A sweet and spiced persimmon cookies recipe with cranberries, white chocolate chips, and pecans. A perfectly soft and moist treat to make during the holidays!
As the holiday baking season comes to an end, it doesn’t mean that the flavors of the winter have to! My sweet friend Amy brought me some gorgeous Fuyu persimmons from her grandparent’s tree. They were completely ripe for baking, so I was excited to try this persimmon cookie recipe to highlight the honey-like flavor of these delicious fruits.
These cookies pack warm winter spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. The texture is like a soft and moist muffin with slightly crispy edges, a perfect complement to the ripe persimmons.
Persimmon selection
There are different types of persimmon to choose from. The main varieties are fuyu and hachiya. For this recipe, I use fuyu for its intense flavor and sweetness. The persimmons should be very soft to the touch. It should be easy to scoop out the pulp when the fruit is ripe.
Puree the persimmon pulp in the blender or food processor for a few seconds. This ensures that the mash is consistent in texture before making the dough. Ripe hachiya persimmons can be substituted, however, will be slightly more astringent in taste.
Use two types of sugar
When selecting the type of sugar to use in your recipes, like granulated sugar and brown sugar, the kind you choose will affect the cookie texture.
Granulated sugar typically yields a crispier cookie, whereas brown sugar is a humectant, retaining moisture and producing a chewier cookie. I used both kinds for this persimmon cookie recipe to give texture properties of both.
Make the cookie dough
Use softened butter to cream with the sugars. This creates air pockets for a thick and cakey cookie. Whisk in the eggs to emulsify the ingredients, followed by the pureed persimmon pulp. The flour is mixed with bold, sweet spices like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
Baking soda is added for the rise. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients until just incorporated. Mix in chewy oats, dried cranberries, chopped pecans, and white chocolate chips for interesting flavors and textures. They also enhance the sweetness of the persimmon.
Portion and bake
Portion scoops are extremely helpful to consistently measure out drop cookies. I use a size 50 portion scoop, which is ⅝ ounce or approximately 1 ½ tablespoons in size. The scoop number determines the number of servings in each quart of a mixture. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart.
These cookies don’t spread too much. Lightly flatten the top, so they don’t bake up into tall mounds. Bake at 325°F (163ºC) until the edges and surface are set, about 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. The beautiful dark orange flesh of the fruit gives a pretty golden color to the cookie.
More persimmon recipes
To ensure consistent cookies batch to batch
1) Use a portion scoop to achieve same-sized cookies, 2) Uniformly place and space the dough on the sheet pan, and 3) Uniform baking time will be achieved by maintaining the size and placement of the cookies.
Persimmon Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar, light or dark
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup persimmon pulp, puréed (3-4 very ripe and soft Fuyu persimmons)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
- ⅓ cup old fashioned oats
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup white chocolate chips
- ¼ cup pecans, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the Oven – Set the oven rack to the middle position. Heat to 325°F (163ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Sift the Dry Ingredients – Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- Make the Dough – Using the paddle attachment on your mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix on medium speed until combined. Add 1 cup of persimmon pulp purée and mix until combined. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the mixer on low speed. Mix until just combined. Add the oats, dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, and pecans. Mix on low speed until combined, approximately 1 to 2 minutes.
- Shape the Cookies – Portion the dough (about 1 ¼ tablespoon) onto the sheet pan. Make sure they are at least 2" apart. Use your fingers or a spoon to flatten the dough to ¼" thick. The dough will be slightly sticky. If desired, top with extra cranberries, white chocolate, or pecans.
- Bake – Working one tray at a time, bake until the edges are set, and the surface feels firm, approximately 14 to 16 minutes.
- Let the Cool – Leave the cookies on the sheet pan for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack. Bake the remaining cookies, but make sure the oven increases back to the proper temperature.
Recipe Video
Equipment
Notes
- Nuts Options: Almonds or walnuts can be substituted for pecans.
- Storing: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 1 month.
Sim says
Hi Jessica, I am excited to try your recipe. I got a boxful of persimmons from my Aunt in CA and they’re perfectly ripe for baking. In your video you used a mixer with paddle attachment. Unfortunately I don’t own this type of mixer, I only have a handheld one. Can I still use it to make these cookies? Please advise. This will be my very first cookie baking with fruits.
Jessica Gavin says
Yes, you can use a hand mixer for the cookies.
Judy says
How do you think these might taste with milk chocolate or semi sweet chips instead of white chocolate chips?
Jessica Gavin says
I think they would be delicious with milk or semi-sweet chocolate! I would go for semi-sweet to balance the sweetness of the persimmon.
Kathy says
I’m use to recipes listing tablespoons and cups for measurements. It’s really much too confusing to convert your ounces measurements to understanding. Do you have this recipe in regular measurements?? Appreciate it!
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Kathy- I’ve updated the recipe, I hope that helps!
Roslyn says
How many cookies will this recipe batch yield?
Jessica Gavin says
30 cookies
Brenda says
Hi! Jessica,
I was concerned that the temp for baking the cookies was only 325°, so I baked one sheet pan of cookies at 325° and tasted it. I wasn’t pleased. So, I baked the second at 350°. At 350° the cookies had a much better texture, not so doughy inside and rubbery outside. However, at both temps the cookies tasted good, but I felt the taste at the higher temp was best.
Also, on the printed form of the recipe, the weight in grams for the cranberries and the pecans was off. I did not use the white chocolate chips.
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Brenda- Thank you for your feedback! Did you bake the cookies for a shorter time at 350? Fascinating results, I’ll definitely have to try it.
Barb says
Love the recipe! I kinda of flipped things by accident 3/4 c of brown sugar and 1/4 c of granulated I could scream!!! After hearing from you that brown sugar bs white sugar science and crispy cookies.
Definitely more cakey than I wanted (my fault), but still a yummy cookie! I’m hoping a night in the fridge may help?
I will try again as soon as some of my fruit ripens. I was able to make this recipe with just 4 persimmons!
Jessica Gavin says
Thanks for your feedback! I can’t wait to hear how the next batch turns out. Typically with the moisture from the persimmons, it’s on the softer side vs. crispy.
Philip Accardo says
Made bars out of this recipe instead of cookies. Just added 1/3 cup more persimmon puree, which made more of a thick batter than a stiff cookie dough. Then spread into greased 10″ x 7″ x 1 3/8″ shallow pan. Bake 25 minutes at about 350 degrees, or until toothpick comes out clean.