Persimmons are perhaps the most beautiful fruit of the fall, but have you ever wondered if they have a purpose other than table decoration? These classic persimmon cookies are filled with raisins, walnuts, and warm spices and are the exactly what I crave this time of year.
This post was originally published in November of 2008 but has been updated and now has a printable recipe.
Where I grew up, persimmon trees were abundant. While we didn’t have persimmon trees of our own, every fall my grandmother had persimmons ripening in the fruit bowl, thanks to generous neighbors.
And at Gigi’s house, persimmon cookies were always the inevitable destination of those glowing orange fruit. Wonderful, moist, sticky, spicy persimmon cookies.
Thinking back on it, it seems odd that the only thing I ever learned about persimmons was that they turned into cookies. Growing up, I never tasted an actual persimmon and I never knew about other persimmon recipes.
It was just understood that they would turn into cookies. And since persimmon cookies are one of my all-time favorites, it never occurred to me that they might be used for anything else.
Why mess with a good thing, right?
Well, it turns out that there’s a reason why no one in my family ate raw persimmons. The variety we grew up with were hachiya persimmons, and they can’t be eaten raw until they are so completely ripe, they’ve turned into a gelatinous goo.
Doesn’t sound very appetizing, right? If this astringent fruit is eaten too early, you’ll apparently never forget the experience. And it’s for this reason, that hachiya persimmons have gotten a bad rap.
But the ripened hachiyas are excellent for baking, and they make a really good cookie!
Luckily, it turns out that there is another type of persimmon that is good for eating. And I just tried it for the first time this year.
Fuyu persimmons are the short and squat variety that can be eaten raw like an apple, even when they aren’t fully ripened. Fuyus are very sweet and don’t have the mouth-puckering astringent quality present in the hachiya varieties.
Fuyu persimmons (left) are good for eating raw, while hachiyas (right) are best for baking.
As I mentioned earlier, I tasted fuyu persimmons for the very first time this year, and although it was good and sweet, I didn’t feel like it had a very distinctive flavor on it’s own.
I think fuyu persimmons would be best chopped and added to a green salad, or even mixed with another type of fruit. But since it is a very new discovery to me, I haven’t done much experimenting.
When it comes to persimmons, my true love will always be these cookies made with the misunderstood hachiya.
This recipe calls for one cup of persimmon puree and you’ll probably need about three extremely ripe hachiya persimmons to get that amount of puree.
When I say extremely ripe, I mean the insides of the fruit have turned completely to mush and the skin has become translucent. Leave the persimmons on the counter for a few days if they aren’t ripe enough when you purchase them (they probably won’t be).
I put my persimmons through a food mill to get a smooth puree and remove the skins all at once, but you could also squeeze the pulp right out of the skin and puree with a blender or food processor.
This was my very first time making persimmon cookies. My grandmother had always made them for me, so I never felt the need to learn. But now that Gigi is no longer with us, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I don’t have her exact recipe, but my friend Ruby found one for me that sounded very similar. It seems like everyone in my hometown makes the same type of persimmon cookies and I really wouldn’t be surprised they all come from the same recipe!
These cookies are not the prettiest things in the world. They don’t spread when you bake them, so whatever shape comes off your spoon onto the baking sheet is they shape they’ll stay in after baking.
They also turn very moist and sticky after a day of storage, which is one thing I really like about persimmon cookies.
When I baked these, I was a bit disappointed when they came out of the oven because they didn’t really look like the cookies I remembered. But one night of storage in a Tupperware container brought out the familiar sticky and moist texture.
The cookies are chock full of raisins, walnuts, and warm spices so they really are the perfect cookie for fall. They also freeze well, so you can make a bunch of them now to enjoy throughout the winter.
Kitchen equipment used for this recipe:
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Related Recipes:
- Whole Wheat Persimmon Bread
- Tabbouleh with Persimmons and Almonds
- Pumpkin Spice Scones
- Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll
Persimmon Recipes Around the Web:
- Persimmon Bread from David Lebovitz
- Persimmon Spice Cake from What’s For Lunch, Honey?
- Gluten-Free Persimmon Pecan Pudding Cake from Gluten-Free Bay
- Persimmon Kale Salad with Walnuts and Pomegranate from California Grown
- Persimmon Grilled Cheese with Prosciutto from A Girl Defloured
- Beet and Persimmon Salad with Candied Peanuts from Hola Jalapeño
- Persimmon Salad (aka Autumn Caprese) from The Delicious Life
- Bacon-Wrapped Persimmons from G-Free Foodie
Persimmon Cookies Recipe
A classic persimmon cookies recipe with raisins and walnuts.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup persimmon pulp
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon*
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, soda, salt and spices; set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream the shortening with the sugar using a hand mixer. Beat in egg then beat in persimmon pulp. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until everything is combined. By hand, stir in the nuts and raisins.
- Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets. They can be placed close together because these cookies don’t spread much.
- Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets for five minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
*You may use 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice to replace the cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 36 Serving Size: 1 cookiesAmount Per Serving: Calories: 114Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 67mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 1gSugar: 9gProtein: 2g
Frequently Asked Questions About Persimmon Cookies:
Hachiya persimmons, which are more elongated with a bit of a point on the end, are the kind of persimmons used for baking. Fuyu persimmons, which are shorter and flat on the bottom are the kind of persimmon that can be eaten raw.
Yes, unsalted butter is a great substitute for shortening in persimmon cookies. It gives the cookies a richer taste and in my experience does not affect the texture. If you use salted butter, reduce the extra salt in the recipe by 1/4 teaspoon.
Persimmon pulp can be made in a food processor, blender or food mill. Allow the hachiya persimmons to because fully ripe and squishy then scrape the insides out of the skin, removing any seeds that you see. You can then puree the persimmon flesh until smooth in a food processor or blender.
To use a food mill to make persimmon puree, remove the stem from the ripe hachiya persimmon then break up the fruit and bit and run it through the food mill. The seeds and skin will be automatically separated using the food mill.
If your hachiya persimmons are ripe, but not quite squishy enough, you can place them in the freezer overnight then defrost the next day. This should soften them up enough to puree.
Persimmon pulp freezes very well and can be stored in the freezer for up to one year. Once you puree the persimmon pulp (remove skin and seeds first), put it in a zippered freezer bag, remove all the air, and store in the freezer. I like to measure the pureed persimmon pulp and put one cup of pulp in each bag so that I can pull out and defrost one bag for one batch of cookies.
Yes, most hachiya persimmons and some fuyu persimmons have seeds. Persimmon seeds are not toxic, but the seeds are generally removed before eating or before pureeing persimmon pulp.
Like most cookies, persimmon cookies freeze very well. They do get sticky as they defrost, so you may put layers of wax paper between them to prevent them sticking together and remove air from the zippered freezer bag to prevent freezer burn.
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