Amish Date Pudding and Caramel Sauce

• 1 cup dates (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup boiling water
• Pour water and soda mixture over dates. Let it cool.
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup nuts (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon butter

Blend together and then mix with date mixture. Pour into a greased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Caramel Sauce

• 1/4 cup butter (melted)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg (beaten)

Cook until thick. It will thicken more as it cools. Serve with whipped cream. There are various ways to serve this dish. These include cutting into squares and serving with caramel sauce and whipped cream. Mrs. Davis also recommends cutting it into cubes, serving the pudding in a large bowl with layers of caramel sauce, topped with whipped cream and bananas. Arnold Nelson claims it is great served any way you can get it.

Betty Davis has been a member of Central Christian Church, Wooster, Ohio, since 1992. She has served the church as a deacon and now is enjoying the freedom of RVing with her husband Tom. Betty grew up in an Old Order Amish family in northeastern Ohio. This month she shares her family recipe for Date Nut Pudding (a treat Arnold Nelson recently discovered on a trip to northern Ohio.) Enjoy—and be watching for Tom and Betty—they just might visit your church on one of their RV trips!