Have a Happy New Year!
BLOG WILL RETURN . . . Thursday, January 16, 2020.
Persimmon Cookies … who knew?
Recently I was reading a book where the main character baked her signature “Persimmon Cookies.” All the book characters absolutely loved the treat … I figure what better endorsement is there?
Since this was the first time either Jack and I have heard of these cookies we decided to do some research. If your lucky there might be persimmons in the produce section of your local grocery. This is one of the rare fruits that is still sold seasonally. But, have you ever tasted one?
As Jack tells it … growing up the Schommer kids were exposed to a lot of exotic foods … they even had serving utensils for escargot. But Jack couldn’t remember ever tasting any variety of this bright orange fruit.
Persimmons originated in China where they have been cultivated for centuries. There are two varieties … non-astringent (Fuyu) and astringent (Hachiya). You may have trouble finding either in your local market.
Fuyu is round and flat or donut shaped and it’s skin is more golden orange.
These can be eaten regardless of ripeness and are great sliced onto a salad and should be eaten when the flesh is firm.
The Hachiya (ideal for baking) is typically larger and acorn or oblong in shape, with skin in a deep orange. It will frequently have black sun spots (not a problem).
This astringent-variety must be ripe to eat, and by that we mean soft, very soft. If you should take a bite of an un-ripened Hachiya it will turn you throat to dust (… you have been warned). On the other hand, ripe ones are the best for baking, making excellent cookies.
Persimmons taste of honey with a touch of cinnamon and once you’ve found them you’ll be back.
The cookie recipe we are sharing uses Hachiya and adds seasonal spices to the ripe fruit to bring out their flavor.
Then they are topped with a sweet orange glaze that is perfect with eggnog or whiskey.
Persimmon Cookies
Servings: 2 dozen
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup very ripe persimmon pulp puree
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 cup golden raisins Substitute chopped cranberries or dates for raisins.
Glaze
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 2 tbsp orange juice Reserve a couple of extra tablespoons in case you need to adjust the consistency of the glaze.
- 1 tbsp persimmon puree
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1/2 tsp orange extract
Instructions
- If available, use hachiya persimmons (ideal for baking). They should be very ripe and completely soft to the touch. Use a spoon to scoop out the pulp. Discard any seeds or membrane that might be there. Each hachiya persimmon should yield approximately 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of pulp.
- Prepare persimmon pulp: Using a blender or foot processor, puree the ripe persimmon pulp until smooth. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon bakiing soda.
- Beat together the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix in the persimmon puree and orange zest.
- In a separate bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and salt.
- Make cookie dough: Add dry ingredients to persimmon mixture a third at a time, stirring just until flour is incorporated. Stir in nuts and dried fruit.
- Chill dough for 1 hour.
- Bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop cookie dough rounds on stick-free cookie sheets, leaving at least an inch between the cookies. Bake for 13-14 minutes or until cookies are browned around the edges and spring back when lightly touched in center. Let cool on baking racks before frosting.
- Prepare glaze: Sift confectioners sugar, then whisk with 2 tablespoons of orange juice until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon of persimmon puree, 1 teaspoon of orange zest and 1/2 teaspoon orange extract (optional). Mix until smooth. Dip spoon into glaze mixture and dribble over cookies. Let harden before serving.
Cocoa Drop Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 3/4 cup AP flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup shortening at room temp
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans chopped
Brown Butter Icing
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar keep ¼ cup in reserve
- 2 Tbls heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Sift together dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together shortening, sugar and the egg.
- Add in buttermilk and vanilla. Mix until combined and smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients, 1/3 at a time, to the liquid and mix until combined before adding next third.
- Stir in chopped nuts and refrigerate dough for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 400º
- Using a cookie scoop, place balls of chilled dough on to parchment lined baking sheets. 2 tablespoon measures (30g) will yield about 24 2” cookies. 1 tablespoon measures will give you 1 ½ inch cookies and yield about 45.
Brown Butter Icing
- Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat, stirring regularly until it comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and continue stirring until it turns a golden brown color. Remove from heat and pour over 1 ¾ cup of powdered sugar in a medium bowl.
- Add in cream and vanilla. Whisk until you have a thick, spreadable icing. You can add the reserved sugar to help get the proper consistency.
Smoked Trout for Dinner
Here is a recipe with ingredients acquired in a stop at Trader Joes and on the table in half an hour. Smoked trout, a lemony onion dressing and creamy avocado combine for a great meal. A good loaf of bread is key and in this case we didn’t source that from TJs, but rather Sparrow Bakery. Your favorite hearty bread will work … you could try the baguettes from TJs.
The recipe was taken off the Food52 web site. I think those folks are working for Trader Joes because often their recipes, right down to the quantity, match what you’ll find on TJ’s shelves. You can use any canned meat but smoked trout is best and ironically that is the only place we could find it. Include the oil from the can as it enhances the flavor but doesn’t make the salad too oily.
Along with a baguette from Sparrow, there’s one other alteration. We don’t broil the bread or serve the salad on toast, we prefer the toast is on the side. Be sure you allow the lemon and shallot mix to macerate for the full 20 minutes.
Smoked Trout and Avocado Salad Toasts
Delicious salad that comes together in no time at all
Servings: 2 people
Ingredients
- 1 small shallot minced
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp olive oil in small bowl
- 3 heads Belgian endive one pkg Trader Joes
- 4 oz Smoke Trout 1 3.7oz tin from Trader Joes
- 2 scallions finely sliced
- 1/2 avocado firm but ripe
- 1/8 cup fresh parsley finely minced
- 4 1 inch slices of bread
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler to high. Finely mince the shallot and place in a small bowl. Cover with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt and freshly cracked pepper. (I like to add a pinch of sugar, too.) Set aside to macerate for 15 to 20 minutes. Use a fork to whisk in the olive oil. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
- Meanwhile, quarter the heads of endive through the core, then finely slice crosswise. Place in a large bowl. Scatter the scallions over top. Break the smoked trout into large pieces over top. Pour the dressing over top, and use your hands to gently toss everything together, keeping the trout in largish pieces. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed—now is the time to correct for seasoning because once the avocado is in, you don’t want to toss too much or it will all turn to mush.
- Dice the avocado, and add to the bowl followed by the parsley. Toss with your hands again gently until combined. Set salad aside.
- Arrange bread on cooling rack set on sheet pan. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Broil 2 minutes or until lightly golden, keeping a close watch. Remove pan from oven, flip slices of bread over, drizzle with more oil, and return pan to the oven for another 2 minutes, or until bread is golden. Transfer toasts to a platter. Mound trout and avocado salad over top. Serve immediately.
Better than a Fruitcake
The yearly holiday letter is a bit like fruit cake … many of us actually like the stuff. This type of Christmas card allows the author a chance to measure the past year. Milestones do have a certain appeal, letting people know what you’ve been up to and acting as markers to stop-overs in a trip around the sun.
364 days ago Blackdoghair.com popped back online with a simple trial post about snowfall in Central Oregon. This continued, bi-weekly, until there were slightly more than a hundred blog posts. Our holiday ‘fruit cake’ offer is this look at some favorite images from 2019.
Thanks to all the folks who left comments as they stopped by our web page and to everyone reading this post, we wish you the best of the holidays and joyous travels in the coming year.
JQ, Jack and Tip.
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Cup of Camp Coffee
Life in Central Oregon affords us the luxury of day trips to a large selection of scenic places. Occasionally we’ll hit a pub or restaurant, but more often these trips are accompanied by a packed lunch and sometimes dinner.
The one constant in all our adventures is a cuppa camp coffee … or two. Sometimes we cook a meal but regardless the size of the offering we always put the kettle on the stove.
We’ve had the same picnic kit for nearly 40 years. At it’s heart is an old “Frostline kit” with a small nylon utensil bag both gifts from Jack’s older sister. In here is a small ‘billy’ can, tea pot, two bowls, a couple sets of eating utensils, a sharp knife and a white gas stove.
Gear has gotten upgraded over the years. We still have a vintage Svea 123 Bronze stove, but our current cooker is MSR’s PocketRocket canister stove, it is a much quicker set up. Yeah, there is a S-bucks on every corner but our steamy hot mug served up with a view is unlike anything you find outside a chain latte store’s window, It is hard to equal.
The go to recipe on these cool winter outings is equal portions cocoa mix and Trader Joe’s instant coffee stirred into a mug of water fresh off the boil.