Banana Date Bread

BANANA DATE BREAD

1/10/2019

Banana Date Bread

This is how our family-favorite Banana Data Bread was born. My family loves Banana Bread - plain and simple, every day. I love old-fashioned Date Bread, but wish the recipes I've tried were a little bit moister. Combining the two is genius! Flavorful and moist, tried and true, tender and filled with tender dates that caramelize into a golden sweet bread. Dates are the perfect addition to our family-favorite Banana Bread!

This flavorful Banana Date Bread is one of those rare breads that actually tastes better the day AFTER you make it - if you can wait that long!

Old-Fashioned Banana Date Bread

When I was growing up, my grandma would always make old-fashioned date bread for the holidays. My family has never been a big fan -- date nut bread always seemed too heavy and dry for their taste.

And then I had one of those eureka moments. We all love Banana Bread - it is always so moist and flavorful that my kiddos will eat it up warm from the oven. What if I mixed dates into the batter?

Banana Date Bread Batter

Traditional date bread recipes usually involve chopping up the dates and letting them sit in boiling water and baking soda before mixing into the batter. This also means that the softened dates will sink to the bottom of your date bread loaves.

I wanted to find a method that simplified the process and gave me soft dates throughout the loaves. The banana bread batter actually moistens the chopped dates perfectly without any extra steps. The small pieces of tender dates seem to melt right into the golden bread into caramel-like ribbons.

Banana Date Bread

I sprinkle a few chopped date pieces on the top of the batter before popping it into the oven, and when it is baked up perfectly golden, I drizzle some pure maple syrup on top. This keeps the loaves so moist and flavorful - and the topping is simply out-of-this world wonderful!

The craziest thing about this Banana Date Bread recipe is that people don't even realize that there are dates in the sweet bread - they just know that they love it and want another piece!

Hope that you give this special recipe a try - it's a new tradition!

Banana Date Bread

BANANA DATE BREAD

My family loves Banana Bread - plain, simple, every day. I love old-fashioned Date Bread, but wish the recipes I've tried were a little bit moister. Combining the two is genius! Flavorful and moist, tried and true, tender and filled with tender dates that caramelize into a golden sweet bread. Dates are the perfect addition to our family-favorite Banana Bread!

Banana Date Bread

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled, not scooped)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) butter (room temperature)
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large ripe bananas (mashed)
½ cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs (room temperature)
1-1/2 cups chopped dates, plus additional for sprinkling on top
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

HOW I MAKE THIS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and adjust rack to middle of oven. Lightly spray a 9x5 loaf pan or 4 individual loaf pans with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Blend in the mashed bananas, milk and vanilla until well blended.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the date pieces.
Using a large spoon or rubber spatula, slowly mix half of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, stirring just until combined. Add remaining flour mixture and again stir just until combined and no more flour pockets remain. Do not overmix!
Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan and top with additional chopped dates.
Bake for 28 to 32 minutes for small 3x5 loaves, 45 to 50 minutes for a full-sized loaf (depending on the size of the pans you use), or 16-18 minutes for mini-loaves. To prevent the top and sides from getting too brown, loosely covering the bread with aluminum foil once it is golden. A toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf will come out clean when the bread is done.
Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely on a wire rack. Brush the top with pure maple syrup while still warm.
Store covered in a cool location or wrap loaves individually and freeze.

YIELD: makes one 9x5 loaf, four 3x5 loaves or 10 mini-loaves

NOTES: For gift-giving, special occasions and holidays, I will glaze the banana date bread loaves by brushing with maple syrup immediately upon removing from the oven. This keeps the loaves incredibly moist and gives a shiny, delicious look and flavor to the bread.

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