date nut bread is an easy, much-loved, classic recipe!

This post is about date nut bread – but it’s also about parents, grandparents and Coke slushies. Along with gratitude and traditions. But first, the bread!

what is date nut bread?

Date nut bread is a classic, old-school quick bread, made with simple ingredients and simply enjoyed – thinly sliced and spread with cream cheese (Temp Tee whipped, preferably).

what ingredients do you need?

The ingredient list for date nut bread couldn’t be more basic – in fact, aside from the fruit and nuts you probably have everything you need on-hand right now:

flour
light brown sugar
baking powder
kosher salt
chopped dates
chopped walnuts
milk
eggs
olive oil
vanilla extract

how do you make date nut bread?

This is the best part – this lovely, delicious bread is made in one bowl, with no mixer required. Simply mix up the wet ingredients, add in the dry ingredients and fold in the dates and walnuts. Bake and enjoy!

and now for the rest!

I’m sitting in my kitchen, getting ready to pack and prepare as we leave for what will be our 8th trip to Disney World. And when I say “we” I mean Mike, Chelsea, Conor and me. Noah stays back with my parents and this will likely be the last year he does so.

Back in 2004, Mike and I had just gotten married and the 4 of us were living together in our new home. What started out that October as the kids and I joining Mike in Orlando at the tail end of his annual business trip there soon turned into a yearly tradition. It was a short trip – 3 or 4 days at most – but created some of the most fun and memorable moments our newly formed family have had.

The arrival of Noah at the end of 2008 was not the only harbinger of changes to come in the following year. Chelsea would be leaving for college in the fall. Conor was going to start going to sleep away camp for the summer. And now we had baby Noah – who would certainly change the scope of “our” trip, if we could even consider taking it any more.

And then my parents graciously agreed to stay with Noah so that we could go away, just the 4 of us. It was tricky planning, as we had just a small window between Conor coming home from camp and Chels leaving for school, but we did it (albeit on very little sleep and through what seemed to be endless hours of laundry, packing and unpacking).

And I am so eternally grateful to my parents for giving us this gift of time together, like we used to have. The past 3 years have brought so many changes to our family, and this week away allows us to re-charge and re-connect:

We get our last, precious moments in with Chelsea before she heads back to college.

We get uninterrupted time with our 15-year-old boy (who, being a 15-year-old boy, we don’t see very much of these days).

We watch a brother and sister laugh at inside jokes, tackle water slides and genuinely (for the most part) enjoy each other – something that doesn’t occur often as it seems that one is always coming home as the other is leaving.

We  listen, and engage, and actually complete whole sentences – activities that, with a bright, engaging and very willful 2 1/2 year old,  don’t happen nearly enough at home.

I drink Coke slushies – pure, icy-corn-syrup-laden-artificially-colored-heaven.

And I am reminded of how lucky I am to have the family that I do, to have gotten the second chance in life that I did, and that when I DO go home, my little guy and wonderful parents are waiting for me.

My parents. This trip (and much of my life) would not be possible without them. I used to wonder how I could ever pay them back for all they’ve done for me. And as my mother so succinctly puts it, “you can’t”. So true. But now that I am a parent I realize that it’s not what parenting is about. As a mother now for over 20 years I know that I have – and always will – sacrificed endlessly, consistently and happily – to be there for my children, always. My parents see this and I can only hope they are proud of the parent that I’ve become. That is how I “pay them back”.

Thank you, Mom and Dad – for everything.

Date Nut Bread

sherisilver

A simple, simply delicious, classic, old-school bread!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Snack

Servings 8

Calories 399 kcal

Equipment

• 9 x 5 loaf pan
• parchment paper
• wire rack
• measuring cup
• whisk
• rubber spatula

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup generous chopped dates
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

 

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line a 9" x 5" loaf pan with parchment paper.
• Place the eggs in a medium bowl and whisk just to blend. Continue whisking and add the milk, olive oil, vanilla and brown sugar.
• Add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk till blended. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the dates and walnuts.
• Pour into your prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, or till a toothpick tests clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Remove from the pan and cool completely.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Glamour Magazine's Gourmet on the Run - this was the very first cookbook I bought for myself. I loved that it was published by my favorite magazine, Glamour, and I envisioned becoming a polished, sophisticated cook in no time flat. I have no idea where that book is today but I'm so glad that I saved this recipe from it.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 399kcalCarbohydrates: 62gProtein: 7gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 139mgPotassium: 297mgFiber: 3gSugar: 40gVitamin A: 101IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 141mgIron: 2mg

Keywords dates, quick bread, tea bread, walnuts

did you make this recipe?tag @sherisilver on instagram!

Other “Mom and Dad” faves included this cake (mom), this cake (dad), and these cookies.

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