Spiced Pear Sauce Bread with Dates

My father currently has a rather mangy looking heirloom pear tree in the back yard, but last year it was so full of fruit it broke the tree.  Unfortunately, the pears, like most true heirloom fruit, are disgusting. People forget pears and apples were not yummy and delicious-we bred them to be.  All you have to do is pop up to Indian Creek Farm in Ithaca and try one of their Victorian apples.  Blargh.

So I made it into sauce, which, while tasty, is awfully gritty, so I save it for baking.  I have a couple more things leftover in the freezer, and I'm trying to clear it all out for this year's CSA and local farm haul. The last time, I used it to make those Pomaceous Brownies, which were awesome and I'll make them again.  Today I'm trying an applesauce bread, but with some changes of course.

1 1/2 cups pear sauce
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, liquid state OR or canola
2 eggs
3 Tbsp So Delicious unsweetend coconut milk OR 2%
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
12 medjool dates, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached

  1. Preheat oven to 350F and use butter or coconut oil to thoroughly grease your load pan.
  2. Combine in the bowl in order, beating thoroughly between each until you get to the dates and flour.
  3. Add dates, and fold in.
  4. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, folding in,
  5. Mix only until combined and everything wet.  No more.
  6. Scoop into load pan and bake 40 minutes, drop oven to 325F
  7. Bake until passes the toothpick test, about 15-20 more minutes.  If you have a thermometer, internal should read 205-210F in center.
  8. Let cool 10 minutes before running a knife around the edge and popping it out to cool the rest of the way on a rack.
12 slices at 250 calories each, or 16 muffins at 188 calories each.

To make pear sauce, if you don't have it, follow my Simple Stove Top Applesauce recipe and sub in pears instead. Or use unsweetened applesauce instead.