Candied Chestnuts (Marrons Glacé)
Ingredients
2 lbs. fresh chestnuts, shelled
2 ½ cups water
2 lbs. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
In a pan, bring the 2 1/2 cups water, granulated sugar, and vanilla to a boil, stirring constantly.
Continue cooking the sugar mixture for 5 minutes, but now stirring occasionally.
Add the prepared chestnuts meats to the boiling sugar syrup and stir the chestnuts until the whole mixture returns to a boil.
Continue cooking the chestnuts, stirring frequently, for 10 more minutes.
Pour the candied chestnuts along with the syrup into a large container and loosely cover it.
Allow the chestnuts to soak in the syrup for 12 to 18 hours.
Once the soaking time has passed, place the chestnuts and syrup into a clean pan and let boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Place the mixture in the same container you soaked them in the first time. Cover loosely for about 18 to 24 hours.
Repeat the entire process a total of 3 to 4 times (boil for 2 minutes, soak for up to 18 hours) until the sugar syrup has been totally absorbed by the chestnuts.
Once there's no more liquid, it's time to bake the chestnuts in a preheated oven at 250 F. Arrange the candied chestnuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Place the baking sheet into the oven and turn off the heat. Allow the chestnuts to dry in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour until they have firmed up and the surfaces of the nuts are dry.
Store the candied chestnuts in an airtight tin.