Oh, do we love marrons glacés, candied chestnuts. They have been a favorite confection from our first childhood bite, atop a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a fancy silver dish in the tea room of a long-departed department store.

Then, relatives visiting France would return with boxes of them, an annual treat. Sometime later, we discovered them in local specialty stores and we began to buy our own—until they became so pricey that we learned to make them. With today’s tip, you can, too.

Following the fall harvest in France and Italy, local confectioners as well as large companies prepare marrons glacés, a popular holiday gift. They can be individually wrapped in gold foil or sold in a jar covered with sugar syrup.

If you read the novel La dame aux Camélias (The Lady of The Camellias) by Alexandre Dumas fils, you’ll discover that marrons glacés are the only type of confection eaten by the heroine, courtesan Marguerite Gautier. Her clients were expected to keep her in good supply.

But you don’t need admirers. Create your own supply with this recipe:

Although it takes 1-2 days to complete the recipe, actual cooking time is less than 30 minutes. For the rest of the time, the candied chestnuts soak in their sugar syrup.

Ingredients For 2 Pounds

1. PLACE the chestnuts in a large pot with just enough water to cover the tops. Bring the water to a boil and cook the for 15 minutes; drain and discard the water. Remove the chestnuts one at a time with a slotted spoon.

2. RUB the thin, bitter membrane off the cooked chestnuts, using a clean towel or your fingers). The chestnuts will be soft, so be careful not to damage them.

3. BRING the water, sugar, and vanilla/vanilla bean to a boil in a medium pot, stirring constantly until it boils. Continue to cook the mixture for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The syrup will thicken.

4. ADD the prepared chestnuts to the boiling sugar syrup and stir until the syrup returns to a boil. Continue cooking, stirring frequently (and gently!), for 10 minutes.

5. POUR the candied chestnuts and syrup into a large, wide-mouth container; cover when cooled. Let the chestnuts soak in the syrup for 12 to 18 hours.

6. REMOVE the vanilla bean; the chestnuts are ready to use. You can spoon them into dessert dishes and top with whipped cream; or in shot glasses with some of the syrup.

HOW TO ENJOY CANDIED CHESTNUTS

Marrons glacés are an ingredient in many desserts and are also eaten on their own. Most fans agree that the best way to enjoy a candied chestnut is plain, with a cup of tea, as you might enjoy a bonbon or a macaron. But that’s just the beginning of a menu of delights:

• As an ice cream topper, with the syrup. In fact, if the pieces break in the preparation, this is an ideal use for them.
• In a “faux” Mont Blanc, atop a mound of whipped cream with some plain cookies or shortbread on the side. (Actual Mont Blanc uses sweetened chestnut purée instead of candied chestnuts.)
• In ice cream. Mix chopped pieces and the syrup into a pint of softened vanilla ice cream and return it to the freezer to harden. (In France, you can buy it in pints, ready to eat.) Chestnut ice cream is delicious, but you don’t need marrons glacés to make it. Regular cooked chestnuts plus sugar do nicely, either chopped and mixed in or blended in as purée.
• As sophisticated cupcake toppers, sliced or cut in half to make the delicacies go farther.
• With fresh goat cheese or Brie. Serve candied chestnuts and your favorite mild bread or crackers (we like it best with toasted raisin semolina bread).
• In holiday cakes and cookies. Add chopped candied chestnuts to cake batter or cookie dough. Try a batch with crystallized ginger or chocolate chips. Consider muffins, loaf cakes, bundts and other opportunities. Our grandmother used to add them to her coffee cake recipe.
• The chestnut-infused sugar syrup can be used on ice cream, pancakes, toast, etc., with or without the chestnuts.

 
THE HISTORY OF CANDIED CHESTNUTS

The seasonal confection originated in southern France and northern Italy, where chestnut trees are plentiful. Prior to the Crusades (1095-1291 C.E.) there was no sugar in Europe. Sugar cane is native to Southeast Asia, from which it made its way to the Middle East, where it was discovered by the European crusaders. So the process of candying fruits in sugar syrup—and all of the other wonderful things we do with sugar—had to wait for the return of the crusaders to Europe.

The first candied chestnut confections seem to appear at the beginning of the 15th century in the Piedmont region of Italy, among other places. The earliest written recipe is from the court of Louis XIV at the end of 17th century.

In 1882 in the Ardèche département of south-central France, the first factory was built with the technology to produce marrons glacés industrially. However, many of the nearly twenty steps necessary from harvest to finished product are still performed manually, which is one reason why the treats are so pricey. [Source]
  

Elvis Presley’s favorite food was a pan-fried sandwich of peanut butter and sliced banana (recipe). To be seriously indulgent, he might have enjoyed washing them down with this peanut butter and banana cocktail, a kind of adult milkshake.

We hadn’t seen a peanut butter cocktail of any type until the folks at Blue Chair Bay Rum sent us this delicious dessert cocktail recipe, for National Peanut Month (November). It’s made with their made with their banana rum and coconut rum.

If you can find peanut butter ice cream, feel free to use it instead of the vanilla ice cream for a peanuttier drink.

RECIPE: PEANUT BUTTER & BANANA COCKTAIL

Ingredients For 1 Drink

Preparation

1. COMBINE ingredients in a blender and process. Pour into a tall glass.

2. GARNISH and serve—perhaps with a side of peanut butter cookies.
  

And then, there’s cheesecake. This recipe, courtesy of Cabot Creamery, comes from Jacques and Pauline Couture of Missisquoi Valley Farm in Westfield, Vermont. The farm is a winner of Vermont’s Outstanding Farm of the Year.

While Jacques runs the dairy farm, Pauline is busy managing their maple syrup business and bed and breakfast. This Maple Cheesecake is one of the many delightful treats prepared for their overnight guests.

The Coutures make this recipe with Cabot Creamery’s salted butter and cream cheese.

Make the effort to use maple sugar instead of table sugar: You’ll be pleased with the difference. (Check out the different types of sugar.)

We also like to garnish the top of the cake with maple candies, shaped like maple leaves. They’re available in hard, clear amber leaf or a semisoft, opaque beige leaf.

Prep time is 20 minutes, cook time is 55 minutes.

Maple cheesecake. Photo courtesy Cabot Creamery Cooperative.

Ingredients For 12 Servings

• 1 sleeve graham crackers (9 whole crackers)
• 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup granulated maple sugar (or substitute white sugar)
• 3 packages (8-ounces each) cream cheese at room temperature or softened in microwave (you can substitute reduced fat cream cheese)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup Grade A Dark Amber maple syrup (see the different grades of maple syrup)
• Optional garnish: maple leaf candies in maple syrup or maple sugar

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Wrap the bottom and sides of a 9- or 10-inch springform pan with aluminum foil (to prevent leakage while baking).

2. PLACE the graham crackers in 1-gallon zip-close bag; crush into fine crumbs with rolling pin or heavy pan (you will have about 1-1/3 cups). Combine in a bowl with butter and sugar, stirring until well blended. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom and partly up the sides of the pan.

3. COMBINE the cream cheese and eggs in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the maple syrup and process until combined. (Alternatively, in large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time just until blended, then beat in the maple syrup.) Pour the mixture into the crust. To ensure no cracks on the top of the cheesecake, create an optional bain-marie: Place cheesecake in large roasting pan and add boiling water partway up sides before baking.

4. BAKE for 45 to 55 minutes or until set nearly all the way to the center. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool, then cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Remove from pan, garnish with candies around the top rim and serve.

WHAT IS MAPLE SUGAR

Maple sugar was the preferred form of maple by First Nations/Native American peoples. Unlike the sap or syrup, the sugar could easily be transported.

It is produced by evaporating the sap of the sugar maple tree (and some other maples). The sap is boiled until almost all of the water has been removed and the remainder has crystallized solid (the same process is used to boil sugar cane sap into table sugar).

Maple sugar has a strong maple flavor and aroma, just like maple syrup. It sold in pressed blocks, granulated in bags, or molded into small shapes like maple leaves, to be enjoyed as candy.

Maple sugar can be used in recipes in the same way as cane sugar is used, but is almost twice as sweet—so plan accordingly in recipes. A rule of thumb: When using maple sugar, use slightly more than half the amount specified for cane sugar.

We enjoy using it:

• In baking (it’s a nice surprise in a pie crust)
• In coffee or tea
• On oatmeal
• In meat rubs

Every kitchen has a standard vegetable peeler to slice the skin from carrots, cucumbers, potatoes and other veggies.

But there’s also a serrated peeler, which works better on softer produce like mangoes, nectarines, peaches, plums and that toughest of peeling challenges, tomatoes.

Most home cooks who have both use the word “love,” as in, “I love the serrated peeler!”

Of course, you can use a serrated peeler where you’d use a conventional peeler, on anything from asparagus to zucchini. But we use both, so we don’t dull the serrated blade on potatoes when we want to keep it sharp for those pesky tomatoes.

The standard technique to peel thin-skinned produce is to blanch the item in boiling water, then chill it in ice water, then remove the skin with a sharp knife or fingers. A serrated peeler is the better way.

Peeling tomatoes, bell peppers and mangoes is easy with a serrated peeler. Photo courtesy Crisp.

And instead of charring bell peppers over a flame to remove the skin, just use a serrated peeler.

How can you resist?

• The angled-head serrated peeler from Crisp is $8.99 at CrispCooking.com. It also has an “eyer” at the top.
• The highly regarded Messermeister serrated swivel peeler is $7.95 at Amazon.com.

[1] Fondue with a south-of-the-border accent can be used to dip churros or anything else (photo © McCormick).

[2] The recipe at the right is only for the fondue. Here’s a recipe for baked churros. We also have churro “substitutes” that are easy to prepare (photos #2 and #3 © The Baker Chick).

[3] In fact, we like baked churros even better (no oiliness!).

[4] Depending on how you serve them, churros can be a casual snack (previous photo) or a fancy dessert (photo © Tina Dawson | Unsplash).

[5] A guajillo is the dried form of mirasol chile. It is the second-most commonly used dried chile in Mexican cuisine after the ancho, which is the dried form of the poblano chile (photo © Rancho Gordo).

[6] The recipe uses peanut butter, but if you don’t like it you can substitute another nut or seed butter, Nutella, cookie butter, or one of the other substitutes we’ve provided (photo © Jif).

[7] This creamy dark chocolate peanut butter is less peanutty than regular PR while still adding something extra to the flavor profile (photo © Peanut Butter & Company).

[8] A hack to save time: Start with a jar of chocolate fudge sauce and add in the other ingredients. This is our favorite brand (photo © Somebody’s Mother’s).

[9] One of our easy substitutes for churros: cinnamon roll dough (photo © Pillsbury).

For Día de los Muertos, celebrated today and tomorrow, serve something with a south-of-the-border theme. We’ve got an exciting chile mole fondue; use churros (South American crullers) for dipping. There’s more about Día de los Muertos below.

This recipe, uses three types of chilies—guajillo, chilies de arbol and chipotle—to give this Mexican-inspired dessert fondue a smoky kick. Bittersweet and semisweet chocolate, nutty peanut butter and warm cinnamon make it a luscious complement to churros, fresh fruit or assorted cookies. You can also try pumpkin tortilla chips, which have matching spices and a touch of sweetness.

Here’s a recipe to make classic deep-fried churros. You can also buy them in Latin American grocery stores.

But we prefer the recipe for baked churros shown in photos #2 and #3.

> National Churro Day is June 6th.

> The history of churros is below.

> So is the history of El Día de los Muertos.

> Plus, check out the substitutes you can use instead of deep-frying churros.
 
 
RECIPE: THREE CHILE MOLE FONDUE (SPICY FONDUE)

In addition to churros, you can use this spicy chocolate fondue with anything you like. Check out this selection of chocolate fondue dippers.

Note that the serving size in this recipe (which is from McCormick) is 2 tablespoons—enough for a mouse! If you want a larger portion, double the recipe.

Note also that this recipe is only for the fondue. You need to make or buy the churros separately.

Tips

 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. HEAT a medium saucepan on medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the chiles; toast 30 seconds per side or until they begin to blister and change color slightly.

2. LET the saucepan cool slightly. Add 2 cups water to cover the chiles and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to low; simmer 30 minutes until the chiles soften.

3. REMOVE the chiles with kitchen tongs to a blender container. Add 1/2 cup chile soaking liquid from the saucepan; cover. Blend on high speed until smooth. Discard the remaining soaking liquid in the saucepan.

4. STRAIN the chile purée through a large mesh strainer into the saucepan. Stir in the cream and corn syrup. Bring just to boil on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

5. ADD the remaining ingredients; stir until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
 
 
MORE CHURROS RECIPES

 
 
ABOUT EL DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS

Since pre-Colombian times, Mexicans have celebrated El Día de los Muertos, a ritual in which the living remember their departed relatives.

From October 31 through November 2, graves are tended and decorated with ofrendas, offerings, and families expect a visit from loved ones who have passed.

Ofrendas dedicated to the deceased, usually foods and beverages, are also put in homes on elaborately decorated altars with glowing votive candles, photos, chocolate and sugar skull heads (calaveritas).
 
 
THE HISTORY OF CHURROS

The churro is often thought to have originated in Spain, but it may, in fact, have come from China.

It is similar to a savory Chinese pastry (no sugar), dough sticks called youtiao, which are fried in oil. The result is a crispy outside and tender crumb. Here’s a recipe.

Portuguese explorers, who traded with China as early as 1514, may have brought youtiao back to Portugal.

From there, it hopped the border to Spain, where it evolved into the sweet, cinnamon-accented pastry we know today.

Churros were introduced to Mexico and South America during the Spanish exploration and conquest in the mid-1500s.

This was about the same time that the Spanish returned to Europe from Mexico with cacao…and ultimately, Spanish cooks turned that turned into hot chocolate and chocolate sauce.

In Spain, the pastry got its from being piped through a churrera, a syringe-like utensil that features that unique shape. Churros can either be straight or spiral-shaped. The churrera (an inexpensive tool) comes with different attachments, so choose whatever you like!

(You can use the churrera to make cookies as well. Its design is similar to a spritz cookie press.)

After frying or baking, our modern churros are rolled in cinnamon sugar.

While churros are served as a dessert in Mexican-American restaurants, café con leche and churros are popular breakfast items in Latin America.

While traveling from country to country, the churro was enhanced, from guava-filled churros in Cuba, the dulce de leche-filled churros in Mexico, and cheese-filled churros in Uruguay.

Dulce de leche, a popular sauce for churros, was invented in Argentina in the 19th century. The first historical reference to the Argentinian dessert comes from a peace meeting between military leaders in 1829.

According to legend, dulce de leche was produced by accident when the maid was cooking some milk and sugar and was unexpectedly called away. Upon her return, the mixture had transformed into a thick, brown consistency (not very different from caramel sauce, which is made with sugar, cream, and butter).

The “new dessert” was called dulce de leche, a milk sweet [confection]. Today it is usually made with sweetened condensed milk (which did not exist at the time).

Contemporary creative churro bakers have made churros in different flavors, made them hollow to be stuffed with different fillings, made them into jumbo-sized loops, made them mini-bite size, and continue to work their magic on an already-magical magical pastry.

Check out these rainbow-colored churros for Pride Week.
 
 
SUBSTITUTES FOR CHURROS

Making churros from scratch, with star-tipped piped pastry fried in hot oil, may be too much for most of us. Here are easier alternatives to dip in that delicious sauce, that deliver the same warm, cinnamon-sugar flavors.
 
The Quickest Churros Substitute

 
Easy Churros Substitutes

 
Baked Churro Substitutes

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.