Persimmon and Sour Cherry Bars w/ Lemon Glaze

It's all about choices. And the holidays make it tough.

These bars aren't sugar-free, but the natural sweeteners of persimmon and dried sour cherries are the main ingredients. A lemony glaze gives a tart balance to the bar, and at least you're getting an extra boost of vitamins and minerals in the fruit.

Set some out for snacks, or take them on a hike. They will curb your appetite and sustain you for longer than you might expect.

My Paleo Marin Rating: 4.5 Persimmons

Ingredients:

For the Bars:

Coconut Oil Non-Stick Cooking spray (or unsalted butter) for greasing baking pan; 1 tablespoon Cup4Cup flour; parchment paper

1 3/4 cups Cup4Cup gluten-free flour (see link here on how to measure the flour)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 Fuyu persimmons, pealed and roughly chopped (or enough to make 1 cup of pulp in a food processor)

3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup Blonde coconut sugar

1 cup finely chopped dried sour cherries, sweetened (or chopped Medjool dates)

1/2 cup almond oil

1 egg (+1 more for super moist cake)

For the Glaze:

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

For the Bars:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray a 9" x 9" baking pan with coconut oil (or butter). Cut one 9" wide strip of parchment paper to line the bottom of the pan and go up the sides; cut another 9" wide strip and place it in the opposite direction in the pan. Spray again with coconut oil. Add 1 tablespoon of flour to the bottom and shake excess out. Set aside.

1. Process the persimmon chunks in a food processor. 

2. Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

3. In another bowl, whisk together the persimmon pulp, lemon juice, and baking soda. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cherries, egg(s) and oil. Add the dry ingredients and the persimmon mixture to the cherry mixture. Fold it all together with a rubber spatula just until everything is combined.

5. Pour into the prepared baking pan. Bake 25 - 35 minutes, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Place pan on a rack to cool.

For the Glaze:

1. Sift the powered sugar into a bowl and whisk in the fresh lemon juice. Pour the glaze over the slightly-cooled cake, spreading it out with a rubber spatula (I used about 1/2 of the glaze). Put in the fridge for about 30 minutes (or overnight) to let the glaze harden. Lift the cake out of the pan with the parchment paper, and cut into desired sizes. 

Store in a covered container in the fridge.

#paleoinspired #coconutsugar #glutenfree #dairyfree #snacks #cherries #Fuyu #persimmons #almondoil #saveur

Recipe adapted from Saveur Magazine here.

My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost