Our persimmon trees are loaded down with fruit this year.  Last year the possums got to the fruit before I could harvest it.  I am going to have to rig up a possum trap so that I can beat them to the ripe fruit this year.

When I was a child, I loved to listen to my grandmother tell about her life on the farm.  She would talk about churning butter and storing it in an old spring house and how that cool water would keep the butter nice and firm.  She also talked about the persimmons that she and her siblings ate. I remember her saying that if you got a ripe one, you were in for a really tasty treat, but look out for the ones that weren’t quite ready yet because they would pucker your mouth with all of the tannins that were in the fruit.  You are not supposed to eat them until after a good frost.  I have found that they are very sweet if they have dropped to the ground, even before frost. Pick one off the tree before it is ripe though, and get ready to experience extreme bitterness. When we moved to North Carolina and were searching out land to buy, I knew these twelve acres that we now call home had to be for us.  Why? #1- there was an old house on the land. #2 -there were persimmon trees.  

Here’s a recipe that I hope you will enjoy.

Persimmon Cookies:

½ Cup Butter

1 Cup sugar

1 Egg

1 Cup Persimmon Pulp

1 Cup Flour

One tsp Cinnamon

½ cup Pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and persimmon pulp. Combine the flour & cinnamon stir into the persimmon mixture. Fold in pecans. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are firm. Let cool on the cookie sheets for 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

That’s the news from the homestead, see you next week!