Yum Yum: Persimmon Cookies

What is a persimmon?

In all honesty, I had no idea what one was.  I am in a food co-op and picked up my basket last week and had this item strange item in it.  At first I thought it was a tomato but then it has a sticker that said 'Hachiya'.  I had to google it to find out that it is a type of persimmon.  Then that led to looking up recipes.  It seemed that you put them in cookies and breads.

I chose cookies (wouldn't you?)  Verdit - they were pretty good.  A little bit of spice and seem to be better for you than other options.

Here is the recipe I used from Allrecipe.com

Ingredients

• 2 ripe persimmons, pureed
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease or line one baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt.
3. Cream the butter or margarine with the sugar. Beat in the egg and persimmons. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined, stir in the chopped nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 12 to 15 minutes.