Persimmon cranberry pie topped with a sweet and crunchy pecan crumble. This well balanced pie combines sweet, tart, and buttery flavors!
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Persimmon Pie
When it comes to desserts, balance is key.
The sweetness needs a little contrast to make it interesting and exciting. Soft and chewy needs a bit of crunch and bite to keep you coming back for more.
This persimmon cranberry pie checks off all the boxes!
My childhood home had five persimmon trees in our backyard (three of the hachiya variety and two of the fuyu).
Each year I looked forward to harvesting pounds and pounds of these delicious autumn fruits.
(Learn more about difference between hachiya and fuyu in this persimmon walnut cake post.)
This recipe uses fuyu persimmons. Of the persimmon varieties, they are the most commonly available at markets.
Fuyu are best eaten like apples, when they’re firm. Persimmons have a very unique flavor. I can’t really describe it other than… it’s sweet.
Persimmon and Cranberry Pairing
The sweetness of fuyu persimmons pair beautifully with the super tart cranberries. Plus, look at that color!
The orange hues from the persimmons mixed with that crimson and burgundy red cranberries screams autumn-time.
Just looking at the fruits gets me all excited for Thanksgiving and all the holidays and gatherings that follows.
The raw fruits gets tossed in sugars and spiced with cinnamon.
As the pie bakes, the cranberries will burst and the persimmons will slightly soften.
Pecan Crumble Topping
The element that really ties this persimmon cranberry pie together is the pecan crumble topping.
- It adds sweetness to combat the tart cranberries.
- Provides much needed crunch and texture!
- And best of all, it’s the easiest way to top a pie! (No lattice work, or additional pie dough needed!)
While the persimmon cranberry pie is perfect the way it is, it wouldn’t hurt to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Warm up the pie and serve it a la mode. The contrasting temperatures of the warm pie and cold ice cream is heavenly.
Serving Suggestions
Cool pie before slicing. The pie filling will be runny hot straight from the oven.
The fruit filling needs time to cool down and regain it’s structure.
Serve pie at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream.
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for longer storage.
Want to try other persimmon recipes? Here are some favorites:
Persimmon Cranberry Pie with Pecan Crumble
Ingredients
Pie Dough:
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, , cold, diced small cubes
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar*
- 4 Tablespoons ice water
Persimmon Cranberry Filling:
- 1 pound fuyu persimmon, , peeled, seeded, and sliced into thin wedges
- 9 oz (about 3 cups) fresh cranberries
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar, , packed
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch
Pecan Crumble Topping:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup dark brown sugar, , packed
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, , sliced into tablespoons
- ⅔ cup roughly chopped pecans
Instructions
Pie Dough:
- In a large bowl, toss together flour, salt, sugar, and diced butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the freezer until bowl is cold (about 5 minutes).
- Using a pastry blender (or two forks), cut cold butter into cold flour until mixture resembles coarse, pebbled sand. Add vinegar and ice water. Fold to combine. Dough will be shaggy.
- Dump dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until mixture comes together. Pat dough to a thickness of about ½-inch. Cover in plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour (overnight is best).
Persimmon Cranberry Filling:
- Toss persimmon and cranberries with sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt and cornstarch.
Pecan Crumble Topping:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Cut in butter using a fork until the topping is crumbly. Toss in chopped pecans
Assembly:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Allow chilled dough to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before rolling. Roll dough on a lightly floured work surface to about 11-inch in diameter and about ⅛-inch in thickness. Place pie plate upside down over the rolled dough to ensure it is the correct size. Transfer dough to pie plate and firmly press into the bottom and sides of plate. Trim excess dough.
- Pour persimmon cranberry filling into pie shell. Sprinkle pecan crumble topping all over filling. Bake for one hour until cranberry filling is bubbling and crumble topping is golden brown.
- Allow pie to cool to room temperature before slicing. Once pie has cooled, you can also store it in the fridge to chill for easier and cleaner slicing. Serve pie at room temperature, warmed up, or chilled.
Notes
- Apple cider vinegar prevents gluten development in the pie dough. This means the pie dough will be easier to roll out, plus it will not shrink during baking. You will not taste the vinegar after baking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
I grow Fuyu persimmons and found this recipe upon our first harvest. It is AMAZING and easy to sub dairy free!
This was amazing!! Everyone loved it at Thanksgiving this year!!
Thank you for sharing your experience! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Gonna take a cheat day to try this
thank you for this persimmon cranberry pis, have never combined the two but as you write, they create a nice sweet-sour balance and also like the textures with the persimmon slices
i love fuyus! (can’t say the same about hachiyas, which i find mushy and iron-y in the way that spinach is). this sounds like such an awesome thanksgiving pie- both classic from the cranberries and new/interesting from the persimmon.
Hi Mary Anne! It’s like you read my mind with this pie! I just came home from my mom’s house with two grocery bags full of persimmons and this week I bought 3 bags of cranberries, 1 for cranberry sauce and two for some dessert experiments! Can’t wait to try your recipe. Thanks!
Hi Sheri! Happy baking!