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Quick Summary
Spicy, soft, and moist persimmon cookies with raisins and a sweet orange glaze. This persimmon cookie recipe uses ripe Hachiya persimmons.
It’s December which means it’s time to turn on the ovens and get baking. My holiday baking list is long so I can’t waste any time. I asked Josh if he had any requests for Christmas cookies this year and of course he added his favorite Lime Coconut Snowballsand Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodlesto the list, but he also asked if we could make Persimmon Cookies. I looked at him with a blank stare. I’ve never even had a persimmon or a persimmon cookie. Josh said his mom used to make Persimmon Cookies every year and he loved them. Well, Josh’s mom came to visit us last week from California and brought us a bag full of persimmons. Guess what we made? Yep, a batch of Josh’s mom’s famous Persimmon Cookies.
Josh’s mom had to show me what to do with a persimmon. I was clueless:) I guess there are two kinds of persimmons, Fuyu and Hachiyas, we used Hachiyas persimmons, which are better for baking. Make sure your persimmons are nice and ripe. We scooped out the pulp from the fruit to use in our cookies. The pulp is bright orange and sort of slimy:) I was a little afraid, but Josh’s mom promised me it was going to produce a good cookie…and she was right:)
The cookies have a few of my favorite spices-cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. The cookies also have raisins in them. If you are a raisin hater, you can leave them out or add dried cranberries, but we love our raisins:) Josh’s mom sometimes adds walnuts to the cookies, but since Josh is allergic, we left them out. The cookies have a cake-like texture and are super soft. They aren’t the prettiest cookie on their own, but the orange glaze dresses them up a bit and compliments the spices.
A big thanks to Josh’s mom for sharing her Persimmon cookie recipe. We will be baking these cookies every holiday season from now on. It will be our family tradition. I am sure Caleb will love these cookies, just like his daddy:)
Cookies
The perfect cookies for the holiday season and a great way to use up persimmons!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the sugar. Beat in persimmon pulp, egg, and vanilla. Slowly add in the flour mixture until everything is combined. Fold in the walnuts, if using, and raisins.
Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for approximately 12-14 minutes or until cookies are brown around the edges and set. Let cool on baking sheets for five minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the orange glaze, in a medium bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, orange juice, and zest together. Start with 2 tablespoons and can add more if the glaze is too thick. Whisk until smooth. Dip the cookie tops into the glaze and twirl the cookie. Set cookies back on wire rack for glaze to harden.
Fuyu persimmons serve a multi-purpose use. They're best eaten raw or sliced and added to salads, cereal, smoothies, but they are also suitable for baking and roasting. Hachiya persimmons, on the other hand, boast a creamy, jelly-like consistency best for baked goods such as muffins, cookies, bread, and puddings.
When persimmons are beaten to a pulp, tannins form complexes with carbohydrates, causing the pulp to stiffen to a gel-like consistency. When baking soda is added, a reaction with the moist and slightly acidic persimmon creates carbon dioxide (CO2), which also plays a role in encouraging the pulp to thicken.
Unripe hachiya and fuyu persimmons should both be stored at room temperature. If you want them to ripen a little faster, try placing them in a paper bag with a banana or an apple and storing them on the counter. Bananas and apples both produce ethylene gas, which can speed up the ripening process.
When they are orange, they're ripe, and can be eaten like an apple. You don't have to peel them, but I do. Just cut out the crown, peel them or not, and cut into wedges to eat. Once in a while you may find a dime-sized brown seed, just remove.
Dairy: Consuming dairy products like milk, yogurt, or cheese immediately before or after eating persimmons may lead to digestive issues for some people. This is because persimmons are acidic and can curdle milk, potentially causing stomach discomfort.
Hachiya (left) and Fuyu (right) are both locally grown persimmons that have beautiful cinnamon notes, perfect for fall. However, the Hachiya's texture is best when extremely ripe, almost jelly-like in texture, while the Fuyu can be eaten while hard, like an apple.
The fruit is easily chewable and has a delicious flavour, but it is not recommended for diabetics, obese and sufferers of gastroduodenal ulcer. Persimmons have a creamy and sweet pulp and have laxative, diuretic and hepatoprotective.
The only ways to reduce tannins in persimmons are to allow/force them to ripen or to make the final product acidic. To address the latter point first, bitter persimmons will naturally become vinegar. During that process, they ferment to alcohol in which the tannins remain.
Persimmons are sweet, versatile fruits full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and beneficial plant compounds. What's more, they may promote heart health, reduce inflammation, support healthy vision, and keep your digestive system healthy. Plus, they are tasty and pair well with many foods.
The fruit slowly dries and the sugar in the fruit comes to the surface, and the fruit flavor concentrates. The outside of the fruit turns white from its own sugar looking a bit like white mold. It's not moldy; it is purely the sugar from the fruit itself rising to its surface.
Persimmons have a delicate honey-like flavor and silky texture. They can be eaten fresh, dried, or cooked, and are very versatile in recipes. Persimmon peels are completely edible. Whether or not to peel the fruit is a matter of personal preference and the recipe that you're using.
Persimmon does not present any serious side effects when eaten in moderation. However, certain individuals may be allergic to these fruits and exhibit symptoms of upset stomach, nausea, or in grave circ*mstances, even an anaphylactic shock and must hence avoid eating persimmon.
How many persimmons can you eat a day? A. It is better not to eat more than one persimmon or 100 g of fruit in a day. Excessive consumption of persimmons may lead to intestinal blockages, nausea, vomiting, or constipation.
It is best to store them at room temperature. Ripe persimmons are best eaten immediately, but you can refrigerate them for 1 or 2 days. Unripe persimmons will keep in the refrigerator for up to one month. Keep refrigerated persimmons unwashed in a plastic bag.
If they aren't fully soft in texture, then they will be incredibly astringent. They should be a deep orange color and feel a bit squishy when gently pressed. Because the flesh is very soft, hachiya persimmons are typically used for baking.
Fuyu / Jiro Persimmon Tree: This the most popular variety on this list, and for good reason. Fuyu produces a medium-sized deep red-orange piece of fruit with a lighter pale-orange flesh. Fruit is sweet and non-astringent which is quite uncommon for persimmons.
As they ripen, they become jelly-like, just like the Hachiya variety. Fuyu persimmons are the better choice for eating raw because they're much more pleasant to eat even when they're crunchy.
When persimmon fans are asked which variety is the best-tasting, you may hear maru, suruga, saijo and even the Native American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) that grows in the Southeast as far west as Oklahoma. Its fruits are small but very sweet when soft.
Introduction: My name is Terence Hammes MD, I am a inexpensive, energetic, jolly, faithful, cheerful, proud, rich person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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