Vintage Eats Recipe:  1984 Amish Cookies

“A easy-to-mix cookie with a soft interior made festive with red icing sugar”

As an American Midwesterner, I live near a sect of people who call themselves Amish. The region around me has possibly thousands of people who have chosen to adopt a simple way of living in what some of us would consider the most extreme ways.

I have been acquainted with a few and will attempt to explain what I know of them.

The women wear plain, usually dark-colored, dresses and caps, such as the one above, while men wear black hats and black or dark blue clothing and grow beards.

They claim a separation from modern technology and don’t use electricity, but may be permitted by church bishops to cell phones for business.

Instead of motor vehicles, they get around in my area via uncovered, horse-drawn buggies, using large, black umbrellas to protect themselves from wind and rain. They also may pay people to drive them in vehicles.

They have strong ties to community, and religion, having descended from Anabaptist roots. They primarily reside in the Midwest– other states include Pennsylvania and Ohio. Among themselves they speak Pennsylvania German. 

Many settlements contain Amish restaurants and bakeries, as the women are taught at a young age in food preparation. The fare is often meat and potatoes with a heavy emphasis on desserts.

I have eaten in homes and restaurants that are Amish-oriented, such as in Shipshewana, Indiana. The food is delicious and the large portions are memorable.

Today’s Vintage Eats Recipe is a simple cookie recipe featured in many, many cookbooks – Amish and non-Amish. I like it because it is simple to make and eat. Sometimes I don’t want a cookie with a lot of crunch or tastes that my taste buds have to figure out. These little mounds just melt on my tongue, which makes me very happy.

Of course, you’ll not find red icing sugar on the top of traditional Amish cookies. That is too much showiness for their commitment to simple living.

But I wanted to add something to make them jump out at me. As red is my favorite color, that was their destiny.

These Amish cookies are fun to make, especially with kids, as they will enjoy ‘dunking’ the cookies in the red icing sugar. It provides a festive look, especially for Christmas, but it could also work for Valentine’s Day. The color of icing sugar could be alternated (green for St. Patrick’s Day), but in my humble opinion, one can never have too much red.

This recipe came not from an Amish cookbook but A Taste of Indiana– A Holiday Sampler Cookbook.

I have featured recipes from this cookbook earlier:

Hot Spicy Fruit  

Coffee Tortoni

My collection of cookbooks includes several created by Amish women. These staple-bound volumes are usually brief in instructions, but contain gems like Amish Banana Salad (this is definitely a dessert and not a salad!).

I’ll feature more Amish recipes in future. Do you have a favorite Amish restaurant or recipe?

Take care,

**

1984 Amish Cookies

1 cup vegetable oil

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 cups flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine oil, sugar, and eggs.

Add buttermilk and soda; mix well.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

Stir in vanilla.

Drop by mounds on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes, watching carefully; dough will be soft.

When cool, sprinkle with sugar or frosting.

Yield: 5 dozen