These homemade persimmon cookies are not only vegan but also gluten-free since they are prepared with certified gluten-free rolled oats and almond flour. They have added walnuts for extra crunch, and raisins for extra sweetness. They are so addictive! You should also try Vegan Mexican Wedding Cookies, Vegan Pumpkin Cookies, and Vegan Chinese Almond Cookies.
Vegan Persimmon Cookies
It is persimmon season here in Northern Central Florida and my friends are sending me lots of persimmons. We have quite a few new trees in our garden but I haven’t checked as yet if they are bearing this year.
If you have never eaten a persimmon, I encourage you to try one. They are so sweet and delicious. Last year, I managed to make a Vegan Persimmon Bread Recipe that was a hit. These gluten-free persimmon cookies are also definitely a crowd-pleaser.
What Is A Persimmon?
Persimmon is an edible fruit from the genus Diospyros. The Asian and Japanese persimmons are the most widely cultivated varieties. There are two popular Asian varieties, the Hachiya (astringent) and the Fuyu (non-astringent).
Here in the USA, native Americans and early explorers enjoyed persimmons during the winter months for food. the American variety grows from Florida to Connecticut, and from West Iowa down south to Texas.
Even though the persimmon tastes and looks like tropical fruit, botanically it is actually considered a berry.
What Do Persimmons Taste Like?
Persimmons are sweet, the Hachiya variety has a soft flesh with bright orange color when ripened, and the Fuyu variety has a crunchy sweet pale orange flesh, both tasting like an apricot. Please note that the Hachiya variety must be first fully ripened to enjoy it, otherwise the astringent nature will be experienced, leaving your mouth with a chalky mouth-feel. Persimmon fruit requires patience in allowing it to fully ripen.
How To Ripen Persimmons?
To ripen persimmons, I usually put them in a fruit basket on the counter with fruits that produce ethylene gas, such as apples, bananas, and pears. They usually ripen in about 4 days but may take a couple of weeks.
You can also place the persimmons in a paper bag to speed up the ripening process. Enjoy persimmon as you would an apple, eating it raw, chopped up in your cereal, in smoothies, etc.
vegan persimmon cookie recipe on a round wooden cutting board with milk in a glass jug and persimmons in the background
Vegan Persimmon Cookies Ingredients
- Oat Flour – place oats in a blender and process until it turns into flour, or you can find it online on Amazon.
- Almond Flour – Make sure to use almond flour and not almond meal.
- Organic Cane Sugar – Can be substituted with coconut sugar.
- Baking powder – I love to use non-aluminum baking powder.
- Spices – Cardamon, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Substitute with a blend of coriander and cardamom spices for a milder spice blend. Other spices you could use are allspice, ginger, or pumpkin spice mix.
- Salt – I used Himalayan sea salt, you can use less.
- Vegan Butter – I used Earth Balance Buttery Spread, you can substitute with solid coconut oil. If your coconut oil is too soft, stick it in the refrigerator.
- Persimmon Puree – I peeled the persimmon, then whiz it in the blender. I used the Hachiya variety.
- Vanilla – Added for flavoring.
How To Make Persimmon Cookies?
- Preheat oven 375° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly brush with oil or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the oat flour, almond flour, cane sugar, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and mix well to combine.
- Cut in the vegan butter until the mixture resembles crumbs.
- Add persimmon puree and vanilla, and mix well to combine and form a dough. Fold in raisins and walnuts. If your mixture is too dry, add more puree.
- Drop by the spoonful onto the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart, and bake for 12 -15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling and crisp up. Enjoy.
vegan persimmon cookie recipe on a round wooden cutting board with milk in a glass jug and persimmons in the background
How To Store Persimmon Cookies?
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for 3 days.
Can You Freeze Persimmon Cookies?
Place cookies in a freezer container and freeze up to 6 months.
Other Vegan Cookie Recipes To Try
- Gluten-Free Vegan Blueberry Cake
- Gluten-Free Vegan Pineapple Tart
- Vegan Peach Galette
- Vegan Gluten-Free Mango Bread
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Categories
- Categories: Gluten-Free, Vegan
- Course: Dessert
Nutrition
(Per serving)- Energy: 130 kcal / 543 kJ
- Fat: 7 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Carbs: 14 g
Cook Time
- Preparation: 10 min
- Cooking: 15 min
- Ready in: 25 min
- For: 15 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup Vegan Butter, or coconut oil (solid form)
- 1/2 cup persimmon puree, about 1 persimmon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven 375° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly brush with oil or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the oat flour, almond flour, cane sugar, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and mix well to combine.
- Cut in the vegan butter until mixture resembles crumbs.
- Add persimmon puree and vanilla, and mix well to combine and form a dough. Fold in raisins and walnuts. If your mixture is too dry, add more puree.
- Drop by the spoonful onto the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart, and bake for 12 -15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling and crisp up. Enjoy!
I’ve made these twice now, and they are oh so delicious! Thank you for a new recipe I will use again and again. Thinking of trying it with other kinds of fruit pulp… pear, peach, plum?
I was so excited to find this recipe and the cookies came out amazing! Like others I used less sugar (1/3 cup). I love the cardamom and how it complements the persimmon. Will make these again! Thank you Michelle! Also was curious- have you tried making these with maple syrup?
Ameet, I’m so happy they turned out great, no I haven’t tried making the recipe with maple syrup, it will work, just reduce a little of the puree. Persimmon season is finished already, the harvest was so sweet, I ended up eating them all fresh and didn’t make any new recipes.
These were delicious! I used half regular butter and half coconut oil. I can’t eat walnuts so I subbed chocolate chips and I knew the people I was making them for love chocolate! Instead of raisins I used fresh cranberries cut in half. I ended up adding a little more persimmon purée. They were delicious!
Gina, thank you for your feedback, I’m so happy you loved them and made them your own.
I never knew that vegans has ingredients in everything we normally eat as junk on a daily basis until I came to this website. Awesome!
These cookies looks so yummy…..my niece would love them
Thank you Randine.
I’ve been making traditional persimmon cookies for decades but tried your vegan version last night. They turned out great and this will be my new go-to recipe! So easy and the cookie texture was perfect. I didn’t have raisins so I used dried cranberries. Yum. I always like to finish my cooled cookies with a persimmon-lemon glaze (made w/oat milk this time) but your recipe was wonderful even before glazing. I plan to make another batch today!
Liz, I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you very much for sharing your feedback with us
5 stars. I thought they were delicious! I did use a third of a cup of sugar instead of 1/2 and thought they were plenty sweet.
Jane, I’m happy they turn out great for you, thank you for sharing your feedback with us.
I tried the persimmon cookie recipe and just loved it!! I like the the combination of the oat flour and almond flour. I used the coconut sugar instead of the organic cane sugar. It was so easy to make also. The cookies are light and just the perfect amount of sweetness. Thank you for the gluten free vegan recipes.
Alberta, I’m so happy you enjoyed it, thank you for sharing your adjustments with us
We had to modify because my husband is allergic to nuts. We used toasted pinolis (pine nuts) and dried cranberries and buckwheat flour instead of oatmeal. Also, we had coconut oil as our fat and an egg. We had to flatten them a little because of the egg. Also, we used swerve instead of sugar. Unfortunately, we recently replaced our oven. Therefore, there was some operator error because when you think you sent it for 5 minutes, it’s really 5 hours! So I rescued the cookies a bit later than I would have liked 😉 they were definitely a bit dry. I believe with the buckwheat flour and over cooking the poor cookies 🍪 dried out. The flavor, on the other hand was absolutely delicious 😋
Kathryn, thank you for sharing your adjustments. I’m so relieved that you were able to save them even though they stayed much longer than expected. I’m happy you loved the flavor.