Have you ever been in a love-hate relationship? You know, when you really love something, until it’s just too overbearing and overwhelming to deal with. That would be my relationship with our Fuyu Persimmon Tree. Love this thing, until, around January, when there’s still a ton of persimmons clinging to the tree and they’re kinda getting soft and overripe, falling on the ground, and making a mess. (Kudos to Max, for cleaning up some of the fallen fruit, and even picking them straight off the tree, but don’t want him eating too much!)
Oh the curse of the persimmon tree. I love these beautiful gifts from nature, and appreciate how long they can actually stay on the tree once they’re ripe, remaining firm and perfect for weeks, or even months. Even after the leaves have turned color and fallen to the ground, the persimmons hang there like beautiful ornaments. But once we get the really cold, frosty nights, they start to soften and it’s time to use them, quickly. So I try to share our bounty with friends and neighbors, and racoons and squirrels, and Max, of course, but somehow, we still end up with a surplus. This week I’m trying to finish harvesting, making pulp in my Vitamix with the uber ripe fruit, and storing it in the freezer. But I also can’t resist doing some baking.
So in trying to use up some of this glorious persimmon goodness, we’re moving on to persimmon bars. A bit of a combination of our persimmon cake and cookies recipes, but easy to cut into bars for a quick and easy snack, these cake-like bars are moist, lightly spiced, and delish. Quick and easy to put together, it’s a great way to use some persimmon pulp, whether it’s from a perfectly ripe Hachiya or overripe and squishy Fuyu persimmon.
We find that the lemon glaze is a really perfect complement to the persimmon and spice cake, and also helps keep the bars moist for days, so don’t skip the glaze! It’s just enough for a very thin coating, so it doesn’t make the bars too terribly sweet, but does add a nice punch of lemony flavor, and looks pretty, too.
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These yummy cake-like bars are like a moist little spice cake in a cookie bar. A great way to use up some super ripe persimmons, these bars are a favorite for dessert or an afternoon coffee or tea break. If you like, raisins or other dried fruit can be added as well.
Ingredients
- 1 cup persimmon pulp
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 205 grams (approximately 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup coconut oil or neutral vegetable oil
- 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
GLAZE
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 10 x 15 inch jelly roll pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small bowl, combine persimmon pulp and baking soda and set aside.
- In another small bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat the egg with the sugar and coconut oil until well mixed. Add the persimmon and flour mixture and stir or beat slowly until just moistened. Gently Stir in the nuts.
- Spread batter into the prepared pan. It will be a thin layer, it’s so you may need to spread out with an offset spatula.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until bars spring back lightly when touched, and a toothpick poked into the cake bars comes out almost clean. Allow bars to cool for a few minutes on a wire rack.
- While baking and cooling, make the glaze. Mix the confectioners sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and just a pinch of salt. Stir until sugar is well dissolved. Spread the glaze over the bars while still warm.
- Allow to cool completely, then cut into squares to serve.
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