Persimmon Cookies

Oh, persimmon cookies...I love this recipe! They are a Christmas treat that I look forward to making every year. The scent when they're baking and the taste when I bite into one gets me to thinking about all of fond memories I have of my grandparents. And when I pull out my recipe card, there's my dad's handwriting. I guess you can say that the handwritten card is every bit as important to me as the recipe itself. By the way, the picture is of my grandma and me in 1973 (that crazy patchwork skirt I'm wearing was made by my aunt!).


I love that my son looks forward to these cookies just like I do. It makes me happy that I will be able to pass this special family recipe on to him. Hopefully, when he has a kitchen of his own, he will start his own tradition and make them every Christmas (or maybe his future wife will!).  My hope is that these cookies will bring back fond holiday memories for him, just like they do for me.

If you make my grandma's Persimmon Cookies, I hope you enjoy them! Have a wonderful holiday season!

Persimmon Cookies
by Susan W

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of Hachiya persimmon pulp (approximately 4 very ripe persimmons)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Set aside. Cut the persimmons in half and scrape out the pulp. Pulse pulp with baking soda in a food processor, or mix the two together really well by hand. Set aside (it will gel up a little, but that's okay.)

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and the pulp, mix well. Add the flour and spice mixture and then add the nuts and raisins. Drop by teaspoons (or use a cookie scoop to keep size uniform) onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until you see a little browning on top.

*A tip about the persimmons. Give them plenty of time to ripen. They need to be ripe...I'm talking really ripe. They need to be very soft and they might look a little scary, but they'll be perfect. Just cut them in half and scoop out the pulp.