly spiced, and have a delicious nutty, earthy flavor. Made with chestnut flour, these super tasty gluten-free cookies are a lovely Christmas Cookie and perfect for the holiday season!
If you want an amazingly delicious gluten-free cookie that everyone will love, this is it!
With chocolate in every soft and chewy bite, a slight crunch around the edges, and a nutty rich flavor, these Chestnut Cookies are undeniably dreamy.
While these cookies are quite special with a unique flavor, they're as simple to make as a typical chocolate chip cookie.
Fun side note: Tried and true, this Chestnut Cookie recipe was published in the American Chestnut Foundation Magazine.
The Key Ingredients
Aside from some usual baking suspects like butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and powder and eggs, below are the ingredients that make Chestnut Cookies exceptional:
- chestnut flour - Chestnut flour is a gluten-free flour made only from roasted ground chestnuts. It has a subtly sweet, nut-like earthy flavor that adds a heartiness and a delicious taste to these cookies (and to most baked goods it's added to). Most small Italian markets carry it, and you can also get here.
- pure vanilla extract - I use this vanilla, and you can substitute with vanilla paste if you'd like. (The amount would be the same.)
- cinnamon and salt - While the cookies will not have a strong cinnamon flavor, it adds a delicious hint of warm spice, and the salt enhances that flavor.
- semisweet chocolate chips - You can substitute with bittersweet or milk chocolate if that's your preference.
Pro Tip: You can make your own chestnut flour with fresh chestnuts and a food processor. Use step 1 only in the instructions for my Chestnut Butter Recipe. Please note that the consistency and moisture level might be different if you make it at home, which could alter this chestnut flour cookie recipe. (Store bought chestnut flour is dry -- the same consistency as most baking flours.)
How to Make Chestnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Adjust a rack (or two) to the center of the oven, preheat to 350°F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Use an electric mixer to blend softened butter with the sugars, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Add the egg and mix on a low speed for 1 minute. The batter should be very smooth.
- Measure the chestnut flour and then sift it into the batter with the baking powder and soda. Mix just until the flour is fully incorporated, and then fold in the chocolate chips.
Recipe Tip: Chestnut flour tends to clump together, so do not skip sifting it, or the cookie batter will be lumpy. Once sifted, it becomes a soft, fine powder.
- Use a 1¼-inch cookie scoop to shape your cookies, placing them on the parchment-lined baking sheets as you go, with at least 2-inches between them. Do not flatten them!
Recipe Tip: Chestnut cookies will spread a fair amount, so be sure to leave ample space between them on the cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies until they're ever-so-slightly golden along the edges, about 10 minutes. (They should still look a bit wet/doughy when you take them out.)
Pro Tip: With most cookie dough, there's no better way to shape it than with a cookie scoop. Not only is it easy, but it ensures your cookies will be evenly-sized, and therefore bake evenly.
- Let them sit for about at least 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully use a flat-bottomed, metal spatula to move them to a cooling rack. (They will look plump when you take them out of the oven, and then flatten out as they cool.)
As you can see, they are a flat cookie, and should look like the photos once they cool.
Making the Cookies Ahead and Storage
Room temperature. Once they've cooled completely, the cookies can be stored at room temperature in a tightly sealed container for two to three days.
Can you freeze them? Yes, you can freeze them. Let the cookies cool completely, then they should ideally go in an airtight Ziploc freezer bag with all of the air removed. They can be frozen for up to four months.
How to Store Chestnut Flour
Chestnut flour has a short shelf life of about 1 month. Keep it stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place, or you can freeze it for about 6 months.
More Must-Try Chestnut Recipes
Other Unique Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes
Chestnut Cookies with Chocolate Chips are lovely for the holiday season and for absolutely any time. I hope you love them as much as my family and I do!
Chestnut Cookies with Chocolate Chips Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup golden brown sugar
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup (about 5-ounces) chestnut flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and prepare the baking sheets. Adjust a rack (or two) to the center of the oven, preheat it to 350°F, and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Make the batter. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to blend the butter with the sugars, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Add the egg and mix on a low speed for 1 minute. The batter should be smooth. Measure the chestnut flour and then sift it into the batter with the baking powder and soda. Mix just until the flour is fully incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Shape the cookies. Use a 1¼-inch cookie scoop to shape your cookies, placing them on the parchment-lined baking sheets as you go. There should be at least 2-inches between them.
- Bake. Bake the cookies in the preheated 350°F oven until they're very slightly golden along the edges, about 10 minutes.
- Cool. Let them sit for at least 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then carefully use a flat-bottomed, metal spatula to move them to a wire cooling rack. (They will look plump when you take them out of the oven, and then flatten out as they cool.)
NOTES
NUTRITION
Cooking On The Weekends is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Erica
Hi- I came upon your blog and recipe a while ago, but finally got a chance to try it! These are the first GF ones I've tried that have the perfect texture. They have a mellow sweetness from the chestnut (which I like). I put a bunch in the freezer. Sometimes frozen GF goodies can end up with a weird or pasty texture after being thawed, but these didn't! I just popped a couple in the toaster oven on low heat and it came out tasting and feeling exactly like they did fresh out of the oven. Perfectly crispy on the outside, and soft and gooey on the inside. Had to write and thank you!
valentina
Hi Erica, I'm so glad you tried these cookies! My recipe for them is now in the American Chestnut Foundation Magazine. 🙂 Happy to hear they froze well, too. Thank you for visiting my site and trying my recipes. 🙂 ~ Valentina
Amy
Ciao Valentina, I'm a gluten-free American expat living in Italy, where chestnuts are like the national nut. I can't throw a pizza without hitting a bag of chestnut flour, one of which has been sitting around my place since a failed experiment with banana bread many moons ago. I must say, these could be the very best chocolate chip cookies I've ever, ever had. The nutty, creamy flavor from the flour takes this classic to a completely different place. Thank you so much for posting this recipe!!
valentina
Thank you so much, Amy! Last year this recipe was featured in the American Chestnut Foundation's magazine. 🙂 My gluten-free son loves them, too. How lucky you are to be in a place a beautiful as Italy -- with such delicious food!
Dana
Hi Valentina,
I love this recipe you've shared, I had 1.5kgs of chestnut flour and wasn't sure what to do with it! I made one batch as a test run and loved them so now I'm making 3 batches for Thanksgiving this weekend. They are sooooo delicious! I am making them vegan and substituted the egg for 3tbsp's ground flax mixed with 5tbsp's water (I also tried out using oil instead of butter). They came out perfect and taste amazing- no one in my family would've guessed that they were gluten free & vegan. Thanks for the recipe!
valentina
Hi Dana, Thanks so much for the lovely comment! So happy you found a way to make them vegan, too. I was so excited when I discovered chestnut flour . . . so many possibilities! 🙂
Jerri-Lynn DeGayner
Hello
Just stumbled across this recipe, trying to find an alternative to almond flour all the time.
I'm trying to stay away from refined sugar, do you think it could be replaced with honey or maple syrup and if so, how much? Would it be still the 1/2 brown + 1/4 white so 3/4 total of honey or maple syrup? Thanks for any input.
valentina
Hi there -- I would use honey rather than maple syrup, and I would use 3/4 cup. Lower the oven temp to 325 degrees F because honey browns faster. I haven't ever done this, but it's my best guess. Thanks for visiting my site! 🙂
Jerri-Lynn DeGayner
Thank you very much!
Gabriele
Valentina,
We have a rather large chestnut orchard here in middle TN and make our own chestnut flour. I followed the recipe word for word. Cookies taste great, but I think I'll cut back on the chocolate a bit. My cookies looked a bit darker than your and seemed to flatten to semi-transparent. Wonder what I'm doing wrong. Thoughts
valentina
Hi Gabriele,
How fantastic to have a chestnut orchard. Love it. I'm so happy you tried this recipe. Some things that could help . . .
After you shape the balls of dough on the baking sheet - cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight. Make sure not to press the balls of dough down after you shape them -- they should should be like a ball. I suspect they were darker because they were either in the oven too long or your oven is hotter. Is it calibrated? Either way, all ovens, pans, etc. can make a slight difference. Just take them out sooner next time. Hope this helps! 🙂 ~Valentina
Onur
Hi, I have chestnuts, picked them today from a forest 🙂 How can I use them to make this cookie? I have boiled them and now they are in the fridge.
valentina
How incredibly cool that you picked your own chestnuts! I love that! While I haven't tried it, I think that you could roast the chestnuts (here's how), you could grind them in a food processor to make the chestnut flour. Just be careful not to grind for too long, or it'll become a "butter."I hope this helps. Have fun and thank you for checking out my recipe! 🙂
Michael Mahan
I have a couple of chestnut trees, and I make flour by chopping the nut in half with a sharp meat cleaver (I've heard of using kitchen shears as well), then putting them in a dehydrator for a couple of hours or more until you can pop them out of their shells and then chop finely, put them back in the dehydrator until they are hard, then run then use my Vitamix to make flour.
Valentina
Hi Michael. Thanks so much for this information. I wish I had a couple of chestnut trees, too -- so cool. Happy holidays! 🙂 ~Valentina
Renee
I made my own chestnut flour from our chestnut tree harvest, so perhaps that skewed the recipe, but my cookies turned out very flat. I noticed the “dough” was very wet, so perhaps it needed more flour? Perhaps a weight measurement would be more accurate. Otherwise, they had very good flavor. I also used half the amount of chocolate. It was more than enough.
valentina
Hi Renee, Thanks so much for writing in. First of all, I love that you have a chestnut tree. Lucky you! My best guess would be that the difference was in the consistency of the flour. Chestnut flour should be quite dry -- like most baking flours. The weight measurement should be about 5-ounces (I've edited that into the recipe - thank you!) They are a flat cookie -- every time I make them, the look almost exactly like those in the pictures. As for the chocolate -- I tend to always use a lot because I like a chip in every bite. 😉 Adjusting the chocolate to how you like it, is great. I really appreciate your feedback. Thank you for visiting my site and trying the recipes. 🙂 Warmly, Valentina
Emily
I absolutely love this recipe! It’s impossible to have any self control with these cookies. I will admit I’ve never made them exactly as written 😐 I leave out the chestnuts themselves, and I use a blend of puréed honey dates and coconut sugar instead of white and brown sugars. I’ve also made a version with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries which was fantastic. One thing to note is it seems chestnut flour goes rancid very quickly and is best stored in the freezer.
valentina
Hi Emily, Thanks so much for writing. The white chocolate and dried cranberries in this cookie sounds so delicious! That would be so festive for the holidays. 🙂 And thank you for pointing that out about the chestnut flour. I do keep mine in the freezer, and I'm going to edit that into the recipes notes. If you love chestnuts, I recently made this chestnut butter, you might like. I appreciate you visiting my site and reading and cooking my recipes. 🙂
Alene
I just made these because I was so happy to see a use for my chestnut flour. Mine didn't spread a lot. I'll make them again with a fresh package of chestnut flour. This one has been hanging around for awhile. I do love chestnuts in any form! Thank you for the recipe. And so easy! I love that too.
valentina
Hi Arlene. I keep my chestnut flour in the freezer and it keeps really well. I'm glad you like the cookies, and maybe you will even more with a fresh batch of flour. Thank you! I love chestnuts, too. Especially their scent while roasting. 🙂 ~Valentina
Alene
Guess what! I froze them and just remembered them today, several weeks later. They are delicious reheated quickly in my toaster oven. I am going to make them again soon! Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Valentina
Hi Arlene. Thank you so much for this note. I'm so happy the cookies held up so well after being frozen. And what a great idea to warm them quickly in the toaster oven. I love it! I hope you're having a great weekend. 🙂 ~Valentina
angiesrecipes
These cookies sound and look incredible with chestnut flour. Love the crisp edges and soft chewy center. A winner and keeper!
valentina
Thanks, Angie! Enjoy. 🙂 ~Valentina
Jeff the Chef @ Make It Like a Man!
Those cookies look delicious!
valentina
Thanks, Jeff! 🙂
David Scott Allen
I have so much Italian chestnut flour in my freezer — so glad to have another recipe other than castagnaccio! These sound amazing, Valentina!
valentina
Thanks, David! So fantastic you already have chestnut flour. I finally found it at a local Italian Deli near us. I try to make sure it's always in the freezer. Hope you and and Mark have a wonderful Thanksgiving. xo Valentina
Sofia
Eating my first cookie straight out of the oven, and just need to say WOW! Best cookies ever!! No other recipe needed in life 🙂
Valentina
Hi Sofia, This makes me so happy. Thank you so much for sharing!! 🙂 ~Valentina
Elizabeth
We made our own flour and then made the cookies. The flour was easy to make with the KitchenAid mill attachment. The cookies are delicious though they don't look like yours...they did not spread out very much and the dough was very thick, though we liked them that way. The difference probably had to do with the flour (we did sift it).
Valentina
Hi Elizabeth. So cool you made your own flour! My guess is that's why the cookie baked differently. So happy you still loved the taste! Thanks so much for visiting my site and trying the recipe. 🙂 ~Valentina
Monica
Hi Valentina,
My son has some food intolerances including gluten-free but also dairy and egg. Baking something for his class to share for his birthday that the kids will recognize and eat is a bit of a mission (understatement of the year). I’m thinking to substitute a psyllium/flax egg (no fear there, it’s easy and reliable), but am wondering about coconut oil vs ghee (or other) instead of butter. Any advice?
Valentina
Hi Monica. 3 limitations for baking is certainly challenging. I only had to worry about gluten-free with my son who has Celiac. I felt like every single birthday party was all about cake and pizza. My expertise is gluten-free, however, I've had a lot of success using olive oil in cakes and cookies and I love it. It changes the flavor very subtly as well as the texture (cookies tend to be crispier, and cakes more moist). I think coconut oil should be okay, but since I haven't tested this recipe with it (which I assume you're thinking about?). People with various dietary restrictions love this site for desserts. It's packed with gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, etc. I spotted these chocolate chip cookies, which might be great for a classroom party, and if not, there are many others there. And not for a classroom party, but for a dessert at home, we love this 2-ingredient chocolate mousse, which has no egg, gluten or dairy. I hope this helps! 🙂 ~Valentina
Dawn
These chestnut chocolate chip cookies sound like the perfect addition to my holiday cookie tray! I've never tried putting chestnuts in cookies, but what a fun, festive and yummy idea!! I can only imagine how delicious they are freshly baked with a tall glass of milk. 🙂
Valentina
Hi Dawn! Thank you. I hope you love them as much as I do. Wishing you and your a very happy holiday season. 🙂 ~Valentina