Persimmon and Apple Pie

Been awhile since I posted. Life in the Johnson household has been up and down, filled with health concerns for both me and my hubby. I've still been cooking, though, and have a backlog of recipes to post. May not get them all up til December. Darn as some will no longer be in season. This pie is good. My neighbor has a persimmon tree and she lives by the mailbox. She stands in wait with a bag full of persimmons. She is an older Asian woman with a gravelly voice. As I pass by while walking Annie, I say hello and she thrusts a bag of persimmons into my hands. I can't say no. So I take them home and we have them on our morning cereal, in salads and in this pie. I'm also toying with making jam. Later this week perhaps. Enjoy the pie!


Persimmon and Apple pie

2 pie crusts (from the store or ones you make)
4 cups persimmon (Fuyu is what I use) and apples (Winesap are good), medium dice, peel if you want (portion I used was 3 cups persimmon and one cup apple – do what seems right to you – could be all persimmon)
1 scant cup granulated sugar because persimmons are really sweet
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
Juice of one lemon
2 T cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water

1 T butter, soft

Raw sugar

To serve:

Vanilla ice cream

Shaker with cinnamon and sugar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a sauce pan, over high heat combine the persimmons, apples, sugar, Grand Marnier, and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a boil. Lower heat to a strong simmer. Cook until it is the softness you want – the pie does not cook long in the oven so it is important that at this stage it be as soft as you want it. Combine the cornstarch and the cold water, making a slurry. While whisking the fruit constantly, add the slurry. Cook for 5 minutes or until it thickens. Cool for about 10 minutes. 

Pour into a 9 inch deep dish pie crust. Gently lay the other pie crust over the filling or do as I do and make shapes and designs with the second crust. Brush with butter and sprinkle with raw sugar.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. To eat, put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the pie and shake on the sugar and cinnamon.