Gluten Free Persimmon Cookies

One of my fondest childhood memories is the huge persimmon tree in the backyard of my parents home.  Whether it was its beautiful Fall leaves that would cover half of the entire yard or the accidental squish on your shoe from stepping in one that had fallen to its dreadful fate, despite how careful we thought we were being!  But our golden retriever was smart and would avoid her bathroom area during persimmon season like the plague to avoid any unnecessary mess.  And one year, we told the neighbor's gardener he could take some and we came back home to a completely stripped tree!!  We asked for a few of his bagfuls back.

It's a funny tree.  For years it would only bloom fruit every other year until this year!  And we have no idea why, but we aren't complaining because this isn't your everyday kind of fruit like an easily accessible apple or pear.  Yes, you can find them in grocery stores when in season (that are perfectly fine to eat and cook with), but they are typically smaller and harder to come by.  So we try to always take advantage of the short few weeks they are ripe and ready to be eaten by the slice or used in bread or cookies.

Gluten free cookies tend to be on the dry side, which is why putting persimmons in your batch make one of the best GF treats.  The entire cup of its pulp that is used in this recipe makes these cookies moist and fluffy!  How often do you hear that about a GF goody?!  And the taste of Fall is prevalent in this dessert with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg that go really well with this apple/tomato like tasting fruit.

What you'll need:

1 cup persimmon pulp
1 stick butter (room temperate)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg (room temperature)
2 1/2 cups GF all purpose flour (I use Trader Joe's)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup walnuts (roughly chopped)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium size bowl, beat together the persimmon, butter, sugar and egg.  Then add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg until completely incorporated.  Fold in the walnuts.  An inch apart, drop about a tablespoon of dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Cook for about 15 mins or until completely cooked through.  Let cool and eat!