Grandma's Date Nut Bread

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Servings: 12
Yield: 12 servings

Description

This vintage, delicious, and homemade date-nut bread recipe delivers a terrific loaf packed with prunes, dates, and nuts to your holiday table.

Ingredients

1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 teaspoons butter, or as needed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped pitted dates
7 pitted prunes, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, well-beaten
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1 Put raisins in a bowl. Pour boiling water over raisins; soak until raisins have flavored water, about 20 minutes. Drain raisins, reserving water. Discard raisins.
2 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a loaf pan with butter.
3 Bring reserved water to a boil in a small saucepan. Measure 3/4 cup boiling water into a bowl. Stir baking soda into water.
4 Put dates and prunes in a large bowl. Pour baking soda-water over dates and prunes; add unsalted butter and stir until melted. Stir sugar and vanilla extract into fruit mixture; let cool to room temperature.
5 Stir egg into fruit mixture to evenly coat. Mix flour and salt together in a small bowl; add to fruit mixture and stir. Fold walnuts into mixture and pour into the prepared loaf pan.
6 Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 65 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.