Perhaps I’m jumping the gun a bit, but an undeniable chill has blown in, and now that it’s September, I can’t contain my excitement for fall any longer. There are just so many things to eat, every day of autumnal weather must be used to the fullest! Unfortunately, my enthusiasm is a bit premature, as it still isn’t quite cold enough to layer on the heavy winter blanket, a mistake I paid for at 4 am, waking up in a pool of my own sweat.
Summer may still be hanging on with a loosening grip, but the kids are returning to school and the evenings are no longer quite so sweltering at least, so I’m fully prepared to embrace the incoming season. How better to get into a fall state of mind than bake something with sweet, warming spices?
Falling back on my favorite set of chai spices, a simple sort of muffin seemed to be in order. Perfect for a quick morning breakfast should you be one of those lucky students returning to an earlier schedule, each hearty little quick bread is both a sensible breakfast or snack. Spelt flour adds in a good dose of whole grains, hazelnuts provide a spot of protein, and these babies are only modestly sweetened.
I happened to be lucky enough to find the persimmon pulp in my freezer, stored from last year’s bounty, but any other fruit pulp would work beautifully as well.
No Persimmon? No Problem!
To keep with the autumnal theme, I might suggest:
- Unsweetened apple sauce
- Pumpkin puree
- Mashed butternut squash
- Sweet potato puree
For a delicious change of pace, you could also try:
- Mashed banana
- Cooked, blended carrots
- Vegan yogurt
So don’t wait any longer- Greet the incoming season now, and enjoy it with muffins!
Chai Latte Persimmon Muffins

For a spicy, seasonal, and healthy breakfast or snack, look no further than these persimmon muffins. Spelt flour adds in a good dose of whole grains, hazelnuts provide a spot of protein, and these babies are only modestly sweetened. Most importantly though, they're positively crave-worth flavor is off the charts!
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Persimmon Pulp (Approximately 2 Hachiya Persimmons)
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1/2 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Packed
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 1/2 Cups Spelt Flour
- 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Cup Chopped Hazelnuts
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon Instant Coffee Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 3/4 Teaspoon Ground Cardamom
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
- 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
- 6 Teaspoons Granulated Sugar, for Topping (Optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and lightly grease 6 standard muffin tins.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the persimmon pulp, oil, vinegar, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth and homogeneous. In a separate bowl, combine the spelt and all purpose flour, hazelnuts, baking soda, coffee powder, spices, and salt, and mix thoroughly so that the ingredients are well distributed. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir just enough to bring the two together, being careful not to over do it and create gluten- A few errant lumps in the batter are just fine.
- Evenly distribute the batter between your prepared muffin tins, and really mound it up in the center for each muffin. It may seem like a lot, but don’t be shy and really pile it on. This will get you nice, big, mushroom-y tops. Sprinkle each raw muffin with 1 teaspoon of sugar, if desired.
- Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each muffin comes out clean. Let rest for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
No Persimmon? No Problem!
To keep with the autumnal theme, I might suggest:
- Unsweetened apple sauce
- Pumpkin puree
- Mashed butternut squash
- Sweet potato puree
For a delicious change of pace, you could also try:
- Mashed banana
- Cooked, blended carrots
- Vegan yogurt
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 373Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 235mgCarbohydrates: 58gFiber: 7gSugar: 22gProtein: 8g
All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.
What beautiful crockery.
I don’t think I’m ready to jump into fall quite yet, but when I am these muffins would ease the fall!
i’m exiting for the fall caming, too. These muffins look very yummy, i hope to find some persimmons soon to try them
kisses
fra
Uhm, YUM? I can’t wait to try this!
As you welcome Fall or Autumn as we call it, I am welcoming Spring here in Africa.. I wish you a wonderful season!
Those sound perfect for fall! It’s getting cold here so I bet baking those muffins would be the perfect way to warm up. Thanks for the recipe!
This is my absolute favorite time of year, and baking is always high on my agenda during the fall. These muffins sound delicious – I love the idea of using fruit puree/pulp rather than oil or butter to add moisture. Lovely!
I’m right there with you – I can’t wait for fall! I love the warm spices, the crisp cool mornings, and especially things like apple pie :) Someday I’ll find persimmons so I can try them, because this sounds wonderful.
Bring on the Fall weather, please!!!
These muffins are great, I LOVE chai but the addition of the permissions is wonderful!
Mmm, sweetly-spiced baked good (or in this case, breakfasts) are some of my favorite, and fall is the best time to enjoy them. Cooler temperatures in Austin mean 95 instead of 105, but we’re getting closer to fall!
That does sound like the perfect fall treat! I just made ginger cookies ( a real fall favorite for me!) even though it’s just still warm-ish outside…
Hooray for muffins!! I just posted a new recipe for them too :)
it’s gotten much cooler here already too, and i am LOVING it! your muffins sound awesome…we had a persimmon tree in our front yard growing up and no one ever knew what to do with the fruit. wish my mom had had this recipe back then!
Holy whoa, I LOVE your cup/saucer set! Is that vintage?
Great idea, by the way. I busted out with some chai this morning to help buffer this unexpected September chill!
no. NO! It’s not fall! *la la la covering my eyes and ears la la la*
I have some carrot pulp in the freezer and it’s just begging to be used! I’m loving the newly cool weather because I can finally bake again.
Have you ever had an unripe persimmon? They’re so astringent! It’s awful.
Oh, it’s definitely still summer here. I do love chai though. These muffins look delicious.
i cant wait to jump back into baking! i feel so unmotivated in the summer time.. but this morning, when i pulled out my winter boots (!!!!) i wanted to bake some cookies before work.. unreal. maybe i will this weekend!
Hannah,
We’ve got access to persimmons, but how on earth do you successfully get the pulp out? There’s so many seeds, our last try was a sticky mess that didn’t really yield much pulp.
I totally have fall on my mind too! I baked some delicious struesel topped pumpkin muffins last night, the post is going up first thing tomorrow!
Yup, I’m looking forward to Fall too! Those muffins would really hit the spot for the cooler weather!
Interesting…muffin with persimmons…sound and look delicious…yummie! Great pictures as well :-)
Please dont bring fall upon us to quickly! Although, if I can get some of those muffins, you can have whatever season you want.
Mmmm…chai spiced muffins…
boy – does that muffin look delicious. Now I’m hungry.
Oh Yum!! I can’t wait to make warm comfort food again! SC is still sweltering although last night the temp. came down a bit. It seems to come later here… *sigh*
I love chai anything and these muffins look delightful!!!! I too am so excited about fall…and I think these would be the perfect little treats to make to welcome the season!
What an adorable perfectly shaped little muffin! Love the touch of sugar on the top. I love fall and am looking forward to it but I’m really going to miss the summer fruits and cheap summer vegetables!
I am also thrilled for the onset of fall!! Yummy sounding muffins :)
It won’t be fall in Texas for a while, but your muffins certainly would be delicious with a hot cup of tea.
Can’t say I’m a fan of fall, but I bet these spices would help. :) Such an interesting mix of flavors in these!
What a great muffin to bring in the fall with!! All things chai seem to be circling the blogsphere!! I think it may be my turn soon! These just look delicous!
YES! <3 persimmons!!
Well, it’s not jumping the gun around here. It’s cool! Love to see the use of Chai…it must just be something about it this week.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Fall. I wait it with open arms this year, it has been a really hot summer.
I hope I don’t miss persimons this year, last year I waited too long to buy them and when I was ready to bake some persimons goods, persimons were not ready for me to buy them. :-(((
I’ll keep this recipe as gold.
These have to be nothing short of amazing. Can’t wait to warm up my new kitchen with these goodies!
Enjoy your fall! I just say hello to spring :)
This muffins sound great. We still have persimmon around, but not as good as a month ago. But I can always use other fruits, right?
Mmm..persimmons & chai-what a pair!
Oooh these sound delicious! You are always so creative with your flavor combinations. I love the sugar topping, it reminds me of snowy mountains!
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Lovely muffins especially with all those tasty Autumn flavours.
fall is my favorite season, but i’m not quite ready for it as we missed out on a lot of summer! these sound fabulous, and maybe in a few weeks i’ll give in :)
Fall is my favorite season!!!! This little chill in the air has me so loving the weather right now haha. Those muffins look so adorably autumnal!!!
Such a great way to welcome the fall! :0
I love Fall and Persimmon season. They are so affordable by the case in China Town. I am the only one that will eat it though, so it’s a lot for me to go through a box.
Awesome – persimmon. I see it so rarely!
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This recipe didn’t work for me. The batter was way too dry. I salvaged it by adding a beaten egg and two more cups of persimmons. Did anyone else try the recipe?
I’m looking for a spicy, healthy persimmon muffin recipe.
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