Christmas Persimmon Cookies
I didn’t grow up earing 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.
Equipment
- 1 Immersion blender
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 Cup Einkorn all-purpose flour
- 1 Cup Maple sugar or brown sugar
- 1 Stick Softened butter
- 1/2 Cup Raisins (soaked and drained)
- 1 Cup Persimmon puree
- 1/2 Cup Rolled oats
- 1/4 Cup Dark chocolate chips
- 1/4 Cup Chopped pecans
- 1 Tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1/4 Tsp Ground ginger
- 1/4 Tsp All spice
- 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg
- 1 Egg
- 1 Tsp Baking soda
Instructions
- Start with very ripe Hachiya persimmons 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.