Lemon-Glazed Persimmon Bars

These Persimmon Bars are a wonderful mixture of fall spices, dates, and nuts with a tart lemony glaze that pulls everything together. If you know someone with a persimmon tree, you’ll definitely want to try this recipe. I am asked for the recipe almost every time I bring these to a gathering.

Recipe

Ingredients

BARS

1¾ cups (248 g) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup (245 g / 8½ oz) puréed persimmon pulp (about 2 large — or 4 small — persimmons) plus 1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice OR 1 cup thawed frozen persimmon pulp without the lemon juice

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar

¼ cup (50 g) packed brown sugar

1 cup (175 g / 6 oz) finely chopped dates

½ cup (112 g) vegetable oil

1 large egg

1 cup (125 g) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional), roasted (see Tip below)

LEMON GLAZE

(MAY BE MORE GLAZE THAN YOU NEED.)

2¼ cups (282 g) unsifted confectioners’ sugar

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Yield: 30-32 bars

Prep Time: 30-45 min.

Bake Time: 17-25 min.

Total Time: 47-70 min.

Type of Recipe:
Bars

Instructions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour (or spray with baking spray) a 10" x 15" x 1" jelly roll pan. To make it easy to remove the bars, line the pan with a parchment “sling” and spray the parchment papaer with baking spray. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves; set aside.
Whisk together persimmon pulp, 1½ teaspoons lemon juice, and baking soda in another bowl; set aside.
Whisk or stir together granulated sugar, brown sugar, dates, oil, and egg in a large bowl; add dry ingredients and persimmon mixture, and stir until just combined. Add nuts, if desired.
Pour into prepared pan, and smooth top with a spatula; bake until lightly browned, about 17-25 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet halfway through baking.

Lemon Glaze

While the bars are baking, make a glaze by whisking together the lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar in a bowl until smooth.
When the bars are done, remove them from the oven and let the bars cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then pour glaze over warm cookies, spreading it evenly over the top with an offset spatula.
Let the glazed bars cool in the pan completely to harden glaze. Remove from the pan using the parchment paper “handles” and cut into finger-sized bars.

Recipe Notes

Prep Time. The prep can take a fair amount of time since it involves roasting the nuts, chopping the dates, and puréeing the persimmons. You can do all these steps ahead of time, though, so that on baking day everything goes much faster. To save even more time, I sometimes use Date Nuggets (pre-chopped dates), which are packaged in containers and can be found in the produce section of the grocery store.

Baking Pan. If you don’t have a jelly roll pan, you can use a rimmed 11x17-inch baking sheet. The bars will be thinner so start checking for doneness at 17 minutes.

Parchment Paper Sling. Place parchment paper in the pan so that it hangs over the sides. Push it flat so that it clings to the baking spray and use binder clips to hold it in place while you pour the batter into the pan. The overhang will act as “handles” to help you remove the cooled and glazed bars out of the pan. I use a parchment paper sling for many other recipes, including brownies, square cakes, etc. It makes it so easy to remove them from the baking pan.

parchment paper sling

Make Ahead. These bars can be made ahead and frozen (without the glaze) for up to two months. When you’re ready to serve them, thaw them for about an hour at room temperature and add the glaze to the thawed bars. Let the glaze harden before cutting into bars.

Tip — How to toast pecans in the microwave

I buy shelled pecans in bulk and store them in the freezer so that I always have them on hand. I toast them early on baking day so that I have them ready when I’m putting the dough together. Believe me, using roasted instead of raw nuts is one of the surest ways to increase the flavor of any recipe that calls for nuts. Here’s how I toast them in the microwave:

Spread 1 cup (125g) of whole frozen pecans on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 1 minute; stir, then microwave for 1 minute more; stir, and microwave for 30 seconds more. Remove the pecans from the microwave and give them one final stir. Let the nuts cool completely before chopping them and adding them to the cookie dough.