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1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
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2
Make sure the rack is in the center of the oven.
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3
Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with butter, dust with flour, and tap out the excess.
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4
Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and place in oven until slightly darkened in color and yummy-smelling, about 8 minutes.
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5
Remove the nuts from the oven and allow to them to cool.
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6
Transfer the nuts to a cutting board and coarsely chop (I've even pulsed them in the food processor, much easier).
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7
Meanwhile, stir together the water, baking soda and dates in a medium bowl.
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8
Cover and set aside until the dates have softened, about 20 to 30 minutes.
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9
Stir the melted butter and sugar together in a medium bowl.
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10
Add the eggs and stir until combined.
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11
Stir in the date mixture until well combined.
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12
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and nuts.
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13
Stir the butter/sugar/egg/date mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just moistened.
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14
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the surface with the rubber spatula.
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15
Bake until dark brown and a skewer (in my house this means a match) inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
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16
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
