Half whole wheat, this bread is tender, moist and hearty. Only 325 calories per slice. Have been adjusting the recipe to make it more flavorful.

The original recipe called for soaking the dates in hot strong coffee. Ick. Coffee made the bread taste bitter, so I changed it to hot water.

1 cup chopped pitted dates
1 cup pecans or walnuts
½ cup hot water
1 cup whole wheat flour. (I used whole wheat pasty flour.)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
7 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the middle. Grease a 9”x 5” loaf pan, preferably a light-colored metal pan. Place dates and hot coffee in a heatproof bowl, cover and let stand until dates are softened, about 25 minutes. Drain dates, reserving liquid, and let cool.

2. Whisk flours, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in nuts. (Coating nuts with flour prevents them from sinking to the bottom.)

3. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and brown sugar, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until light, about 3 minutes. Add applesauce, eggs, vanilla, almond extract and reserved liquid from dates until well combined. Gently mix in dates. (Don’t worry if the mixture looks curdled.)

4. Add flour mixture, gently mixing by hand just until combined.

5. Spread batter in prepared pan, and bake until a cake tester inserted in center comes out with crumbs adhering to it, about 1 hour.

6. Let cool slightly in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer to rack to cool completely. Cut bread into slices. Wrap leftovers tightly and store at room temperature or freeze.

PER SERVING: 325 calories, 13g fat (6g saturated fat), 59mg chol, 4g. fiber, 6g protein, 49g carb, 183mg sodium, 2mg Iron, 67mg Calcium.