Friday, November 13, 2009

A new fall favorite: cranberry persimmon muffins

Last weekend, while rummaging around in the freezer, I discovered some cranberries. While I can't be sure, it's possible these cranberries are from last fall. Is that terrible? I'm very inexperienced with freezing things. I do understand that freezing does not mean something is preserved forever. But how long is too long?

I gave them a not very discriminating once-over and determined them perfectly fine. I had two Fuyu persimmons to use and was interested in baking them into something for breakfast. My last experiment with persimmons was a tangy chutney, served alongside a simple pork roast. This time I thought it would be fun to do something sweet. Cranberry persimmon muffins seemed like just the ticket.

I have a few basic muffin recipes I use, and one is the Barefoot Contessa's cranberry harvest muffins. I make them with cranberries, blueberries, apples, anything I have on hand. I leave out the nuts and dried fruit because I don't like too much junk in muffins and like so many of the Contessa's recipes, I reduce the sugar. That lady has a raging sweet tooth!

First I peeled the diced the persimmons and tossed them with the cranberries. Don't they look like little jewels?
 
The recipe is pretty straightforward--sift the dry stuff, mix in the wet. The only funny thing about the recipe is that you mix in the sugar at the end. This leads to a crispy crust on the muffin, which I like; it's almost like the sugar doesn't get entirely absorbed into the muffin but instead creates a little sugary shell.

The method proved to be a slight problem with this batch; I'm not sure if it's because of the persimmons or because I overzealously filled the muffin tins, but somehow the muffins kind of overflowed and the sugar got melty. Thank goodness for non-stick pans!

Once I pried them from the tin, I made them pose for a portrait.


I think the orange and fuchsia are just stunning. Although it's hard to rival the beauty of summer fruits and vegetables, I'm starting to think that autumn produce gives the heirloom tomato a run for its money. I've been knocked out by the pears, apples, and persimmons I've been getting recently, alongside dark green kale, blood red beets, and golden butternut squash.

Once they cooled for about one minute (did I mention I'm not patient?), we pulled off the papers and split them open. 


The muffins were spicy from the ginger and cinnamon, while cranberries and persimmons provided little bursts of tart and sweet. With a strong cup of coffee and the Sunday Times, it was a perfect start to a brisk fall day.

15 comments:

  1. That's my fave way to spend a Sunday, too -- reading the NY Times with a strong cup of coffee and a fresh-baked treat. ;)

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  2. I love all sorts of cranberry baked goods. I never thought of combining it with persimmons though! That's quite interesting!

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  3. Those muffins look chock full of goodies! I've cooked with hachiya persimmons and have made salads with the fuyu, but would never have thought to use them in a muffin. Great idea!

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  4. Bah, I would totally have eaten those cranberries too. They wouldn't hurt you! Still never eaten a persimmon, for shame!

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  5. Ooh I miss the Sunday Times. It's not the same reading it online!

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  6. I also like the idea of adding the sugar at the end! I'm going to try that soon!

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  7. Those are beautiful muffins. The colors are gorgeous! I agree fall produce does give summer a run for it's money. I love it when they overflow and are all crispy on the outside and soft and flavorful on the inside. Nice idea! I want one now, please!

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  8. I am also frugal in that way! Your muffins are by far more precious than real jewels!

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  9. They look aboslutely stunning. It's great how the fruit holds its shape so well. And I often find hidden treasures in the freezer too!

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  10. i'm surprised you were even able to let them cool for one minute--they're beautiful! i love those two hues together and i'm sure the flavors blend quite nicely too.
    incidentally, i've found and eaten things in my freezer from four or five years back and i'm still kickin'. :)

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  11. Love the sound of this...and yes, I also have a bag of cranberries...which I know is from last christmas - boy do they freeze well. In my case, I knew it was there :-) Love Persimmon (Sharon Fruit/Kaki), from the one time I've tried it. Kitchenbutterfly.com

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  12. Well I'm certainly glad to know that other folks are also a little casual with the shelf-life of frozen goods! makes me feel better. And thanks for the compliments...though I really can't take credit for the gorgeous colors of the fruit.

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  13. Woo, persimmons! Thank you again for showing another use for them. I'm still hovering over them at the grocery store, but your recipes inspire me to take the plunge!

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  14. The combination of cranberries and persimmons really do look like jewels! Nice job!

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  15. Yum, those look delicious! I need to make some muffins :)

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