Baking with Dates

It's easy to look through old cookbooks and notice the large number of recipes using dates.   I have seen ads for Dromedary dates from as early as 1910 – and many quick breads, steamed puddings, cake and cookie recipes used dates. I think this may be because perishable fresh fruit was not as available in the winter all over the country in those days, and dates, which were easy to ship and store, were used in many festive holiday recipes.
Sadly, dates seem to have fallen from favor in recent years, and products like date bread mix and date bar mix are no longer available.  Over coffee, Myrna, Bettie and I all fondly remembered those mixes from our early married days.  In fact, my favorite fruit cake recipe that I used for years used date bread mix - I can no longer find the mix.
Next week, we’re going to share a few of our favorite recipes using dates – the recipes I like best are all old and time tested, and I can see some of them in this 1962 ad for dates.