Petits-Pains De Marrons

"Chestnut Rolls. Sauté the chestnuts and steam them by placing them on a rack over a vessel of boiling water. Wrap the rack with a cloth and cover it, so that the steam acts more quickly. When the chestnuts are cooked, peel them, then mash them with a little butter, and pass the resulting paste through a sieve. If you have one pound of this paste, add to it half a pound of well-sifted flour, make a well in the center, and place your chestnut paste inside, adding a quarter pound of butter, a pinch of salt, and six ounces of powdered sugar. Knead all these ingredients together; when you have obtained a smooth and firm dough, cut your rolls into the shape of small boat-like loaves, and place them on a buttered baking sheet; leave them on this sheet for an hour, then glaze them with egg wash, and bake them in a gentle oven."

The recipe is written in the succinct, process-driven style of early 19th-century French pastry manuals. Quantities are described in livre, quarteron, and onces—old French weights, here converted for modern kitchens. The directions expect the reader to have experience with texture and dough handling, omitting details that today's recipes would standardize—like exact oven temperature or baking time. Ingredients such as chestnuts, butter, flour, and sugar were all staple ingredients, but their use in precise ratios reflects early professional pâtissier practice. Terms like 'pétrissez' (knead) and 'faites la fontaine' (make a well in the flour) are classic French technique references.