Pretty Persimmon Cookies!

There have been so many yummy holiday cookie recipes floating around on my favorite blogs, that I had to contribute one -- Pretty persimmon cookies!

My ignorance regarding the delight of persimmons ended almost exactly a year ago.  I was at our tiny yet awesome corner grocery store, where I had been noticing these strangely shaped tomato-hued orbs that always seemed a little too soft to try.  Persimmons, the sign below the crate said.  Somewhere, somehow, I had heard of persimmons before, but I didn't recall ever seeing them (perhaps I did, but dismissed them for a tomato) so I asked a store clerk about them.  What's up with the softness?  Oh, that means they're perfectly rip. Not like a tomato, you say?  Curiously, I took two home.

I wasn't quite sure how to eat them.  The didn't seem like the kind of fruit you'd just bite into, like a pear, so I just sliced it up.  Sure looked like a tomato, minus the seeds.

It all changed when I tasted it.

With the texture of smooth silk and subtle tones of sweetness, I knew this fruit was one to treasure.  Perhaps most like a cross between a mango and apricot, if I had to relate it to any other fruit...but still utterly unique. 

Sadly, after I made my discover, persimmon season had ended, and they were no longer on the shelf.  Before, I didn't know what I was missing, but now I did.  I would have to be patient. 

Imagine my joy when I spotted them, displayed proudly in a box:  my patience, rewarded.

I'm sort of being reminded of the virtues and pay off of patience lately.  Somethings are a long time coming.  You wait, you hope, you dream, you desire.  And then, all of a sudden, your dreams are unfolding, right before your eyes.  Life is working out, the universe somehow coordinated things to provide you with another step on your life path.  Yet, there's something about the waiting that makes it that much more worth it.  It's the journey, not the destination.

Luckily, you don't have to wait long for these cookies to bake -- it will only be 25-30 minutes of your time.  Chewy, wholesome, and perfect for holiday potlucks, the persimmon adds a complex sweetness to the cookie along with a burst of color.  A special twist on the traditional oatmeal cookie, these are sure to please a crowd, or to savor yourself.

Persimmon Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 cup oatmeal
• 3/4 cup millet flour
• 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup honey/maple syrup/agave
• 1/2 scant cup apple sauce
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 persimmons, diced 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a cookie sheet with butter or oil.  In a large mixing bowl, add in your dry ingredients. Stir in each of the wet ingredients, mixing slowly, until you get to the persimmon.  If, at this point, the batter seems to wet, add in more oatmeal until things feel right.  Otherwise, gently fold in the diced persimmons, taking care not to mush up the flesh too much.  Drop by the tablespoon on a baking sheet, or use an ice cream scoop.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cookies are slightly firm to the touch.  Yields 12 cookies.

Have you ever tried a persimmon?  What's a food that you have tried, loved, and can only rarely find?