Pumpkin Lollipops (or Sweet Potato or Persimmon or Lucuma)

Lollipops don't require artificial flavors or colors or even fancy molds.  All you'll need to make these lollipops are canned pumpkin, canned sweet potato, persimmon pulp, or lucuma pulp*, plus water, sugar, and some sticks.  You'll also want to have a candy thermometer (my favorite is the Maverick because it's digital and you can set an alarm to warn you when you reach the desired temperature - but any candy thermometer will do). 

The texture of these lollipops is a bit different than a typical lollipop.  When you bite them, they have a slight crunch, like maple candy (my favorite candy on the planet).  However, sucking the pops is definitely an option.  I gave one to my gluten-free cousin (she is so happy when I make anything that she can eat), and she sucked on one pop for at least ten minutes.  She smiled the whole time, in a closed-mouth-I'm-sucking-on-a-pop kind of way.

The lollipops taste like a super sweet candy version of whatever you make them out of (pumpkin, sweet potato, persimmon, or lucuma).  If you make them out of pumpkin, they would be a such a fun treat for a Halloween party; it's mid-August - time to start thinking about one of the best holidays of the year!

Persimmon Cupcakes - How to Bake with Persimmons

Persimmons are the goths.

Persimmons don't hold to a traditional standard of beauty.  When you think that your persimmons have gone bad - when they are ugly and smooshy and make people turn away in disgust - that's the perfect time to eat them.  In fact, if you eat a persimmon when it's still "pretty", it can cause a weird numbing reaction in your mouth.

Persimmons are elusive.  You have to be in the store during the correct couple of weeks of the year (now) or be lucky enough to know someone with a persimmon tree.  Once you find persimmons, you're never quite sure what to do with them.  While there are millions of pumpkin recipes, the goth vegetable is almost exclusively used for persimmon pudding - a dark and heavy dessert.

Pumpkins are the cool kids.

Everyone wants pumpkins.  People love them so much that they keep some just for decoration and don't even eat them!  They're easy to find.  They are the vegetables that are featured in the front of the store.  They are the ones that people want to pose their children with.

I couldn't help but throw in a cute photo of our son!

News Flash

If you are looking for a unique flavor, don't look to the cool veggie on the block.  Pick up some persimmons now - while you can - and use them in place of pumpkin in any pumpkin recipe.  You can make persimmon pie, persimmon cake, persimmon cookies, persimmon ice cream, and of course persimmon cupcakes!  Don't put persimmons in a persimmon pudding corner!