Admittedly, living in the middle of a chestnut wood makes it particularly easy for us to harvest chestnuts in the autumn - but you can also buy them in the shops, either in their unpeeled, uncooked state or cooked in vacuum packs. This recipe works best using them from raw. We’ve tried it both using brandy and using rum and the jury is out on which is best! While the cloudy-looking liquid may not look all that appealing, the flavour is great. We love to add a splash of chestnut liqueur to a mug of hot cocoa for an extra warming kick. Ingredients: 600ml brandy or rum 280g peeled chestnuts 70 ml white wine vinegar 150g caster sugar Method: Peeling chestnuts is hard. It’s easy enough to get the thick outer shell off them, but you also need to remove the inner layer of skin, which can be very bitter. We found that plunging them into boiling water for 10-12 minutes helped loosen the skin, which could then be scraped off more easily. Simply place the peeled chestnuts in the bottom of a 1 litre Kilner jar, add the sugar, then add the brandy or rum. Put it somewhere cool and dark and shake gently every day to dissolve the sugar. The liqueur is best consumed after 3-6 months. You may wish to filter it. Notes: The chestnuts steeped in liqueur would be delicious served with ice cream, or make an excellent boozy addition to a fruit cake. There are lots of other ways you could serve this liqueur - such as with a ginger beer mixer or perhaps as an addition to a glass of prosecco! Our top tip is with a mug of hot cocoa though.