Homestead on Lakeside

I didn’t grow up eating persimmons,  but I knew of a neighbor here or there that had an old persimmon tree in their Florida yard. This fruit grows so easily in Florida and is often just left to spoil since its recipes have long been forgotten. I love learning ways to use local fruit. Follow along as I use Florida’s forgotten fruit and make Christmas Persimmon Cookies.

Before Hurricane Milton hit our Florida shores, this hurricane season. My neighbor a few doors down asked the boys if they would pick her persimmons before the storm blew them down. She graciously shared about half of what we picked. We probably picked about 8 lbs of persimmons the day before the storm.

The persimmons weren’t perfectly ripe when we picked them, but in order to preserve them before the storm, we picked them early. They sat on my counter for about 3 weeks. As a persimmon became fully ripened, I placed it in the refrigerator. Collecting enough very ripe persimmons in the refrigerator until I was ready to use them for a recipe. 

As the persimmons ripened, I made a persimmon bread, similar to banana bread, but with persimmons, and the boys loved it, but I thought it needed some tweaking before I shared that recipe. However, this Christmas cookie recipe turned out great. A cake-like, soft cookie, with all kinds of yummy goodies nestled inside the cookie.  My one sons described it like a soft granola cookie. I thought that was a fitting description.

The ripened persimmons hung out in my refrigerator for about a month and a half, becoming slightly more ripened before I used them for the cookies. 

Two Types of Persimmons

There are two main types of persimmons that you’ll find here in our Florida grocery stores this time of year. Hachiya persimmons and Fuyu persimmons.  I used Hachiya persimmons for this recipe.  Hachiya persimmons must be fully ripe for them to taste good. They must be super soft to the touch. A deep orange or reddish color. When you cut the tops of Hachiya persimmons,  they will be very liquid inside so you can scoop it out with a spoon. Fuyu persimmons should be eaten ripe, but not mushy like Hachiya. They can be sliced and have a firmer texture.

If you try to eat Hachiya persimmons before they are fully ripe, the fruit will leave an awful chalky texture in your mouth. They must be deep in color and squishy before you eat them.

What do Persimmons Taste Like?

Persimmons lend themselves well to autumn and winter baked good flavors. It reminds me slightly of a mango with a hint of cinnamon and date flavor. You can eat them raw when fully ripened,  but I prefer them in baked goods.

Here is another Einkorn flour cookie recipe that we love in our house. Einkorn chocolate chip cookies. Last week I doubled the recipe and we had about 4 dozen cookies to snack off of all week and share with friends.

Christmas Persimmon Cookie Recipe

• 2 3/4 cups of Einkorn all-purpose flour (My favorite Einkorn flour is on sale for Black Friday right now)
• 1 cup of maple sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of rolled oats
• 1 stick of softened butter
• 1 cup of very ripe persimmon pure
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp of ginger
• 1/4 tsp all spice
• 1/2 cup of moistened and drained raisins
• 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 tsp of chopped pecans

Christmas Persimmon Cookie Instructions

Start with very ripe Hachiya persimmons and a stick of butter at room temperature. Using approximately 10 to 15 persimmons,  depending on their size, slice off the tops of the persimmons.  Gently squeeze out the inside of the persimmon into a bowl.  Or scoop out the inside of the persimmon and place in a bowl.  Not all persimmons have seeds, some do, especially the larger ones. Remove any giant black seed. Sometimes, there is one large seed per large persimmon. 

Preheat oven to 325F. Then, using an immersion blender,  puree the persimmon flesh without the skin or seeds. You will need 1 cup of persimmon puree for this recipe.  I pureed my persimmons earlier in the day and placed it in the refrigerator to use later. If you are using cold persimmon puree, let in come close to room temperature before mixing in with your room temperature butter.

Mix together the sugar and butter. Then add the egg and persimmon puree. After that, add the salt, spices, and baking soda.

Measure out 1/2 cup of raisins, soaking them in warm to hot water for several minutes.  Drain the liquid off of the raisins,  discard the liquid, and add the raisins to the cookie dough mixture.  Add the chopped pecans, dark chocolate chips, and oats to the cookie dough and stir together well.

The cookie dough will be sticky. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out even sized cookies and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Slightly flatten the cookies with your finger or the back of a spoon. You can get your fingers slightly wet, so the dough doesn’t stick to them or lightly grease the back of a spoon.

Bake for 15 minutes until the edges are lightly golden brown. These cookies are soft and cake like. This recipe yields about 2 dozen depending on the size of the cookie.

Thanks for following along as I made sweet and spice filled Christmas Persimmon Cookies using our lovely neighbor’s persimmons.  For more homemade family inspiration and recipes follow along @homesteadonlakeside.

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