Since the start of October, persimmons have made their way into my subconscious. The pretty little orange tomato lookalikes with their frilly greenery first appearing in a coffeeshop pastry case and then popped up for sale on a table in a neighbor's front yard. These seasonal beauties were calling my name and I felt compelled to incorporate them into a recipe. The barista at said coffeeshop accidentally referred to persimmons as persinnamons and that got me thinking...the subdued sweetness of persimmons and spicy kick of the cinnamon would make for a lovely Fall coupling. So a few days later when passing by the neighbor's persimmon table, I left a few bucks and brought home a bag full of the absurdly locally grown fruit.
There isn't much I find more soothing on a crisp Fall morning than a warm freshly baked scone and a steaming hot cup of black Stumptown. So, I came up with a special recipe that I like to call Persinnamon Scones. Since Fall seems to be in full swing everywhere but here, I wanted to at least evoke a moodier Autumn tone with the recipe and the images by using seasonal ingredients and dark colors. Meanwhile, I am baking in an 80° kitchen and filtering out the warm and beautiful sunlight streaming in through the windows. A little counterintuitive, I realize.
But, in honor of Autumn I challenged myself to embrace my dark side, and I am sure glad I did. These Persinnamon Scones have all of the comfort of their traditional buttermilk scone roots but bring a deep dark spice and uniquely complex Fall flavor and texture to each bite. These Persimmon Cinnamon Scones have quickly advanced as a fan favorite and have allowed me to experience the season without the frigid chill and morning drizzle. I am still getting used to the mild weather of Central California this time of year, but I am grateful for recipes that bring out the shadowy moodiness that lurks in me. Because, some days the California sun shines just a little too bright for this Pacific Northwest native.
Recipe
Persimmon Cinnamon Scones
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6
Description
In these crumbly Persimmon Cinnamon Scones, delicately sweet persimmons take on a spicy complex flavor when sautéed with brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Ingredients
- persimmons - 2-3 (should be about 2 cups chopped (depending on the size))
- all purpose flour - 2 ½ cups
- butter (cold and cut into ½" cubes - ½ cup + 2 teaspoons)
- brown sugar - ¼ cup
- sugar - ⅓ cup
- nutmeg - ½ teaspoon
- cinnamon - 2 ½ teaspoons
- baking powder - 1 tablespoon
- salt - 1 teaspoon
- eggs - 2
- buttermilk - ½ cup
- powdered sugar - ½ cup
- milk or cream - a splash (about 1 teaspoon)
Instructions
- Begin by slicing your persimmons into ½" chunks. Set aside.
- In a skillet over medium heat, slowly melt 2 teaspoons of butter. Then add the persimmons, brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon and the nutmeg. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, as the sugar caramelizes on the persimmons.
- Remove from heat and strain the juices into a separate bowl. Set the bowl aside and save the juices for later, you will use them in the glaze.
- The strained persimmons need to be cooled completely before adding to the rest of the batter, so place them in the refrigerator while you prepare the dough.
- Measure the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and remaining cinnamon into a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Dice the butter into ½" cubes. Use your hands, a pastry cutter or the paddle attachment of the stand mixer on low speed to blend the butter into the dry ingredients until the pieces of butter are the size of almonds. Place in refrigerator until persimmon chunks have sufficiently cooled.
- Once the persimmons have cooled, fold them in with the dry ingredients.
- Whisk the eggs and buttermilk together. Add two-thirds of the mixture to the dry ingredients. Gently mix the dough just until it comes together, then add the remaining buttermilk mixture, the dough should look scrappy and rough at this point.
- Scrape the dough from the bottom and sides of the bowl to incorporate floury scraps. Move the dough to a lightly floured surface, it should come out as mostly one big chunk with some scrappy bits.
- Gather the dough ball and bits and pat until it just comes together. The top should be chunky and rough, this ensures the crunchy crumbly character of the finished scones. Gently form the dough into a 7"-8" disk or for smaller scones, form two 3"-5" disks.
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Cut the disk(s) into 6 wedges and spread out evenly on baking sheets. Now chill the scones on the baking sheets in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes, this will help the scones hold their structure and prevent them from falling and spreading too much in the oven.
- Bake large scones for 25-30 minutes or small scones for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time.
- The scones should come out a golden brown with some deep golden browns on the edges, giving that crumbly crunch to the exterior.
- Place the baked scones on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes.
- While the scones cool, make the glaze by whisking in 2-3 tablespoons of the reserved strained persimmon juice (one tablespoon at a time) and a splash of milk or cream with ½ cup of sifted powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. The glaze should slide slowly and smoothly from a spoon.
- Once the scones have sufficiently cooled, drizzle them with the glaze.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
Pam McFarlin says
I am assuming that fuyu persimmons are used here, rather than hachiyas. Do you have a recipe for scones that uses hachiya pulp?
Becky Sue says
You're right Pam, this recipe uses Fuyu persimmons. I don't personally have a recipe that uses the pulp of Hachiya persimmons. However, check out this recipe by my friend Meg on the California Grown website. californiagrown.org/recipes/persimmon-pie It looks delicious!
Christine says
This is a lovely recipe for persimmon scones that i have made for the past 5+ years in the fall. The glaze from the cooked persimmons makes it especially unique!
Becky Sue says
Hi Christine. Ahh, love that you've been baking this recipe every fall for 5+ years. That makes my heart so happy. Persimmons are such a unique fruit and this recipe really lets them shine. Thank you for sharing and happy baking!
Anne says
Thank you very much for this super recipe! A friend brought these to Bible Study last week and they were so delicious! She referred me to your website for the recipe. I'm always looking for a way to use the hundreds of persimmons my tree produces each fall. In addition to dehydrating them, I'll be making these scones and also your persimmon and apple pie!
Thanks again!
Anne
beckysue says
Hi Anne! It's so nice to hear your friend made the persimmon scone recipe, and that you will be making them too! Persimmons are such a versatile fruit that I think gets overlooked, glad to hear you are making good use of your bounty! I've never had dehydrated persimmons but I imagine they are tasty. You could even use the dried persimmons in scones when you no longer have the fresh ones. Let me know what you think of the pie when you make it! 😀
Tara says
I am so excited to try these! I have some Hachiya persimmons sitting on my countertop from a trip to Northern Cal last week ... I think they are just BEGGING to be made into a scone and eaten tomorrow morning 🙂
On a random side-note I grew up in the Central Valley and while I don't miss the weather I DO miss the weather of my parents house (in NorCal) when I come home to MUCH-too-sunny-for-December Southern California! At least I have mountains to hike!
Thanks again for sharing (the pictures are gorgeous btw)!
beckysue says
Yay Tara, so glad you found this recipe just in time to use your persimmons! They bake up really well in the scones, I think you will be pleased. 🙂
This is our first "winter" in Santa Barbara and I am still having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that it's Mid-December already. It still feels like early Autumn around here. We plan to do a lot of hiking over Christmas break and fully embracing Christmas in the CA Central Coast. Happy Holidays to you and yours. 🙂
Samantha says
AWESOME photography! Loved this post Becky!
beckysue says
Ahh thanks, Sam! I was so inspired to explore the dark backgrounds after the photography course. Now, I am loving it! Hope you are well. 🙂