Healthy Moist Date Nut Bread

This recipe is a healthier take on classic date nut bread. Featuring all the usual suspects—dates, nuts, and a dash of booze—this bread is just as moist and much more flavorful than the classic. Enhanced with warm spices and sweetened with maple syrup (both of which are not traditional), this bread certainly shows up when it comes to flavor. 

What is date nut bread?

Date nut bread is a quick bread—a type of bread made with baking soda and/or baking powder instead of yeast. 

If you’ve never had date nut bread before, then you’re in for a treat! Made with chopped dates and nuts, most date nut breads are dense, moist, and pretty sweet. I’d say it’s a cross between banana bread and fruit cake.

This version is far less sweet (though still sweet enough to be an evening treat), moist but not nearly as dense, and more flavorful thanks to the addition of warm spices. 

What you’ll need to make date nut bread:

• White whole-wheat flour 
• Baking powder and baking soda
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground ginger
• Kosher salt 
• Whole milk 
• Eggs
• Pure maple syrup
• Olive oil 
• Melted butter (optional, you can use olive oil instead)
• Brandy or bourbon (also optional, but it adds great flavor)
• Vanilla extract
• Dates
• Walnuts or pecans 
• Turbinado or demerara sugar

How to make date nut bread

Just like any other quick bread, this date nut bread recipe is easy to make. No special equipment and no hard-to-find ingredients. 

1. Combine the dry ingredients. 
2. Whisk together the wet ingredients. 
3. Add the chopped dates to the wet mixture and let sit 10 minutes (optional step, but I find this loosens up the dates, helping them better disperse throughout the batter).
4. Fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture just until combined, some pockets of flour are OK. 
5. Add the nuts and fold to combine.
6. Spread the batter into a parchment-lined loaf pan, smooth the top and sprinkle with sugar. 
7. Bake bread until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. 
8. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Why olive oil and butter?

Almost all of the quick bread recipes I create and share are made with olive oil. Not only is it healthier, but it creates the most moist quick breads. Plus, when you use extra-virgin olive oil you’re also adding a great deal of flavor. 

This recipe is healthier than traditional date nut bread but it doesn’t skimp on traditional flavor. To maintain that lovely butter flavor associated with this bread, I add just 2 tablespoons of melted butter to the batter. It’s not a lot, but it does the trick.

If you want to use only olive oil, go right ahead! Just swap those two tablespoons of butter for 2 tablespoons olive oil (in addition to the ¼ cup the recipe already calls for). 

Make sure your dried dates are fresh

Sound like an oxymoron? To have the best results, it’s important to use fresh dried dates. What I mean by this—make sure the dried dates aren’t super dry and old. You want dates that are still very pliable and soft, almost like a homemade caramel. 

The softer your dried dates are, the more gooey they will be in the bread—which is ideal since they’re the star of the show!

If your dates are pretty dry, you can salvage them to make this bread! I recommend chopping the dates as directed, then soaking in hot water for 10–15 minutes. Drain the dates well then use as directed in the recipe.

Variations:

• Add more warm spices like nutmeg, allspice, or clove
• Replace a few tablespoons of the maple syrup with molasses (this will give the bread a classic deep dark color, similar to the date nut breads which used to be sold by Thomas or Neuman’s)
• Finish the bread with a simple orange glaze or a simple cream cheese frosting
• Top the bread with a quick oat streusel instead of turbinado sugar
• Serve with a spread of cream cheese—very classic
• Use brown sugar in place of the maple syrup

If you give this bread a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @zestfulkitchen on Instagram. I love hearing about and seeing your ZK creations!

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