Banana Date Muffins and California Dreamin'

Here we are in the last few days of winter! Even though it will officially be spring by the end of this week, and temperatures are starting to warm a bit, our heat is still on and evening temps hover around freezing. There are signs of spring, however, and I see tiny sprouts of scilla and crocus popping up through the cold, wet soil, which is a feast for the eyes after our long, snowy winter. 

The last week of February and first week of March, my husband and I were very fortunate to escape the Wisconsin winter and traveled to Palm Desert, California where we enjoyed golfing, hiking, green grass, flowers and palm trees with a group of close friends.  This trip to California and California dates were the inspiration for my recipe, which you will find below.  

On our first hike, we returned to one of our favorite places to visit, Joshua Tree National Park.  Last year, we hiked the Hidden Valley Trail and this year we decided on the Barker Dam Trail.  Here we are in front of the pond created by Barker dam which was built by local cattlemen in 1900.  The water was originally a catch basin for natural rainfall and springs and the dam helped to retain the water.  The water attracts a variety of desert wildlife and birds.  Cattle ranching is not longer viable in this area since rainfall has decreased and springs have dried up.      

As you can see by the way we're dressed, it's much cooler in Joshua Tree than in the valley where we were staying due to the difference in elevation of almost 3,000 feet.

You can tell how high the elevation is at Joshua Tree by seeing the snow-capped peaks in the distance which weren't that much higher!  

An iconic view of sand, boulders and Joshua Trees. Bouldering is very popular in this part of the park and we saw several young people with their bouldering 'mats'.

One of the most interesting things to see on the Barker Dam trail are the 1,000-year-old Indian petroglyphs hidden within the rock formation above.

As you get to the opening in the boulder, the shelter of the overhanging rock is filled with petroglyphs (which are different from pictographs as they are carved into the stone rather than painted on the surface).

Unfortunately, the petroglyphs were vandalized at some point and someone painted over them.  I read one version of the story which said it was a Disney film crew that painted them to make them show up better while filming a movie in 1961 but I can't say if that story is true as I only found one mention of it. 

Our other hike took us to the Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve, not far from where we were staying.

Above is the McCallum Pond, which is a true palm oasis and desert wetland in the middle of the sandy desert. The oasis was formed by a branch of the San Andreas Fault. Water has found it way up to the surface by weaknesses in the earth caused by the fault, creating this beautiful and natural habitat, which provides water and shelter for a variety of wildlife.

Within a few hundred feet from the oasis the desert was in full bloom! We were so fortunate to see the desert flowers in bloom because of recent rains. It was a glorious sight and the scent of the flowers filled the air.  

 Native verbena and bright yellow brittlebush carpeted the hillsides where we hiked.

My husband and I hiking the Moon Country Trail where we also saw wild campanula, desert daisies and wild lupines in bloom.

The bounty of the Coachella Valley finally brings me to my recipe for Banana Date Muffins!

This part of the California desert, and stretching to Yuma, Arizona, produces the majority of dates available for purchase in the United States.  Date palms were brought to the United States in the late 1700s by missionaries but superior crops weren't introduced until the USDA went looking for crops to plant that would thrive in the U.S.  The temperatures and soil in the Coachella Valley are so similar to the arid Middle East and Sahara Desert that offshoots of those highly productive trees were planted and cultivated in California around 1900.  Now date palms are grown on over more than 6,500 acres and produce more then 40,000 pounds of dates harvested per year.  I brought home both Medjool and Deglet-Noor dates from our trip. As you might guess, I LOVE dates!

The smaller dates on the left are Deglet-Noor and the huge ones on the right are Medjool, both sweet and delicious but I've never seen such large Medjool dates available for purchase here.  Despite their higher calories, dates are highly nutritious and have antioxidant value which you can read about here.

I've been making this banana bread recipe for over 20 years and it still remains my favorite.  I decided to switch up my recipe and add some of my precious California dates, spices and fresh orange zest.  I love how they turned out.  

Banana Date Muffins

Printable Recipe

Yields 11-12 muffins (depending on how you fill the cups or 1 - 9" x 5" loaf, recipe is easily doubled.

6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1-1/2 cups mashed overripe bananas (about 3-4)
1/2 teaspoon (packed) grated orange zest
1/2 cup finely diced pitted dates

Topping:

1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper liners or lightly butter a loaf pan (or use a baking spray with flour added). Mix topping ingredients of chopped pecans and brown sugar together and set aside.

In a large bowl, or stand mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon and salt. Add alternately with bananas to egg mixture, then mix in orange zest. Fold in chopped dates.

Pour into prepared muffin cups or loaf pan and top with the pecan/brown sugar mixture and bake in 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes for muffins or about 60 minutes for loaves, depending on the size of the pan you are using. Check to make sure a toothpick inserted in the centers out clean as all ovens are different.

Cool in pans 5 minutes and then remove to a rack to cool completely.