I think I have finally found the spread to beat all others – Roasted Persimmon Butter. Over on Instagram, I mentioned that I have been buying persimmons for the past few years, but I never really knew what to do with them. I admitted I felt a little intimidated by them. They are very pretty, but I honestly had no idea where to start. I feel like it’s pretty obvious what to do with say, a pineapple. But I wasn’t sure if I needed to peel the persimmons, or core them. The hard, leafy stem top is inedible. Anyway, it took me much longer than it should have to fall head over heels with persimmons. But this persimmon butter did it, and then some. (p.s. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for a list of seasonal recipes from our monthly food blogger #EatSeasonal collaboration.)
I bought a few persimmons to try in green smoothies and then moved on to other things. I feel pretty brilliant that I came up with roasting persimmons to make persimmon butter. I had been looking online for persimmon recipes and making an all-fruit butter sounded pretty great. And I ran across a bunch of posts talking about how ripe the fruit needs to be, and it seemed like a bunch of the recipes called for extra sugar, and others included different fruit combinations. I decided to forgo the boiling and go straight to roasting. It was a very good idea.
Persimmons are naturally sweet – really sweet actually. They don’t need much. You can eat them raw or cooked. The two main varieties are Fuyu and Hachiya. The Fuyu are eaten when hard, like an apple. The Hachiya are more acorn shaped and shouldn’t be eaten until very soft and squishy. Last year I bought some Hachiya at Whole Foods and followed an idea I saw online somewhere to just freeze the fruit and eat it like sorbet. HOLY TOLEDO. That is such a treat, and I highly recommend doing it.
Roasting the persimmons gives them a very caramel-like flavor. Almost like butterscotch. The flavor is extra concentrated and the puree turns out silky and creamy. It doesn’t need much, but I did add a little fresh squeezed lemon juice and orange juice to brighten up and balance out the flavors.
The Gluten-Free Buckwheat Teff Scones were almost an afterthought, but a good one at that. We often have scones with fruit curd. I haven’t made gluten-free scones very much, but I needed something to slather this persimmon butter on. A spoon would have been fine, but you know. Scones.
Then I was like, “Hmm. Now I’m wanting a creamy element. Something like clotted cream.” And wouldn’t you know it, I had some crème fraîche in my fridge. Guys, that stuff is better than pretty much anything else. I stirred in a little organic sugar and vanilla bean paste. It was perfection with the persimmon butter.
Just be prepared – if you make all three of these components, you will eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and for snacks in-between.
And now for all the other delicious #EatSeasonal recipes from some of my favorite bloggers! How gorgeous are these recipes?! And look! More persimmon recipes!
Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole with Butternut Squash and Cranberries by Well Plated
Pomegranate Yogurt Bowls by Mountain Mama Cooks
Persimmon Pumpkin Tart with Streusel Top by Suitcase Foodist
Meyer Lemon Cottage Cheese Sugar Cookies by Food for My Family
Kale Salad with Goat Cheese, Cranberries and Orange by Flavor the Moments
Christmas Stollen Madeleines with Preserved Lemon by Simple Bites
Avocado Toast with Persimmon, Pomegranate and Fennel by Floating Kitchen
Butternut Squash Cake with Roasted Apples and Spiced Cream by Vintage Mixer
Persimmon Tart with Pecan Crust by Letty’s Kitchen
Cabbage Slaw with Honey Lime Yogurt Vinaigrette by The Lemon Bowl
Lemon Poppyseed Baked Oatmeal by Project Domestication
Persimmon Apple Crumb Pie by Kitchen Confidante
Asian Orange Glazed Chicken by Foodie Crush
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Roasted Persimmon Butter
Roasted persimmons make a lovely, naturally sweet fruit butter.
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Yield: 1 1/2 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 2 pounds persimmons (about 6-7)
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or butter
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Prepare persimmons by peeling, coring, and slicing into wedges. Toss the wedges with the melted coconut oil or butter. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the top. Arrange in a single layer on the lined baking sheet. Roast for 45-60 minutes, or until golden and tender.
- Let cool slightly. Place in a blender with the fresh orange juice. Blend until smooth. If the butter is too thick, add a little more orange juice or water. It should be the consistency of thick yogurt or similar to pumpkin puree.
- Transfer to an airtight jar and store in refrigerator.
- Serve on top of Buckwheat Teff Scones with a dollop of sweetened crème fraîche.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Category: condiment, sauce

Buckwheat-Teff Scones
Buckwheat and teff add a lot of texture to these gluten-free scones.
- Total Time: 34 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup buckwheat flour, plus a little more for dusting
- 1/2 cup teff flour
- 1/2 cup millet flour
- 1/2 cup sorghum flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch
- 2 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into cubes
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Sift together the dry ingredients. Work the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or two butter knives. The mixture should resemble cornmeal with some larger, pea-sized pieces of butter. Make a well in the center. Whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour into the well and gently stir together using a fork. When the dough comes together into a ball, sprinkle a little buckwheat flour onto the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Gently pat the dough into a large round that is about 2-inches thick. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 8 wedges. Gently pull them apart and reposition them on the baking sheet. If desired, brush the tops of the scones with a little extra buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 14 mins
- Category: quick bread, breakfast
10 Comments
So I think this is definitely the most creative use of persimmons I have seen. Never would have thought to turn them into a spread. Sounds amazing and definitely spoon-licking good!
Ok. I’ve got to get some persimmons. I bought some last year and let them go to waste. They totally intimidate me because I did not grow up eating them. This looks like such a good recipe to start with. :)
I’m excited to try the teff scones too. You found some absolutely perfect persimmons. Most of the ones I found weren’t as pretty. Did you find them at your awesome Boise Co-op, my favorite stop off I-84?
You know, Letty, I may just have gotten them at the Boise Co-op! I also bought some at Costco and Trader Joe’s – I’ve been buying them like crazy, but I do seem to remember getting some at the new location on Eagle Rd. Just can’t remember if it was for these photos or not. You’ll have to stop by there sometime. (Really good coffee too!) It may be a little more convenient than the downtown location, though perhaps not quite as charming!
Could you please tell me how much buttermilk? It’s not in the recipe, only the directions
Everything about this is dreamy!! The persimmon butter looks like creamy pumpkin butter… and with clotted cream, I know it was amazing. I’ve never tired teff flour but I’ve wanted to try it out. Thanks for all of the inspiration!!
Which variety are you using? Thank you!
Hi Julie! My apologies for the much-delayed reply. I’m assuming you are referring to the variety of persimmons. I used fuyu. The hachiya variety (I think) is better suited to eating out of hand because it becomes so soft once fully ripe and ready to use/eat. If you meant the teff, I used the brown variety, but ivory teff flour can also be used.
Wow! Persimmons are my all time favourite fruit and I just freaked out when I saw this! Of course I had to try this immediatly, but my butter turned out a bit browner and not like super-orangey as on your photos, do think this is ok too? :)
Yours,
Isabella
★★★★★
This persimmon butter looks delicious! Is it possible to can it by giving it a water bath?