Have you ever hear of ‘cherimoya’? I totally adore the name, it sounds so sweet and cute!
I’m the kind of girl that walks around the grocery store with an iPhone in her hand to google search the products she doesn’t know. Okay, and to use ‘Buy me a pie‘, my favorite grocery shopping list app.
A few weeks ago -while my sister was with me- we spotted a new-to-us fruit at the Wholefoods. Wikipedia told us that cherimoya is a ‘fleshy, white and soft fruit, that taste sweet and has a sorbet-like texture’. It’s also called a ‘custard apple and people characterize the flavor as a blend of banana, pineapple, papaya, peach and strawberry’.
Yum, me like! I also read that some people describe the taste as bubblegum, so we HAD to try this tropical fruit. We brought it home and spooned out the white flesh to eat it in our yogurt. And put it in a smoothie. It DOES taste like bubblegum, can you believe that? Or better to say: bubblegum taste like cherimoya because my dear cherimoya is the source here. Pure nature and nothing else.
But when Frieda’s sent me a box of uncommon fruit for their #FearNoFruit campaign I knew I had to do something else with the cherimoya than to add it to a smoothie or eat it chilled with a spoon.
And so I made cherimoya cookies. Normally I am very disciplined when it comes to cookies. Or cake. Or chocolate… But with these… I couldn’t help myself but I ate the whole batch after the photo shoot. Shame on me but also ‘yay for me’! Because that means I made THE BEST COOKIES EVER!
So what are you waiting for? Hurry to the grocery store to pick up a cherimoya to make these cookies! They’re so soft and tropical, I bet you can’t stop eating them 🙂
The best cookies ever are soft and chewy, almost cake-like!
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup puréed cherimoya (from 1 ½ cherimoyas)*
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cup chopped almonds
- ½ cup dried pineapple, in cubes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the puréed cherimoya and the baking soda. Add it to the large bowl and stir to combine.
- In another bowl, combine the flour with the salt and cinnamon an whisk until combined. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir in the almonds and pineapple. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so your cookies will become fluffy.
- Drop spoonfuls of the dough on to the lined baking sheets. The cookies only spread out a little while baking but make sure they have enough space in between.
- Bake them in the preheated oven for 15 – 18 minutes, or until set and light golden around the edges.
Notes
Recipe adapted from the White On Rice Couple
*Discard the black seeds before pureeing!
Enjoy!
Please note: The lovely people at Frieda’s provided me with the cherimoya for the #FearNoFruit campaign. Thank you Frieda’s!
You can find Frieda’s products at Ralphs and Sprouts (LA Area). If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can always ask your produce manager at the local store to order from Frieda’s!
Oh my goodness this looks delicious! This summer, I’m totally hooked on Chirimoya Alegre, chilled cherimoya with a splash of orange juice but I made it boozy with splash of Grand Marnier instead. Can’t stop eating them like that! 🙂
Sounds amazing Oakley! So you just spoon it out of the skin with the grand marnier splashed over it? I will try that the next time!
i’ve seen cherimoya but have never used it. the cookies look yummy!
It just so happens that I have a Cherimoya tree in my back yard, and have been wondering what to do with it! I am going to bake these cookies this weekend. Thank you for the recipe!