Persimmon Cookies
A few years ago I discovered the fruit called persimmon. The funniest thing is that I was introduced to persimmons by my boyfriend, who is not a big consumer of fruits. He showed me how to pick this fruits: they have to be fully ripe, they should be really really soft and with a jelly-like consistency. Otherwise they will leave a very astringent and tart taste. Persimmons contains twice the quantity of fiber than apples and its bright color orange obviously means they are high in beta carotene.
I found these persimmons that were super ripe and decided to buy them. Almost as fate, when I got home I was surfing the internet, and suddenly a persimmon cookie recipe appears. I think fate wanted those persimmons to end their days as delicious cookies! I was encouraged when I saw that the recipe called for so much spices, love it!
Final result: I loved them! And not just me, but all who have tried them. They do not have a crunchy consistency, but rather are a spongy-cakey consistency. On this occasion I decided to make two batches, one in a mold that I bought in the form of snowflakes (I was dying to use it for the very first time hahaha!) and in the other batch I only scooped the dough into a silicon mat. I preferred the cookies made in the snowflake mold, but if you don’t have a cookie mold, you can make the spoon version and I’m sure you’ll love them. I took pictures of the two batches of cookies.
Another thing that I loved from this recipe was the glaze: I think I just found my ideal frosting! Hallelujah! As I have said repeatedly, I don’t like the traditional frostings because they use a lot of butter. I prepared this glaze using Greek yogurt and confectioners’ sugar. The glaze was a little bit runny, for me it was fine, but if you want it thicker you can add more confectioners’ sugar until you get the desired consistency.
My boyfriend doesn´t live in the same city as me, so I hope some of these persimmon cookies survive the weekend so he can taste them. They have disappeared mysteriously from the container where I put them!
- 252 gr (8.8 oz) pastry flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 120 gr (4.2 oz) butter, softened
- 100 gr (3.5 oz) caster sugar
- 50 gr (1.7 oz) brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon tangerine zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup persimmon pulp (2 persimmons)
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon tangerine zest
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. If you are using a cookie mold, grease the mold.
- Wash the persimmons. Remove the stem and, using a food processor, pulse until you have a thick puree.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, vanilla extract and tangerine zest. Add the persimmon pulp and mix until well combined.
- On low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients. Mix until incorporated.
- Scoop large tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 5 cm (2 in) between them. If using a cookie mold, fill the spaces to 2/3. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown around the edges. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the glaze, in a small bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, confectioners' sugar and tangerine zest. Whisk until smooth. With a spoon, pour on each cookie a little glaze.
- Store cookies in an airtight container.
- I used tangerine zest but you can substitute with orange zest.
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