I still remember Grandma Grubaugh’s Date Nut Bread and how wonderful it tasted at Christmas time. It was always good, but if you were there when she pulled it out of the oven, you’d cut off a slice, put a knob of butter on it and watch the butter melt into the bread. It was delicious.

Grandma made the bread at both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Talking with my sisters and cousins, we all loved her bread in our youth. Not only did it taste great, it looked different than other nut breads. First, there was the color – it was a rich dark brown, unlike the light brown of most nut breads. And second, Grandma’s loaves were round, which made it more fun than a regular loaf of bread. Years later, I learned the secret behind both of those differences.

When we were young kids, Christmas dinner was at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. In addition to turkey and all the trimmings, Grandma’s Date Nut Bread was served. Later, after grandpa died, mom and dad, and the other uncles and aunts hosted Christmas at their own homes. Sometimes we were all together, but eventually, each family held their own Christmas. Grandma went to a different home each year, but always delivered a loaf or two of the Date Nut Bread to everyone’s house ahead of time. They arrived frozen and wrapped in aluminum foil. All you needed to do was thaw it out.

Time passed. I went away to West Point, and then the Army. Any time I was home, I’d stop by to see Grandma. Usually, it was during the holidays, and she’d pull out a loaf of Date Nut Bread, butter, and a glass of milk for me. We’d sit at her kitchen table and talk, while I ate a slice (or three) of the bread. I always told her how much I enjoyed the bread, and would love the recipe. She’d say “I hain’ta gonna give it to you now, but I will one day.” (“I hain’ta gonna…” was one of Grandma’s all time famous phrases. Grandma spoke well, but, “I’m not going to” wasn’t in her vocabulary. Neither was “I ain’t going to”. It was “I hain’ta gonna” pure and simple.)

“One Day” finally came, around Christmas 1989. We’d returned from Germany and I hadn’t seen Grandma since we departed in 1985. We hugged each other and I sat at the kitchen table. She brought me some of the Date Nut Bread and a glass of milk. As we talked, she got up from the table, went out on her porch, and returned with 4 empty vegetable cans with the labels removed. She handed the cans to me, along with a piece of paper with the recipe on it. The empty cans were what she cooked the Date Nut Bread in. Years ago, Grandpa had filed the open edges of the cans down until they were smooth and Grandma used them to make the bread.

I baked the bread for Christmas at my mom and dad’s house that year. Looking at the recipe, I realized why the bread was such a dark rich color. Grandma soaked the dates in hot water, before adding the water to the recipe. This turned the water a dark brown color, which then colored the whole loaf. Grandma pronounced my version of the bread “pretty good” when she came for Christmas dinner. That was about the best compliment you received from Grandma.

Lillian Henrietta Grubaugh died in December, 1996. She was 91 years old. I’ve made the recipe off and on over the years, and never fail to think of Grandma. Like Ebenezer, we nostalgically remember Christmases past, particularly from our youth. Often times, rose colored glasses are involved. That’s not the case with Grandma’s Date Nut Bread – It’s still delicious after all these years. With lots going on in our lives these days, I’m feeling a bit nostalgic myself and I plan to add some Date Nut Bread to our Christmas festivities this December. I’m sure Grandma will be there with me, while I’m baking the bread.

Addendum:

– Note the recipe makes 8 loaves. When Grandma gave me the 4 cans, she was holding onto the other 4 cans. I believe she told me she was going to give them to to my cousin Janice, but when I recently spoke with Janice, she didn’t have them. I don’t know if someone else ended up with the cans, or they were thrown away after she passed away. They were in a box on her back porch, and someone may have confused them for trash.

– A couple notes about the recipe – I use butter instead of the shortening or margarine called for. The recipe halves nicely, if you only have 4 cans or 4 small loaf pans. You could cook it in a regular bread pan or 2, but I’m not sure of how much time it would need to bake. Probably a bit more than an hour

– Thanks to Cathy, my sister Roberta, and my cousins Janice and Don for adding to parts of this story. They definitely filled in details, and confirmed some of my impressions from back then.