Persimmon Cookies
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 Snowballs and Brown Butter Salted Caramel Snickerdoodles to 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:)
Persimmon Cookies
The perfect cookies for the holiday season and a great way to use up persimmons!
Yield: 3 dozen cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup persimmon pulp (from 2-3 persimmons)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional, we omitted)
- 1 cup raisins
For the orange glaze:
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Directions:
- 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. Whisk until smooth. Dip the cookie tops into the glaze and twirl the cookie. Set cookies back on wire rack for glaze to harden.
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That looks so delicious! I just had my first taste of persimmons a few days ago — it tasted a little off. Perhaps I need to eat more? 😀
I bet the persimmon added such moisture and just great flavor to these. Glad that you listened to Josh’s mom b/c yes, I bet the cookies are to die for. I love persimmon but have never baked with it…not yet anyway 🙂
I love any excuse to put glaze on a cookie:-) What a great way to use persimmons!
Cool! I can’t wait to try these 🙂
i tried my hand with persimmon baking the other day and man oh man it did not turn out this great! persimmons are weird, but it’s good to know that there are different ones to use!
What a unique cookie recipe – I would never think to use persimmons in a cookie. I’ve used the fuyu persimmon on top of an orange cake I made recently, and they were beautiful on top. I bet the Hachiyas persimmons would make a nice moist cake – I might have to give that a whirl.
I have seen those in the fruit section for years and never really knew what one made with them. This sounds like a good reason to try them out.
I’ve always been scared to try persimmons- they look too much like tomatoes for me!
I’ve never had these cookies or a persimmon either! How interesting. I’m always up for trying new flavors.
I’ve never tried a persimmon before…but the cookies would make me want to try them! 🙂
I’ve never had a persimmon either, now I’m totally curious about how they taste.
I have seen persimmons before, but I’ve never tried them. These cookies sound wonderful – I’ll have to keep my eyes open for these so I can try these cookies out!
I just made persimmon cookies yesterday and they were less than fantastic. But, I haven’t given up on this fruit because I’m a little intrigued by it so maybe I will give it another go with this recipe! Thanks!
So beautiful!!! I cant wait to make these!
Love these! I’m always looking for new ways to use persimmons so I’ll put this one in my recipe file!
These look so great! My parents have a persimmon grove in their pasture. One year there was a big wind storm that knocked down tons of ripe persimmons and the horses feasted. One of them didn’t fare so well, but I’ll spare the details. 🙂
Yay for holiday baking!
I am sure these are as delicious as they look. I am so curious to taste this fruit, but it is not a local fruit nor do they import it here. I guess I have to just enjoy looking at pics on the web until I travel when it is in season.
I have pureed persimmons in my freezer – this could be on the weekend agenda
These look incredible, love the glaze. I haven’t had persimmons either but everyone seems to love them. I will have to give these a try. Thanks for introducing something new!
I have always wanted to experiment with persimmons! Sounds like a batch of cookies is the way to go 🙂
Persimmons aren’t common around here (northeast US), so they’re always a super treat when we get them. These cookies look great, and you’re so lucky to have a mother-in-law who brings them.
I’ve yet to cook with persimmons but after seeing these cookies that is going to change!! YUM!!!
hey maria! your cookies look awesome! the spices sound perfect with the persimmon & orange glaze… yum! can’t wait to try these out 🙂 have a great weekend!
I am from California and we make these cookies every year! They are my grandpas favorites too and now that I moved to Utah I can’t find a persimmon (or anyone who knows what that is) anywhere!
This is why I love your blog – you’re always broadening my horizons. I’ve never had a persimmon either – must look for them soon!
There were TONS of persimmons at the farmers market this week, but I didn’t get any because I wasn’t sure what to do with them. Next week I’ll definitely pick some up for these cookies!
I absolutely love the orange glaze! I’ve never had a persimmon and honestly don’t know if my store has ever carried them! They sound fun though. 🙂
Many years ago my grandmother had a persimmon tree. I wish we would have made cookies with them! The recipe sounds delicious and I’m planning to hunt down some persimmons :).
Wow – this is a total new one for me. I have never had a persimmon cookie. I have eaten the fruit before but not in a cookie. Glad that I found your site and was introduced to this cookie. I am gonna bookmark this one for later. Thanks for posting
My mom loves persimmons–this would be the perfect little surprise for her 🙂
I love the unique recipe. And, I love your post even more. Family stories and family recipes get me every single time. 🙂
These look yummy. What a fun tradition to continue :).
Warning to those who have not tried persimmons before- “Make sure your persimmon is nice and ripe” means “Make sure your persimmon is so ripe a normal person would have tossed it two days ago.”
We recently moved to California and received our first ever persimmons in our CSA box. We were forewarned that unripe Hachiya persimmons have a very antiseptic taste…but thought that the soft fruit sitting on our counter for over a week was surely ripe. WRONG. It was like eating sour hair.
The farmer told us the next week that you want the persimmon to feel like a really full water balloon before you eat it. This may explain some of the less than desirable results mentioned. They are wonderful, sweet and really good for you when ripe.
Great point! Yes, the persimmons need to be VERY ripe!
Love baking with persimmons (well, when my mom does).
Ahhh, I got a bag full of persimmons a couple of weeks ago and I didn’t know what to do with them, now I know! Wish I had some left. Your cookies look amazing!!
I have a great memory of persimmons. There was a lone persimmon tree on my grandpa’s farm hidden deep in the woods. Every October we’d hop on our three (or four) wheelers and ride toward the spot. Then we’d walk through the thick forest until we found it. No one knew how or why it was there but we all enjoyed eating them right off of the tree. Thanks for the memory booster! It’s a great memory!
I absolutely love persimmons! Here in Portugal (and in Porto, where I live) we have them with abundance at this time of the year. If you scoop their pulp onto a bowl and sprinkle with cinnamom, you can serve them as great dessert. The last recipe I posted in my blog is a persimmon and spices cake, delicious, with the right amount of moist and the flavour of the persimmons blending with the spices, oh, it’s just magically delicious. Give it a try 🙂
On my side, I look fwd for baking these cookies of yours!
I never made something with Persimmon (“Kaki” in Peru). I always see it in the fruit market but never buy because I had no idea on what to do with it.
It’s great to know that cookies is an option, as I’m adict to cookies.
I tasted a persimmon for the first time last winter and quickly became obsessed. I only atet the Hachiyas though, which unless fully ripe are absolutely disgusting so I just tried a fuyu this week. Not as good for baking, like you said, but better for eating if you’re impatient. 🙂
I bet these are delicious!
My friend made some persimmon cookies last year and I loved them! I’ll have to share this recipe with her.
OH I can’t wait to try these…though that would mean we would have to use the persimmons for baking instead of plain ‘ol eating. And they’re SOOO good when ripe to just eat! YUM!
Go persimmons! They are so underappreciated here in the US but the Fuyus are so delicious! And the hachiyas really do make cookies taste amazing. Need to try these!
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So sweet, I love the story! I’ve actually never had a persimmon but I’m trying to branch out in the odd fruit department and these look worth a try 🙂
I’m with you…I’ve never touched a persimmon. You’ve intrigued me. They look and sound beautiful!
this looks delicious! glad i found this blog im going to bed in to read more 🙂 Belle
I have never had a persimmon cookie. Now I am totally curious because these sound and look delicious. Have fun with your baking list, I can’t wait to see the rest ;D
Those are just beautiful! I don’t know why I am so intimidated by persimmon- I need to branch out!
How do you know when they are ripe? The ones I get in my produce bin are always hard as rocks!
Thanks Maria, so very glad you enjoyed my old time favorite and family recipe. It made me pretty happy to know that you liked them!
I had such a wonderful visit with you, Josh and my precious Caleb! Cannot wait for the next visit… Love You! Miss all of you like crazy! Wish I could be in two or three places at the same time! xoxoxoxo
You completely piqued my interest. Now I’m just so seeing where the heck I’m going to find persimmons, lol!
I just picked up my bountiful basket this morning and I got a whole bunch of persimmons and even some oranges. Perfect! I didn’t even know what a persimmon was until today. These look delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I have soooo many permissions – definitely making these cookies!
I love persimmon cookies! These look delicious!
I’m so intrigued by persimmons now! I have been seeing them at the store, have never tried one though! These cookies are so pretty with that glaze!
I’ve never had a persimmon either! These cookies look fantastic though, so I might need to pick one up next time I’m at the store 🙂
I love the look of these…although having never cooked with persimmons I can’t quite imagine what they would taste like. Definitely one to try very soon!
these sound very interesting. I just bought a persimmon, but haven’t eaten it yet 🙂
I just made these today for the 25 days of Cookies challenge! I blogged about it too! I love persimmon’s. While I was living in Japan I ate them fresh from the trees in my family’s yard! Thanks for a fun recipe!
I adore cooking with persimmons but haven’t tried them in cookies. What a fun idea!
I have never seen Persimmon Cookies!! They look delicious…
you had me at persimmon as they’re my favorite fall fruit!
I love finding persimmon recipes even though I rarely find myself with persimmons. I find you can swap out just about any other fruit puree and get the same results. The recipes are always so versatile, thanks for sharing.
i’ve had this in my ‘to try’ box since you posted and food co op basket just gave me seven persimmons! so now it’s time to get baking! i was just curious how you made the pulp? i’ve read a lot online and the instructions i’ve found all say to use a foodmill. did you just scoop the pulp out and blend it? i don’t have a foodmill so i was hoping to find a better source to make the pulp. any advice? thanks so much!
Make sure the persimmons are VERY ripe. You want them to be squishy. You can use a food processor or blender if you don’t have a food mill. That is what I did. I hope you enjoy the cookies!
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I am totally with you, no clue what to do with a persimmon. My hubby brought a box of them home from work. I was very happy to find your recipe!!! I’ll be making quite a few batches since I have so many of these little gems!
I hope you enjoy the cookies!
I love persimmon in baked goods. It’s a nice change from pumpkin this time of year. Thanks for the recipe!
Too bad the persimmons are very expensive up here in Northwest….but I buy one at a time, because I love to make these. They are tasty and they go fast after baking….They are becoming more and more popular.
I have made these cookies twice now, and they are DELICIOUS. Thank you for the recipe.
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Hey guys! I FINALLY found where to buy persimmons online!
https://farmtropical.com/product/persimmon/
I ordered a regular box and they were shipped a couple days later. Amazing quality and priced fairly well considering that I can’t find them anywhere nearby. They’re also grown in the south florida so I guess that’s local?
Thanks for this amazing Persimmon cookies recipe. I LOVE PERSIMMON!
I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious these were! I did do half all purpose and half wheat, replaced sugar with splenda, and omitted the frosting–didn’t need it at all as the cookies were amazing in itself! Wow! Wow! Wow!
Glad you enjoyed the cookies!
FYI, there are more than two types of persimmons. And, there is a native to North America persimmon (principally from the central to eastern US). They are smaller than Asian persimmon varieties, but their flavor is much richer, spicier, and generally more intense. Check it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diospyros_virginiana
Our neighbors brought us a bucket! full of persimmons last week. I’ve figured out that they’re hachiyas so we’re now waiting for that very ripe stage. I’d never heard the word astringent used referring to food before, but that’s what an unripe hachiya is. It sucks all the moisture out of your mouth – I know we tried one! Looking forward to making these cookies next week, if they’re VERY ripe by then. Thanks for the recipe.
I made these for my kindergartener’s cookie exchange last night. Thanks for the recipe, super yummy and a great way to use up the persimmons that showed up in our CSA box!
I’ve been making persimmon cookies and steamed persimmon pudding for years. It’s a Christmas tradition in my house. If your persimmons aren’t ripe and I mean goopy ripe! Then put them in the freezer overnite. When you defrost them they will be perfectly ripe for baking your cookies. They freeze very well whole or pureed.
I found & tried this recipe for 1st time after a co-worker gave me a bunch of home grown Fuyu persimmons , I substituted dried cranberries (Craisins) for the raisins with the Walnuts and they were a smashing hit with and without the nuts! Only surprise was my orange glaze came out kinda clear and not as white as pictured, did I miss something else? They still tasted delicious though! Thanks for posting this recipe!
Correction: I received the Hachiya variety of Persimmon NOT Fuyu, as far as I know, the Fuyuwill no’t ripen like the Hachiya so unless someone found a way to ripen the Fuyu using them might yield different results.
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I’ve started buying frozen persimmons that are from Korea and they are really tasty. They are in the frozen foods aisle at a specialty grocery store next to all the other frozen fruits. They are really yummy.
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I made these last night – came out really yummy! My only question is that how did you get the glaze so white & hard? my glaze was translucent & harden alittle bit…
I made these cookies using the Fuyu persimmons and they taste fabulous! I had to use 5 of the Fuyu persimmons because the ones I had were small in comparison to the other type of persimmons. Also, I used golden sultanas (raisins) and loved the way their color matched the baked cookie color. Great recipe!
Thanks for sharing! As we live in Oakland, CA, we just came into some persimmons and a friend suggested cookies. I’m off to the kitchen to whip these up now. Yum!
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I have a bunch of persimmon pulp in my freezer from some overripe persimmons I had. I was excited to see this on my feed. I know what I’m making this weekend!
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I used GF King Arthur flour and added Cinnamon chips in a batch for the kids. The icing glaze is butter, almond milk, maple flavoring and XXX sugar. They love them!
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I made these cookies for the first time today. I have a tree full of these persimmons and would love to use them. I am planning to share the crop with some friends.
I will say that I used light brown sugar 2/3 cup and cut the white sugar to 1/4 cup, they were plenty sweet with the icing.
I did not bother with the icing!
These are amazing!
I found that the cookie held its shape. It does not go soft and spread out. Make sure you make the cookies a uniform thickness.
I found 16 minutes on cookies that were 1/2″ thick worked for me
Oh, and I choose to use whole wheat flour instead of the white stuff
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Just made a batch using the Fuyu. Definitely a keeper recipe – thanks!
Glad you liked the cookies!
I made this recipe. Cookies turned out great. With rounded spoonfulls I got two dozen. I used only one cup of powdered sugar for the glaze. Thank you!
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I’ve made these twice now, and they are absolutely delicious. My one issue is, my glaze *never* looks thick like your picture. I’ve followed the recipe exactly both times, and it is much thinner and looks nearly transparent. I end up doing two coats which looks messy and still is not as white and thick looking as your picture. I’m reluctant to add more powdered sugar as I don’t want them to get cloyingly sweet. Any suggestions would be really appreciated.
If you want a thicker glaze you can add more powdered sugar.
I love persimmon cookies. I had a recipe years ago but seemed to have lost it. Will try this recipe as soon as I can find some persimmons.
Tried this recipe, for the first time yesterday. Seriously I modified it because my children don’t like either saltanas or walnuts!
I added, pumpkin spice to it and shaved apple….. with double the amount of persimmon. They where so impressed that. I have too make another batch! Thank you for the recipe it was the best cookie recipe ever. Easy to make and simply delicious!!!!
This is the best recipes for cookies I have ever made in my life. I made them for my family, and I already need to make another batch! Thank you so mu change for posting this recipe!
I made this recipe from nice, ripe persimmons and shared with our extended family. It was so delicious, they asked for more. It is a delicious recipe worth following and making every year.
I love persimmon cookies. The persimmon is horrible if its not ripe. In fact almost over ripe. But so sweet and good once it hits thst point! The cookies are awesome!
I have never been crazy about persimmon cookies, but we made these with some persimmons that were given to us. Absolutely Delicious! Probably the best cookie I have ever had! Not sure if this makes a difference but we used Fuyu Persimmons! The Orange Zest Glaze was to die for!
I made these and found they really tended to spread out when I baked them. They also we’re so moist they tended to fall apart. I don’t know if maybe a little more flour would help. They are very tasty with or without the glaze.
Didn’t like the orange glaze… Didn’t blend with sweet cookie… used lemon… much better!
So VERY good. The orange glaze is amazing on these. I used a comb of nuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds and raisins.
Yay! Glad you liked the cookies!
These look great! I plan to make some for Christmas. Do you know how long they are good for Once baked? Should they be refrigerated?
Thanks!
These turned out great, but the clove was overpowering. I’d half the clove in this recipe to 1/4 teaspoon instead of 1/2 teaspoon.
the best persimmon cookie recipe