Baking Weekend- Persimmon Cookies

My grandparents have two amazingly abundant persimmons trees in their back yard. Every year we are overwhelmed with how to use them before they go bad.
Their season is from late fall to the first hard frost of cold winter so right about now they are going soft and the tree has stopped fruiting. Ironically the more ppl I talk to about persimmons the less people I  find actually know what they are. I can usually always count on my fellow Asians to know the fruit but very few white people.  Persimmons come in varieties but are basically edible fruit with a hard rind and an apple/pear/nectarine consistency on the inside. My grandparents grow the Fuyu/Jurio variety and growing up I was never the biggest fan. Luckily enough, because my grandparents had such a large backyard with many fruit trees I was never limited. I always preferred their figs. The persimmons never tasted like much to me. Yes their texture sometimes came off as slimy, but early in the season they are firm and crisp like apples and even have a slight cinnamon taste which I usually love.

So being that its the end of the season and the persimmons are growing soft, they are the perfect consistency for baking. My mom and I picked some last week, peeled the rinds off and pureed with an immersion blender to create the pulp.

Here is the recipe we used and some pics!

Persimmon Cookie Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Yield: 30 cookies

A sweet and spiced persimmon cookie recipe with cranberries,chocolate chips and walnuts. A perfect soft and moist cookie to make during the winter!

Ingredients

Ingredients-
• 3/4 cup  butte/margarine softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup persimmon pulp, puréed (3-4 very ripe and soft Fuyu persimmons)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries/raisins
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 walnuts, roughly chopped

Directions

Directions-
1. Using the paddle attachment on your mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg and mix on medium speed until combined.
3. Add baking soda to the 1 cup of persimmon pulp purée in a separate bowl then add to sugar/butter mixture and mix until combined
4. Add vanilla to wet ingredients and combine
5. In a separate bowl sift the dry ingredients together; flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Slowly add dry ingredients into wet mixture on low speed. Mix until just combined.
6. Blend in the nuts, dried cranberries/raisins, and chocolate chips. Mix on low speed until combined, approximately 1-2 minutes.
7. Portion the dough onto a lightly greased sheet pan. I line mine with parchment for easy clean up.   Make sure that the cookies are at least 2 inches apart (although know these dont expand or spread out much).
8. Bake at 325°F until almost firm and golden brown, approximately 14 to 16 minutes.

Mixing dry ingredients into wet

adding my favorite element- chocolate chips!

scooping the cookies out with my nifty cookie scoop!

The finished product after about 14-16 min in the oven, I like them slightly underdone

The final product is always a hit with people whether they know what a persimmon is or not!
My coworkers scarf these. They dont even last the morning!