Date Nut Bread

Intro and Overview…

Campbell’s Chunky Soup once asked the 64,000-dollar question. “Is it a soup or is it a meal?” Likewise, one might ask, is Date Nut Bread a bread or is it a dessert?” Hmm.

Date Nut Bread is one of those traditional family recipes handed down from generation to generation. Every Thanksgiving and every Christmas, it could be found on the dinner table. There it sat, right alongside the turkey, the mashed potatoes and gravy, the dressing, the sweet potatoes, and the cranberries.

I still have the original, hand-written, batter-splattered recipe card that Judy copied it onto, some fifty years ago. I cannot say for certain, but I suspect this recipe has been in the family for well over 75 years.

Of course, the original recipe simply called for nuts. Back in the day, as Midwest cooks, we typically used walnuts as our go-to nut. Now, living in the Southwest, any recipe that calls for anything resembling a nut gets a generous scoop of pecans.

Stuff You Need…

• 8 oz. Dates
• 2 Cups Hot Water
• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 1 Cup Br. Sugar (packed)
• 1 Cup Wt. Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• Pinch of Salt
• 4 Cups Flour
• 1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans *

And Then…

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cut dates into small pieces and place them in a medium mixing bowl with butter. Pour hot water over dates and butter and stir until butter has melted.

Add the remaining ingredients in the order above and mix until incorporated. (I always use a rubber spatula, but a hand mixer on a low speed should work just as well.

* The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of nuts. We increased the measure years ago, and it has worked well since then.

Fill 6 14-16 oz. (~ 1 Cup) tin cans half full, then bake for 1 hour or until done.