My anticipation for Christmas this year is like no other; the moment classes ended, all that was on my mind was Christmas. From scrolling through Pinterest for Christmas party ideas, planning what recipes to make for y’all this month, to going home to help my family trim the tree and framing our house with lights, I’ve been doing everything other than study for my final exams. On my first day of procrasti-baking, I spent three hours making these Mont Blanc Shortbread Cookies. They were so worth my time.

I’ve written about maturing taste buds before, and here’s another food to add to the list: chestnuts. Mont blanc, meaning “white mountain”, is a French pastry constructed from a cake base, a whipped cream centre, and a mountain of chestnut puree. Cantonese and Japanese bakeries have their own version of Mont blanc, but we’re a bit more boring and just call it “chestnut cake”. Special occasions like birthdays meant we got to visit the bakery and select our favourite cake flavour and choose a cartoon for the decoration. My choices alternated between black forest cake and fresh mango cake with either Sailor Moon or Winnie the Pooh drawn on top. The typical adult choice would be the chestnut cake, and nearly no child would bother touching it. Every time there was some sort of celebration at a potluck dinner, I bet you there would be chestnut cake. You could almost hear the sighs of disappointment coming from us kids.

Flash forward to my late teens, and I’m begging my mom to get me a chestnut cake for my birthday. After hearing Chew’s rave about the chestnut cake with an inch of chestnut puree made by the Japanese bakery in our hometown, I dragged my mom into the tiny shop to place [my own] birthday cake order. Oh, was it heavenly. I even brought a huge slice of that birthday cake onto the plane the next day to Hawaii. Pretty sure I totally confused the security guard at the airport. Smushed cream and brown paste everywhere in a plastic lunch box, what on Earth could it be?

The idea of morphing my now-favourite cake into bite-sized cookie form has been on my mind since the beginning of this year. However, it was incredibly hard to track down chestnut puree anywhere in Vancouver. During my stay in Hong Kong this past summer, my family often wandered through the local grocery stores just to see what goods were not available back at home. Green tea tiramisu candy, Ovaltine ice cream, giant mangoes, black sesame soy milk, dried kumquats…When I came across this jar of chestnut spread, I ran through the aisles to find my parents just to tell them “I HAVE TO GET THIS”. I always seem to come back from vacation with jars of food: guava jam, pure black sesame tahini, and this chestnut spread just to give a few examples of my souvenirs. My parents have to limit how many jars of food I bring back because it’s tricky packing them safely in the luggage. Just as my jar of chestnut spread made it through the 12 hour flight, I discovered a specialty food supply store that carried pure chestnut puree, and a local IGA that had this exact same chestnut spread. On sale. Well then.

“Chestnuts roasting over and open fire”

While I do miss the splendor of summer’s fruits, winter has its candy too. Squash, brussel sprouts oranges, and chestnuts are amongst my faves. I roasted a few chestnuts to use as props for this recipe. Boy was I excited to eat these five roasted beauties afterwards. It took me a good half hour to peel these five chestnuts. I was reminded of 1) how delicious chestnuts were but also 2) how much effort has to be put just to open and peel one dang nut. Natural selection has done them well.

If prepared chestnut spread isn’t available, try sweetening pure chestnut puree. Puree can be found in tubes or cans, or homemade as a last resort. Last resort because it’s a lot of work, as you can see by the amount of time it took for me to peel five chestnuts.

The food I look forward to most each Christmas is cookies. Making them and eating them. It’s the only time of year when I actually take the time to dig out all my cookie cutters (which are all Christmas themed) and make roll out cookies. I’m currently really craving chewy gingerbread cookies. During Christmas break, I really enjoy spending my free time making intricate cookies.

While traditional Christmas flavours like gingerbread, chocolate peppermint, and sugar cookies are delicious, if you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind cookie that will stand out from all the other cookies, these Mont Blanc Shortbread Cookies will do exactly that. They’re also gluten free! These sandwich cookies are much simpler to make than the traditional cake yet still have the essence of mont blanc in each bite. The almond flour gives the cookies a nutty aroma that pairs wonderfully with the creamy fillings. Everyone, including any gluten free guests, will love you for baking these unique Christmas cookies!