Holiday Persimmon Cookies

Dec 15

To learn how to make this easy holiday cookie recipe, see the printable recipe card below. Take a look at the recipe video, or get Step by Step Instructions for a more detailed explanation of this recipe. For other recipe variations including how to make this recipe dairy-free or gluten-free, visit the Pimp My Recipe section in this recipe’s Blog Comments & Tips.

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RECIPE

(Check out our Step by Step Instructions below the recipe card.)

Step by Step Instructions

Cookies

Parchment paper lined baking sheet pan. — STEP 1

Place oven rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 350°F. Line two *baking sheet pans* with parchment paper, and set aside.

STEP 2

Roughly chop ½ cup walnuts and ½ cup pecans (see Note below), and set aside.

Note: If you don’t want to use both nuts, you can use 1 cup total of either walnuts or pecans.

Chopped walnuts.

Chopped pecans.

STEP 3

Using an immersion blender or a high speed blender, purée 1 cup persimmon pulp (about 2 large, very ripe Hachiya persimmons - see Note below). In a small mixing bowl, add puréed persimmon, and 1 teaspoon baking soda, and stir to combine, then set aside.

Note: To learn more about how to handle and use persimmons, visit my Tips & Tricks page and watch the video for TIP #26 - How to Cut & Peel Persimmons.

Puréed persimmon.

Add to bowl.

Add baking soda.

Stir to combine.

STEP 4

Place a fine mesh strainer on top of a medium mixing bowl. Add 2 cups all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, and ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and sift ingredients. Then whisk the ingredients together until completely combined, and set aside.

Dry ingredients.

Sift.

Sifted.

Whisk to combine.

STEP 5

To a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add ½ cup room temperature unsalted butter, and 1 cup granulated sugar, and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stop the mixer, and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Then beat for another 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy (total of 3-4 minutes). Scrape down the bowl again.

Butter & sugar.

Scrape bowl.

Beat again.

Light & fluffy.

STEP 6

On medium-low speed, slowly add 1 room temperature & lightly beaten large egg, a little at a time until incorporated. Slowly add persimmon mixture, and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, increasing speed to medium, until fully combined.

Slowly add egg.

Slowly add persimmon.

STEP 7a

Remove the bowl, and scrape again. Then using a silicone spatula, fold in flour mixture until halfway incorporated. Then fold in chopped walnuts and pecans, and 1 cup dried cranberries, until just combined.

Add dry ingredients.

Fold.

Cranberries & nuts.

Fold until just incorporated.

STEP 7b

Cover, and refrigerate bowl for 30 minutes.

STEP 8a

Remove bowl from fridge, and using a medium cookie scoop (2 inch), scoop and level off batter, and drop onto prepared cookie sheets (about 9 per cookie sheet).

Scoop & level off.

Drop onto baking sheet.

STEP 8b

Bake for about 13 minutes (see Note below). Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely.

Note: To ensure even cooking, you will have to bake these cookies in batches. For more baking tips, visit my Blog Comments & Tips below.

Bake in batches.

Cool in pan for 2 mins.

Cool on wire rack.

Glaze

STEP 1

Once cookies are completely cooled, make the glaze. Grate 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest, and squeeze 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice.

Grate orange zest.

Fresh squeezed juice.

STEP 2

In a small glass mixing bowl, add 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, orange zest, and half of the orange juice, and mix well until all the sugar is moistened, adding more juice a little at a time. You want the glaze to be smooth and create a thick ribbon when the spoon is lifted.

Sugar & zest.

Add half the juice.

Stir to combine.

Ribbon like glaze.

STEP 3

Place a large piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Then dip the top of each cookie into the glaze, gently shake off excess (keeping cookie upside down), then place each glazed cookie on paper. Allow the glaze to dry and harden before serving.

Dip top into glaze.

Dipped.

Place on parchment paper.

Dry completely.

A small white pedestal serving stand, stacked with Holiday Persimmon Cookies, with three fresh cranberries on the counter. — SERVING

Enjoy! These delicious holiday cookies have a cake-like texture. For more baking tips, visit my Blog Comments & Tips below.

Notes:

Store at room temperature in an airtight container, separating each layer of cookies with a piece of parchment paper. Enjoy within 4-5 days!
To learn more about how to handle and use persimmons, visit my Tips & Tricks page and watch the video for TIP #26 - How to Cut & Peel Persimmons.
Makes about 24 cookies (1 cookie per serving).

BACK TO RECIPE

VIDEO

How to Make these Delicious Holiday Persimmon Cookies!

Blog Comments & Tips

Pillowy soft, spiced cookies!

These Holiday Persimmon Cookies are pillowy soft and delightfully sweet. Fresh persimmon pulp from Hachiya persimmons is combined with wonderful spices, nuts, and cranberries, then finished with a simple orange glaze. The flavor from the fresh orange glaze bursts in your mouth, and compliments the spices nicely in these holiday cookies. If you want to mix it up from the traditional cookie recipes, in my opinion, this is the perfect holiday cookie!

If you read the blog from my last persimmon recipe (Spiced Persimmon Bread), then you might remember my story about the big bag of freshly picked persimmons that I received on Thanksgiving day. My friend Gidget literally left me with enough persimmons to make a few different recipes. These Holiday Persimmon Cookies were one of the favorites I made this year from that persimmon harvest.

Although I only became familiar with persimmons during the last few years, I have become a big fan of these sweet, honey-like fruits. Persimmon season in California is fairly short, starting in late October through December. So be sure to pick up a few to try the next time you see them at the grocery store. They are really delicious!

If you are not sure how to use the different varieties of persimmons, visit my Tips & Tricks page and watch the video for TIP #26 - How to Cut & Peel Persimmons.

How do you ensure the best results from this recipe?

My 5 tips to making these yummy Holiday Persimmon Cookies:

Use fresh Hachiya persimmons, and make sure they are overly ripe, and squishy soft. That will ensure that they are sweet, otherwise, they could turn your sweet treat into something more bitter and acidic.
Make sure your butter is softened, and the egg and persimmon pulp is at room temperature. Add them slowly into the creamed butter and sugar, otherwise your batter will curdle. Although it won’t affect the taste of your cookies, it looks a bit weird until you incorporate the dry ingredients.
Don’t over bake these cookies. Ovens vary, as do the cooking time for different types of baking sheet pans. In my oven, 13 minutes is perfect and yields a cake-like texture to these cookies. If you want a cookie-like texture, you might want to extend the baking time to 14-15 minutes.
Be sure to cool these cookies completely before glazing. Otherwise the glaze will not stick to the cookies, and it will run off.
Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container on the counter. Please note that once they are stored in the container, they will become softer and have a cake-like texture.

Have any dietary preferences that won’t quite work with our recipe? It’s time to customize and Pimp My Recipe.

Pimp My Recipe:

Don’t Like Dried Cranberries? Instead of using dried cranberries, replace them with the same amount of raisins.
Don’t Like Walnuts? These cookies are delicious with pecans. Just omit the walnuts and use a total of 1 cup chopped pecans.
Allergic to Nuts? Just omit the nuts from this recipe.
Make it Dairy Free: Replace softened unsalted dairy butter with the same amount of unsalted plant-based butter (½ cup).
Make it Gluten Free: Replace the all purpose flour with an equal amount of Bob’s Red Mill gluten free 1-to1 baking flour. This gluten free flour will create a slightly heavier cookie, but it will still be delicious.

Enjoy and let me know what you think by commenting below, rating my recipes, subscribing, following, and liking Pimp My Recipe on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok! Don’t forget to subscribe to get updates on new recipes and tips & tricks.

Happy Baking!

Mich

Footnote: Remember to slowly add the room temperature eggs and persimmon pulp to the creamed butter and sugar, to reduce the curdling effect.

Adapted from the Persimmon Cookies recipe from Allrecipes.com. I’ve been making these cookies for several years, and I’ve made a few changes to the original recipe that I think you will love! More flavor, a few different add-ins, and a delicious glaze really pimps up this cookie into a holiday favorite!

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Prep My Recipe

Prep My Recipe is a food blog featuring California-style recipes in a variety of categories and dietary preferences, along with step-by-step instructions, printable recipe cards, helpful how to videos, and recommended products. This website also spotlights “Pimp My Recipe” ideas for a unique twist on how to customize each recipe.

https://PrepMyRecipe.com

Holiday Persimmon Cookies

These Holiday Persimmon Cookies are pillowy soft and delightfully sweet. From the first bite, these seasonal cookies burst in your mouth with flavor! Full of fresh persimmon, wonderful spices, nuts, and cranberries, then finished with a simple orange glaze. A perfectly delicious holiday cookie!

RECIPE