I made this for breakfast. Instead of hot water for the apricot soak, I used orange juice. It is wonderful!

This was delicious and easy!. I substituted golden and regular raisins, since I didn't have any dates. I increased the recipe by one half and baked it in a bundt cake pan. It took slightly under 1 hour to be done. The house smelled wonderful! It had more of a cake texture, but it was not overly sweet. The dried fruit balanced the "loaf" perfectly. I will be making this again, probably experimenting with different types of dried fruits.

I just went back for another slice, mmm! This loaf came out wonderful, studded with colorful chunks of fruit and moist with a slight sour tang of the cream cheese. I did add a teaspoon of vanilla and used unsalted butter-not margarine. Since I used dates that were pre-chopped in sugar (to keep from sticking together), I lightened up on the sugar a tad. I didn't use a cup of boiling water either, just enough to submerge all of the apricots. I will absolutely make this tasty loaf again! Yum!

I made this recipe as muffins and I do think it turned out as it should but, I just didn't love them. That said, I brought them in to work and a few people ate most of them. If you LOVE dates and dried apricots, you will probably LOVE this recipe.

I discovered this recipe when searching for something new to replace my old standard pumpkin bread. The cream cheese really is the key here, I think. It gives the batter a little 'kick' and makes it more moist. I can even see this batter being used with different fruits. I think next I will try it with dried sweetened cranberries and the dates. I might even try throwing in some coconut! This got good reviews from everyone and it really is different. two hints: I found that I did not need to bake it quite as long as the recipe calls for - I took mine out 10 minutes early, and - use California apricots instead of the more common mediterranean or turkish apricots. They're getting harder to find these days it seems (probably because they're more expensive) but they are well worth it - they are moister, sweeter, a more vibrant color, and don't seem to have the sulfites that the imported ones have. (I can tell the difference because I have asthma and sulfites really get to me - I can't even eat the Turkish apricots.) You have to read the fine print on the packaging, but it should be fairly easy to find on the package whether they're imported, or from California. I'm going to be making lots of this loaf for gifts this year!

I made this for a women's brunch at my church, and it received rave reviews. The cream cheese in the batter gave it a rich quality that many quick breads don't seem to have. And the apricots and dates were a nice combination. Thanks for a great recipe that I'm sure to use many times.

I have given this loaf as a gift, and those who have received it all rave about it. When sliced, it is a very attractive looking bread. It also keeps well, if you don't devour it too quickly.