Recipes Ingredients:

3/4 lb. chestnuts, in shell
water, as needed
2 cups milk
sugar, as needed
1 oz. cognac
1/2 vanilla bean
1/4 cup heavy cream

Recipe Instructions:

Shell chestnuts by making a shallow incision in the round portion of each nut. Place in a Baking pan with a small amount of water; bake at 450 degrees F for 7 to 8 minutes. Let cool; slip intact nuts from shells. Remove skins; discard. Place chestnuts, Milk and vanilla Bean in saucepan; heat to simmering. Simmer until all liquid has evaporated and chestnuts are tender. Rub chestnuts through sieve to puree. Weigh puree; place in saucepan. Measure enough Sugar to equal half of weight of puree; add. Cook, stirring, over low heat until smooth paste forms. Remove from heat; let cool. Add cognac; blend. Whip cream to medium-stiff peaks; do not add sugar. Fold in chestnut puree.