Date Nut Bread

I'll have to admit that dates are not one of my favorites.  Yes, they are super good for you - high in fiber and loaded with antioxidants, but they just never did it for me.  Still, for some reason I had a bag of them sitting in my pantry, and since I was getting tired of oatmeal for breakfast, I decided to try Ina Garten's Date Nut Spice Bread from her "Back to Basics" cookbook.  This is one of my favorite "on the shelf" books and everything I've made from it turns out perfectly!  I adapted this recipe a bit primarily because of what I had in my pantry but I don't think I lost anything with the changes I made - wow was it good!

Chop and macerate 2 cups of dates with 1/3 cup Cointreau or Triple Sec (I substituted Grand Marnier, another Orange flavored liqueur which works nicely too) and let them sit for about a half hour.  It's important to give these enough time macerating in the liqueur so you get that wonderful flavor!

While the dates are macerating, get your pan buttered and floured and pull all the rest of your ingredients together.  A note about buttering and flouring....I used to think buttering the pan, putting parchment paper down and then buttering and flouring the pan was overkill.  But after a number of stuck loaves I realize the wisdom - I never have any trouble getting my cakes or breads out of the pan when I do this so take the extra time and don't skip this step.  

Sift 2 cups of all purpose flour with 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg  and 1/4 tsp cloves.  Add the zest from one orange (all I needed for the Tablespoon of zest) and 3/4 cup orange juice.  I only needed 2 navel oranges for the juice.  (also, as Ina points out - make sure you zest the orange before you squeeze the juice out!)

Then cream 3/4 cup of brown sugar and 4 Tbsp unsalted, softened butter (the recipe called for light brown sugar but after all my holiday baking I was out and the dark brown sugar worked perfectly well - I think it even gave it a little richer flavor.)    Add 1 egg,1 tsp. vanilla extract and the orange zest.   Once those are well mixed add the flour and spices alternately with the orange juice (2 additions of each) and blend them until just mixed.  Then stir in those lovely macerated dates and about a 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts. (I substituted walnuts for pecans)

Pour it into the loaf pan and place it in the preheated 350F oven on the middle rack and let it bake for about 50 minutes.

The result - a dark and rich slice of spiced bread that is perfect with a cup of tea in the afternoon or will be wonderful on a cold winter morning for breakfast. (and doesn't this photo make you want to cozy up to the fire with a good book and a slice of this bread?!)  The bonus - fiber from the dates, only one egg and only 4 Tbsp of butter make it a pretty good choice and something that is sure to fill me up.  (You could probably cut the butter back a little if you want and not miss it.  I may try that next time.)

Note:  Ina also has a recipe for an orange cream cheese spread to go with it, but I thought the bread had enough flavor on it's own and was nice and moist.  And, after all the holiday extravagance, I decided my husband and I didn't need the extra calories and fat - I'll save that for company!

This recipe is going to now be one of my favorites! Thanks Ina!

What are your favorite quick breads?