NOTE: This recipe was originally posted in December of 2012 but I wanted to re-publish it for any of you who didn’t see it the first time. Happy baking and Happy Holidays! JGW
It was another snowy day up here on the mountain and Kim decided to make his fabulous Date Nut Bread. Oh my, I don’t need to tell you how wonderful the aromas were, filling the house as the storm swirled around us.
I knew you’d want to try it, so here’s the recipe:
DATE NUT BREAD
One 9X5 Loaf (Kim tripled this and made three)
1 1/2 C pitted dates
1 tsp baking soda
1 C boiling water
1 2/3 all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
1/4 C melted butter
1 C brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 C broken or rough chopped walnuts
——–
Oven at 350 – rack in lower third
Butter and flour 9X5 loaf pan:
Cut dates in halves or thirds if large, you’ll want big pieces…
… put them in a bowl with the baking soda and pour in the boiling water:
In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients, flour, salt & baking powder.
Then in another large bowl whisk together the eggs, butter and vanilla till well mixed…
… and with a sturdy spoon stir the sugar into the egg mixture till well combined…
… making sure with finger tips there are no lumps but a smooth mix:
Drain the dates (reserving liquid), and stir them into egg/sugar mix. Add 1 cup of reserved liquid:
Chop the walnuts and set aside:
Add the flour to the mix…
… and stir till just mixed:
Finally fold in the nuts till well distributed:
Scoop the dough into the buttered and floured pan:
Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or so, turning pans back to front half way through the cooking time. Test with a tooth pick. If not quite done at an hour turn down oven to 325 till done.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes then release from pan and cool loaf on a wire rack for an hour before slicing:
This is a surprisingly flavorful bread with a tender interior and a perfect crunch on the outside. I think it would make a wonderful addition to any of your holiday festivities. If you do try it I hope you’ll write and tell me what you think.
Kim and I had ours with espresso, a warm fire in the wood heater and more snow on the way:
I just don’t think it can get any better than that.
And another tip: try it the next morning toasted. It’s divine.
Love to you all,
Jeane
Oh, Jeane, I can smell the aroma and hear the fire crackling:) Lovely for my morning wake up moments here!! Thank you so much. Your friend Kim is an angel. Baking and cooking up a storm – IN a storm. MUWAAAAAAAAAAH to YOU Kim and thank you for being such a wonderful addition to our friend Jeane’s life. I adore you:)!!
XOXOXO
It truly was heavenly, Grace, and Kim is, indeed, an angel–a cooking angel at the very least. Now he’s talking about making his famous mince meat pie! And another snowstorm is due in tomorrow. My goodness, can it possibly get any better than this?
Oh, yum. My mom used to make this and we ate it with cream cheese spread on the slices. I haven’t thought about it for years, but now you’ve got me hankering to do a little (more) baking for Christmas. Thank you for this beautifully illustrated post!
I read your comment to Kim and he smiled and said, “That’s exactly how we used to have it. I’d forgotten that.” Then he vowed to get cream cheese on his next trip to town. I’m so glad you found the post inspiring, Clair, and I’m very happy you liked the photos. Thanks for letting us know!
We’ve been having it with cream cheese now and it’s DELICIOUS! Thanks for taking Kim back in time. I benefit too!
Can you calrify the recipe? Baking powder is listed twice and I’m wondering if one is baking soda? I plan on making this for our Christmas brunch! thank you.
Thank you so much for catching this Christine! It slipped by both of us. I’ve updated the recipe now and it should be 1 tsp. baking soda and 1/2 tsp. baking powder. Happy baking! Let me know how it turns out.
OK – so I baked the bread and YUM YUM YUM – it is very good. I’m taking it to my mother’s on Christmas day but had to cut a few small pieces first to test it. Hopefully it won’t get too small before tomorrow! Merry Christmas to you and thank you for sharing this recipe.
Oh, I’m so glad you like it and are including it in your Christmas Day celebration (good luck with that–I’m sure it will tempt you). Thank you so much for letting us know. I’ll tell Kim right away. He’ll be delighted! Merry Christmas to you as well.
wonderful!!
I love these photos because the food looks beautiful, the friendship looks beautiful, and the house looks beautiful…. and all look Peaceful! If I can manage my time well enough I may try this for Christmas… and if I can’t,then someday I will try this! It looks fabulous!! Love, light, and peace for Christmas to you and Kim!
Thanks Alison. I am blessed to have Kim as such a good and close friend. Nothing better than true friends. Wishing you peace this Christmas.
Not fair! You always have the most delicious and fattening things on your table or in your pot and you never gain one ounce, nor does Chef Kim. It must be that you are so active! Good for you!
Well I wish that were true! I mean what you say about Kim’s cooking is but I’ll admit I’m battling my own personal bulges (Kim never does, of course) and am not getting into the canyon as I’d like so… I won’t let myself grow out of my jeans though. That’s the trick 🙂
Thanks! Now I know the trick! Oops, too late. I guess I’ll have to rely on self-control, which is sad but builds character. None the less, you have created such a beautiful space made a lovely home full of love, beauty, good flavors and smells, and art. It is wonderful how you have made your life there.
It all looks and reads like a fairy tale, but I want to impose my view after following you for a while now: That you unintentionally show such strength and courage in your blog because you tell a story of overcoming unimaginable difficulties to live life on your terms. You are a roll model for other women and men, in your lifestyle and your strength of determination.
Your series of decisions leading to now has been heroic in scope. I imagine it all seems like you could not have done anything else and been yourself. Perhaps so. But you could have made different decisions and not been nearly as “you”. Good for you.
Dear Sherry–I’m sorry it’s taken me awhile to respond but I was so touched by your observations that I was rendered rather speechless. I mostly write about the upside of this life I live and have been cautioned before that the blog DOES read like a fairy tale and isn’t really telling the truth, or the whole truth anyway–that I tend to sugar-coat everything. That you have read between the lines and understood the struggle those of us who choose this path must deal with day in and day out, that you get that this artist’s life is HARD, is very moving to me. Thank you. I don’t know how truly courageous I’ve been, I just try to listen for and follow the signs and put one foot in front of the other (enough footsteps can take us places we can’t imagine for ourselves), but I do feel I’m on the hero’s journey as described by Joseph Campbell. I am fighting my personal dragons (perhaps it’s time to embrace them instead?), facing an imperfect, very human self that is filled with doubt and fear. And still taking those steps toward a true self. I get the very real and distinct feeling that you are on this same hero’s journey with me, which is why you could see it in me. Thank you for your kind sensitivity and for walking deeper into this world with me.
I noticed you listed 34 cup of hot water over the dates, but later you mentioned to pour 1 cup of reserved liquid into the mix. I hope it was OK to just add enough water to make 1 cup. In the oven now!
Hi Julie–So sorry for the delay in reaching you. I’ve been out of town. You caught us in a mistake! Thank you. What happened is that Kim started with the 3/4 cup but decided to make it a cup of liquid instead. Then I forgot to change the measurement in the ingredient list. He says you did just the right thing and we both want to know how yours turned out. He did say that alot has to do with “feel” because the size of eggs can’t be measured, for example, so always give yourself a little wiggle room when it comes to adding liquid. If the dough seems too dry, add a bit more. Happy Holidays to you and thanks again. JGW
Your date nut bread recipe was delicious! It certainly is a keeper. I mad 3 smaller individual ones, kept 2 and gave one as a gift. Thank you!
That makes me happy. Thanks for letting me know.