the thrifty crafter

I.LOVE.PERSIMMONS. What’s not to love about the crisp, vibrantly orange, lightly spicy-sweet fruit? It wasn’t so long ago that I didn’t understand why you would choose a strange piece of fruit after Thanksgiving dinner over traditional desserts like pumpkin pie and ambrosia (alright, alright, I probably don’t ‘choose’ so much as make room for both or all).  My uncle always has a plate of fresh Fuys out and, one year, they just looked so perfectly plump and pretty that I had to try one…and I’m so glad I did!

Now, I always look for them in the fall and buy them in numbers. Usually, I’m the only one in my household eating them and this year I actually let a few get <gasp!> overripe.  What’s a girl to do with overripe fuyus?  Same thing you do with bananas – bake ’em up! Perusing the web, I came across this lovely photographic blog and a persimmon cookie recipe that sounded pretty tasty and decided to give it a whirl (literally!). The original recipe  (and most persimmon baking recipes) calls for Hachiyas but the Fuyus worked out great; whichever variety you choose, just make sure the persimmon is so ripe that the skin is almost translucent and bursting at the seams. The flavor and texture of the finished cookie reminds me of fall with flavors very similar to pumpkin spice.  Tasty little guys either on their own or with ice cream…butter pecan, anyone? 

Persimmon Cookies

• 1 cup persimmon puree (about 3 persimmons)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

For the persimmon puree, remove the stems from the persimmons and cut the fruit into chunks. Puree the chunks in a food processor until the mixture is smooth. Use a sieve to strain pulp  and remove skins.

Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the the orange rind, egg, vanilla, and persimmon pulp.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.  Add flour mixture to wet ingredients in 2-3 batches, mixing until just incorporated. Stir in the walnuts and cranberries.

Drop the dough, using a small ice cream scoop onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake cookies for 20 minutes, depending on the size, rotating pan halfway though.  Allow to cool and enjoy!

thethriftycrafter has moved to New York! While my new schedule doesn’t allow for a whole lot of crafting time, my hubs and I have tried to make the most of the time we do have by venturing out to explore our new surroundings.  Among our most recent trips, we did a little apple picking in New York’s Hudson Valley region at Wrights Farm. We spent the day taking in (and taking pictures of!) all of the fall colors and finished up with a brisk hike in the apple orchards.  Such a fun outing to enjoy the fall season!

Coming home with 2 whole pecks of apples, I was in search for a few good recipes. I turned to my trusty Moosewood Desserts cookbook for inspiration and found a great recipe for Old Fashioned Apple Cake.  I made it as directed and it was delicious, though next time to mix it up, I would add some chopped walnuts and a cream cheese glaze.  Try it as a morning bread in a loaf pan, or increase the recipe and make it in a bundt pan for a festive fall party cake.  A sweet reminder of the glorious beauty of fall.

Old-Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups peeled, chopped apples (recipe suggested Mutsu and Rome, both of which were varieties we picked!)
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Oil or butter a loaf pan.

2. Combine the melted butter and brown sugar, beating well by hand or using an electric mixer. Add the vanilla, then beat in the eggs one at a time.

3. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture – batter will be stiff. Fold in chopped apples, lemon juice and lemon peel.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 – 50 minutes or until the cake is golden and a knife comes out clean.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or let cool and garnish with a cream cheese glaze.