swirls of green

Lemon Glazed Persimmon Bars

I have been making these Gourmet 2004 Persimmon Bars (no recipe tweaking) for about 5 years, which is  how long I've known about persimmons.  Years ago, my husband played a trick on me with an under ripe persimmon.  Just mean, I tell you.

There's nothing wrong with the original (as long as you leave out the dates - haha) and it's one of my kids favorite fall treats.  They stare longingly at the first crop of firm persimmons for days, willing them to soften faster.  Anyway... I can't resist the urge to mess with a recipe that has white flour and white sugar in it.  I messed with this recipe and my son just said to me, "mom these are the best ones ever".  Boom.

Truth be told, I was out of eggs.  Since I was going to be sneaking in chia I figured I might as well go all out.  My slightly healthier version goes something like this:

BARS

3 very ripe/soft Hachiya persimmons (1 1/4 lb total)
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or your favorite combo)

1 egg substitute:  1 Tbs ground chia seeds (or ground flax) mixed with 3 Tbs water - let it sit till it's eggy texture
1/2 c brown sugar + 1/4 c honey
1/2 c coconut oil

Heat oven to 350.  Butter and flour 15x10 shallow pan.

Cut persimmons and force through sieve.  Put 1 cup puree into a small bowl and stir in lemon juice and baking soda.  Let sit for a few minutes.  It will jell.  So cool.

Combine flour/salt/spices in small bowl.
Whisk fake egg goo, sugar, honey and oil together.  Fold in about 1/3 flour mixture, then half persimmon jell, alternating/mixing, ending with flour.

Add nuts and dried fruit if you like.

Spread batter in pan and bake for about 20 minutes.

GLAZE
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice (I reduced down a half cup to make it more lemony)
1 cup powdered sugar
Stir till smooth.

Cool bars, glaze, and cut into 32 squares.