Maple-sweetened persimmon balls with blood orange & toasted pecans

You’ll love this simple and healthy dried persimmon ball recipe, which will be a hit during the holidays or for winter snacks and desserts!

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Move over date balls, persimmon balls are here!

Most people have eaten or at least heard of date balls, which are used as desserts, snacks, energy bites, or anything in between. Dates are the dehydrated fruit of date palm trees, which are not something we can grow in our Zone 7b climate zone. 

What we can grow are persimmons — both Asian and American persimmons, to be exact. Eaten fresh, persimmons don’t taste like dates.

However, dried *Asian persimmons have a flavor and texture that’s very similar to dates. They’re sweet, fruity, and rich with a chewy texture. (*Since Asian persimmons are large and often seedless, they’re better as a dried fruit than their smaller, seed-filled American persimmon cousins.) 

With a bunch of home-grown and homemade dried persimmons to use, we decided to see if we could make persimmon balls that could rival date balls. Answer: yes! 

In addition to persimmons, we also used other local ingredients:

• pecans,
• maple syrup (and maple sugar), and
• blood oranges from our home-grown potted citrus orchard.

From now on, maple-sweetened persimmon balls with blood orange and toasted pecans will be a treat we look forward to every year, and we hope you will too!

Dehydrated persimmons vs hoshigaki

Since we grow piles of persimmons every year, we’re always seeking out new and better ways to put our excess fruit to good use. One of the easiest ways to quickly prep a bunch of persimmons for long-term storage/use is to dehydrate them. 

Dehydrated persimmons are quickly dried in a dehydrator over 2-3 days. This is a different process from traditional slow-dried Asian persimmons (aka hoshigaki) which can take up to 6 weeks to finish and require daily massages to produce ideal texture. (See: How to make hoshigaki, traditional slow-dried & massaged Asian persimmons.)  

Other differences:

• Dehydrated persimmons have their skins on whereas hoshigaki is skinless.
• Dehydrated persimmons are firmer in texture whereas hoshigaki has the texture of a dried apricot or date. 

For this persimmon ball recipe, we recommend using dehydrated persimmons, although you can use hoshigaki as well. However, hoshigaki is a delicacy on its own, so it seems a bit of a waste. 

You can buy dehydrated persimmons or make your own, as per our instructions below… 

How to make quick dehydrated persimmons

Here’s how to make dehydrated persimmons, like the ones we use for this recipe:

1. Select perfect fruit. 

Select very ripe, soft non-astringent Asian persimmons.

2. Remove calyxes.

Remove the calyx and stem attachment from the top of the fruit.

3. Remove seeds.

Even seedless Asian persimmons will occasionally contain seeds. To check for seeds, cut Asian persimmons in half, horizontally not vertically, and remove any seeds you find.

Alternately, you can slice a chunk of the top of the fruit off when removing the calyx to detect any visible seeds. Scrape out the pulp from these top pieces to make other persimmon recipes. 

4. Dehydrate.

Place persimmons in a dehydrator on 120°F (49°C) for ~3 days, depending on fruit variety size and desired consistency. 

5. Store.

Store your dehydrated persimmons for up to 2-3 weeks in airtight containers at room temperature, or store them in containers in your fridge for many months. 

Making persimmon balls – steps and process photos:

Here’s what you’ll need to make persimmon balls:

Equipment:

• good multi-bladed blender or food processor (we used our small Ninja);
• small pan for roasting pecans
• spatula

Ingredients:

• 140 grams / 5 ounces DRIED large non-astringent Asian persimmons (or about 8 dried persimmons)
• 1 cup whole pecans (4.4 ounces)
• fresh zest of 1 organic orange, preferably blood orange (about 1 heaping teaspoon) + more zest for garnish, which is optional
• 3 tbsp fresh organic blood orange juice
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/4 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger powder 
• pinch of salt
• For sugar coating: 2 tbsp maple sugar (use light brown sugar as alternative) + pinch of fine sea salt

*This recipe makes about ten 1.5″ diameter persimmon balls, which we consider to be about 5 servings when eaten as a dessert or treat. 

Step 1: Pan-roast pecans

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add butter, pecans, and pinch of salt. Stir and/or shake pan regularly to prevent nuts from burning on one side.  

Heat for about 5 minutes until pecans are lightly toasted and become highly aromatic. Remove from heat and let cool. 

Step 2: Juice and zest orange

While pecans are cooling, zest and juice one organic orange, preferably a blood orange. If the orange is not organic, don’t zest.   

Note: you’ll have juice left over, e.g. you won’t be using all the juice from your orange.     

Step 3: Puree/blend ingredients until smooth

Chop dried persimmons into smaller pieces with a chef’s knife to make them easier on your blender.

Put roasted pecans into blender or food processor and pulverize into fine consistency. Then add all remaining ingredients. Blend until ingredients form a smooth, thick paste.

You’ll probably need to scrape the sides with a spatula and re-blend several times before you get to the right consistency, as per picture below:

Is your persimmon ball badder too thick? Add a bit more orange juice or maple syrup.

Too thin? Add more persimmons or roasted pecans. 

Step 4: Prep sugar coating and make persimmon balls

Combine 2 tbsp maple sugar and a pinch of salt, then spread it thinly on the surface of a flat plate. Form persimmon badder into ~1.5″ diameter balls, then roll each ball through maple sugar to coat. 

Place finished persimmon balls onto plate. 

Step 5: Let chill

Cool persimmon balls in the fridge for about 1 hour before serving them. This allows the flavors to come together and for the balls to firm to the perfect consistency!

Optional: Zest a bit more fresh blood orange skin over the top before serving.  

Storage:

If you don’t plan to eat your persimmon balls immediately, they can be stored in the fridge for at least one week. Store them in a covered container, but don’t pile or smush them together! 

Recipe: Maple-sweetened persimmon balls with blood oranges and pecans

Warning: If you have a toddler, you might not get to eat any of your persimmon balls. We had to hide ours from our three-year-old so we could enjoy a few for ourselves. 

KIGI,

Other persimmon articles you’ll want to sink your teeth into:

• Asian vs American persimmons: how to grow, forage, and use
• How to store Asian persimmons – with recipes!
• How to make hoshigaki, traditional slow-dried & massaged Asian persimmons
• Recipe: Persimmon butter with blood oranges and maple syrup
• Recipe: Persimmon oat crumble (gluten-free)
• Recipe: Persimmon cranberry relish 
• Recipe: Spiced persimmon breakfast bread
• Recipe: Chestnut breakfast porridge with pan-roasted persimmons
• Recipe: Persimmon bread with oats, walnuts, and honey
• Recipe: Chestnut flour cake with persimmons and buttermilk