Lemon glazed persimmon bars

Self-proclaimed "persimmon nut" Jean Brine has been collecting and testing persimmon recipes for about 50 years. Her cookbook, "Perfectly Persimmon" (Morris Press Cookbooks), offers 1,010 ways to enjoy Fuyu and Hachiya varieties in sweet and savory dishes.

Ingredients

Persimmon bars
1 cup pureed Hachiya persimmon pulp
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil
8 oz. pitted dates, finely chopped
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Lemon glaze
1 cup unsifted powdered sugar
2 tbsp. lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix persimmon pulp, lemon juice and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, lightly beat egg. Stir in sugar, oil and dates. Combine flour, salt and spices in a separate bowl. Add to date mixture alternately with persimmon pulp just until well-blended. Stir in nuts. Spread evenly in a greased and floured, 10-by-15-inch jelly-roll pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Cool cookies in pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then spread with glaze made by stirring together powdered sugar and lemon juice. Cool thoroughly and cut into bars.

Makes 3 dozen (2-inch) bars