Spicebush berries. Photo: Carol Davit.

Persimmon Cookies with Spicebush

Nadia in a field with yellow flowers blooming

By Nadia Navarrete-Tindall

Dr. Nadia Navarrete-Tindall, the Specialty Crops Director at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, MO, is an advisor to the Grow Native! program, and owns Native Plants and More, a consultation business. She lives in Columbia, MO and is originally from El Salvador.

 

Spicebush is an aromatic shrub that naturally grows in the understory in woodlands, in forest openings,
and along creeks. It is in the Lauraceae family like avocado, cinnamon, and our native sassafras
(Sassafras albidum).

Everything in spicebush is fragrant and edible: the twigs can be used to make syrup to flavor drinks; the
leaves and flowers, fresh or dehydrated, can be used to make a nice tea; the berry-like fruits, that are
really drupes, like avocados, can be used—mature or immature—in recipes in equal amounts instead of ground nutmeg, allspice, and/or cinnamon, in sweet or savory dishes. In the summer, the fruits are green and become bright red in late summer to early fall. Spicebush is dioecious, which means that the male and female flowers are in separate trees.

The best time to harvest the berries is when they are mature; however, the green berries are also very
flavorful. To use them in the persimmon cookie recipe, dry the whole fruits in a dehydrator for a few
hours or leave them on the kitchen counter at room temperature for a week or until they are
completely dry. Dry berries can be ground with a coffee grinder or a mortar and used immediately. The
dry berries, whole or ground, can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator for at least a
year.

If you are interested in making tea with the leaves, please check for eggs or caterpillars of the spicebush
swallowtail butterfly before you cut the leaves. Be sure you know how to identify them (see photos below). Like most
butterflies, the eggs are solitary and round and the caterpillars form tent-like enclosures with the leaves
to hide from predators or protect themselves from extreme weather.

Photos below, clockwise from top left: spicebush blooming by Nadia Navarrete-Tindall; adult spicebush swallowtail butterfly, spicebush swallowtail caterpillar in leaf enclosure, spicebush swallowtail caterpillar, and spicebush swallowtail egg by Randy Tindall.

Cookies on a plate on a bed of autumn leaves.

Photo of Persimmon Cookies with Spicebush
by Randy Tindall. 
Recipe at bottom of page.

Persimmon is a medium-sized tree, from 30 to 60 feet tall. Open crown and branched in deep soil conditions. Adapted to dry and low nutrient soils. It has pretty white flowers that look like waxy bells and are visited by native bees and other pollinators. Trees are dioecious (male and female flowers in different trees).

Persimmon can be easily reproduced from seed or cuttings. Once established, the taproot is long which makes it difficult to transplant. It is a slow-growing tree but reaches maturity three to five years after planting. It produces root suckers that can be mowed or pruned.

Fruit is edible and matures in the fall. A good rule of thumb is to gather persimmons that have fallen to the ground to be sure they are ripe. Immature fruits are not at all pleasant. It can be eaten fresh or used for jams, in baked goodies and for wine.

Dehydrated persimmons are a good source of carbohydrates, dietary fiber, iron, calcium, vitamin A and protein. To dehydrate persimmons, cut them in half and dry them in a dehydrator overnight at 130-140 degrees F.

For more about persimmons and spicebush, visit the Grow Native! Native Plant Database.

Plant with yellow flowers against a brick building.
Cookie Ingredients
1 egg beaten

1 cup Missouri pecans

2 cups wheat flour

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup persimmon pulp

1 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground spicebush berries

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

Extra sugar for coating the cookies

 

Directions

Mix cranberries, pecans with flour, spicebush, and baking soda.

Cream butter, sugar and beaten egg. Incorporate persimmon pulp into butter/sugar mixture.

Slowly add dry ingredients to the persimmon mixture.

Roll dough into teaspoon size balls.

Coat the dough balls in sugar, place them on a greased cookie sheet and press them so they are slightly flattened.

Bake 12-15 minutes at 350°F.

 

Number of Servings: 30 cookies
Nadia and MPF’s Grow Native! program recommend purchasing native edible plants from Grow Native! professional members and planting and gathering native edibles from your own personal property. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider if you have concerns about consuming any native edibles. Native edible recipes provided by MPF or MPF’s Grow Native! program are for informational purposes only.
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