Date Nut Coffee Loaf

Preheat oven to 350. Coat an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with butter. Line bottom only of the pan with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit and coat with butter. Place dates in small bowl and sprinkle with baking soda. Heat coffee to boiling and pour over dates and soda. Set aside to soften. In mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar and egg until well blended. Scrape down sides of bowl. Stir in vanilla, then flour and salt. Mixture will look pebbly. Fold in date-coffee mixture until just combined. Stir in the pecans. Scrape mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a wooden skewer inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. Top of loaf will spring back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove the loaf from pan, then allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Leftovers of this loaf are delicious when sliced, toasted, and buttered. You can substitute almost any nut for the pecans in this recipe.

My personal note: I make something similar to this, and also add a cup of chocolate chips. I use walnuts in my loaf. Good stuff, Maynard! lc A variation of Buena Vista Loaf Cake