Amish Christmas Cookie Recipes....Enjoy!

Volume 5 of my Amish Knitting Circle is called Christmas Cookies. I surprise readers with original Amish Christmas cookie recipes. I'll share them today on Amish Crossings because so many ingredients are on sale this week to make Thanksgiving desserts. Stock up on flour now ;)  Enjoy!

Lydia’s Sugar Cookies with Cinnamon Frosting

3 c. Crisco

2 c. white sugar

2 c. brown sugar

5 eggs

3 c. whole milk

Vanilla to flavor (1 tsp.)

6 tsp. baking powder

3 tsp. baking soda

Pinch of salt

Enough flour to handle, not too much. About 9 cups.

Cream shortening with sugars. Add wet ingredients. Sift dry ingredients and slowly fold in. Mix well. Drop teaspoon full of batter on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. 

Cinnamon Frosting

1 c. Crisco

3 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Pinch salt

Milk to thin a bit

Flavor with cinnamon to your liking.

                                                Ginger Cookie

1 c brown sugar

1 c. shortening (Crisco)

½ c. hot water

1 egg

2/3 molasses

1/3 c. corn syrup

1 T baking soda

1 T cinnamon

1 T Ginger

1 T vanilla

Pinch salt

1 T baking powder

Enough flour to make soft dough. Start with 4 cups to start. Add flour slowly until right consistency.

Sift flour with salt and spices. Cream shortening and sugar; add egg and beat until light. Add molasses, corn syrup and vanilla, then dry ingredients. Dissolve baking powder in hot water, and add to mix. Add flour, not to exceed 9 cups. Drop by teaspoons on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

                                    Oatmeal Whoopie Pies

4 c. brown sugar

1 ½ c. Oleo (Crisco)

4 eggs

4 c. flour

4 c. oatmeal

2 t. cinnamon

2 t. baking powder

2 t. baking soda dissolved in 6 T boiling water

Cream together sugar, Oleo, and eggs. Add pinch of salt, flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, baking powder. Add soda water last. Beat and drop by teaspoon full on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees. Take two cookies and spread with filling, holding them together.

Whoopie Pie Filling

2 egg whites

2 t vanilla

4 T flour

4 T milk

4 c. powdered sugar

1 c. Crisco

Beat egg whites until stiff. Add other ingredients. Spread between cookies and enjoy.

                                    Chocolate Whoopie Pies

4 c. flour

2 c. sugar

2 t. soda

1 ½ salt

1 c. shortening (Crisco)

1 c. cocoa

2 eggs

2 t vanilla

1 c. sour milk from the cow (and for the rest of us…1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 cup ;)

1 c. cold water

Cream: sugar, salt, shortening, vanilla and eggs. Sift: flour, soda and cocoa. Mix ingredients together and slowly add sour milk and water until right consistency. Can add flour to mixture if too gooey. Drop by teaspoonful. Bake at 350. Put two cookies together with Whoopie Pie Filling recipe.

                                               

                                    Christmas Butter Cookies

3 c. powdered sugar

½ c. white sugar

2 c. butter

2 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs, beaten

6 c. flour

Cream together butter and sugars, add vanilla and eggs. Mix well and add flour and baking powder. Roll thin and cut. Bake at 350 degrees. Top with frosting.

                                   

                                                Basic Frosting

3 egg whites

½ tsp. cream of tartar

4 c. powdered sugar

Water

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar. Add powdered sugar and beat until stiff. Add enough water so that you can dip the cookies in the frosting.

                                                Butterscotch Cookies

                          

2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

1 cup shortening or lard

4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1 cup nuts

Mix all ingredients except nuts. Stir the nuts in by hand. Roll the dough into tubes 2 inches thick and cut in thin slices. Press with fork or potato masher to make design. Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes.

           

           
           

Inside an Amish home...Plain and Simple

 Every time I step inside an Amish home, I feel like I need take half the stuff in my house to the Salvation Army pick up bin. If a picture can say a thousand words, take a look at my friend's new house. You'll see two sewing machines that she often uses, decorated with runners and crocheted doilies edged in blue. In the left corner there are two Amish "drying racks" for laundry. So this beautiful room is where Lydia dries, sews and mends clothes. When not in use for laundry or sewing, it's really cute, neat, and orderly. You'll see two Amish rockers with woven rugs under them which can be easily turned to use for sewing, or to sit and chat with a friend. The left wall is filled with storage...out of sight and out of mind. Plants adorn the tops of the window sills and sewing machines when they're not in use. Lydia has two greenhouses and like most gardeners in Western Pennsylvania, shelves line many windows so plants can be started inside in February. So many functions for such a little space. Really makes me wonder what I need to get rid of first....plain and simple

Knit Together: An Amish Knitting Novel & Operation Knit Together for Charity

I've always wanted to write a full length novel. Every time I watched Little Women, and saw Jo up in the attic writing about things from her heart, a knot would form in my stomach. I could never do that, I thought. I have nothing to really say.

Well, after my mom passed away, I went to visit my friend, Lydia, in Smicksburg, PA. She had just lost her sister-in-law to a heart attack. As we walked around her two greenhouses, sharing our grief, I wondered what it would be like if Lydia and I lived across the street from each other and could talk everyday. I've learned so much from her about the Amish way of life, I then thought....I have a story to tell. The major life-lessons my Amish friends in NY and PA taught me.

In the book is a man named Eli Hershberger. He's my late friend, Harry Hershberger.  He became a paraplegic after his buggy was hit while he was on his way to help put out an Englisher's fire. The Amish built a variety shop onto his house so he could have a source of income. I'll never forget asking Harry how much a cord of wood was, as we usually put up 30 cord in Upstate NY. Harry looked at me baffled...he didn't know. The Amish community had always provided all the wood he needed, since his wife couldn't go out and split logs and tend to him.

My book , Knit Together: An Amish Knitting Novel, published by Trestle Press, just came out as an ebook and will be a paperback before Christmas 2011. What a dream to not only have a novel, but to have one about the lessons I learned from my Amish friends. I'm just as excited to partner with Christian Aid Ministries, an Amish/Mennonite charity in Berlin, OH. In the front of the book is a knitting pattern for mittens. The Amish/English knitting circle in the town not only hold the town's harmony together, but knit for charity together, and they're making mittens for orphans in Eastern Europe. Operation Knit Together is announced in the front of the book, asking reader to knit the mittens and send them to CAM. They will distribute them to orphans in Eastern Europe.

I am so thrilled about this book, and my  Amish Knitting Circle series. If you have Amish friends, or know something about them that changed your life, maybe you have a story you can begin to spin. I believe the Amish can teach so much in this the post-modern world we live in. I know I’ve learned a lot….

If you'd like to read my book and knit along in a virtual worldwide knitting circle, you can get the book at the link below.

http://www.amazon.com/Knit-Together-Amish-Knitting-ebook/dp/B00641SG2S/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_5

Blessings to you!

Karen Anna Vogel

A heartfelt talk with Amish author Suzanne Woods Fisher

I'm so honored to have Suzanne Woods Fisher on my blog. I think most people know her as the author of Amish Peace, Amish Proverbs, and Amish Values for your Family, and her Lancaster Country Secrets series.  I wanted to ask her about her new Christmas novel, Lancaster Country Christmas, since I bought it as my "Christmas 2011 Keepsake Book". Let's get into the interview:

Suzanne, I am thrilled to have you on Amish Crossings. Thank you for answering my many questions with such transparency. What inspired you to write A Lancaster County Christmas? 

 The inspiration for this novella came from two loose threads …

 In the Amish culture, motherhood is highly valued. I felt as if there could be a story in that: what does a woman do when she feels an inner and outer pull toward motherhood, and yet she isn’t able to have children? A character from “The Choice,” Mattie Riehl, came to mind as a woman who had the depth to tackle that enormous disappointment. So Mattie was the first thread.

 The second thread belonged to Jaime Fitzpatrick, a young English woman who keeps trying to stuff down some serious issues in her life…but they keep popping up. Her mother had recently passed away, her father has just re-appeared in her life, and her poor husband, C.J., seems to get the short end of Jaime’s trouble with trust.

 Jaime’s story was loosely based on the relationship a close friend of mine has with her father. I’ve known this friend long enough to see how her father’s “on again, off again” interest in being a dad has affected her. Hard stuff!

 Here’s how the two threads wove together to create A Lancaster County Christmas:  A winter storm on Christmas Eve blows Jaime and C.J. into Mattie’s farmhouse. These two women—opposites in every way—are facing their own private difficulties. As an unlikely friendship begins, Mattie and Jaime are about to discover if miracles still happen at Christmastime.

 I see you bring up the topic of infertility. Why?

 

After my first two children were born, I had a miscarriage. It gave me a hint of what women who experience infertility go through. Even though I did have children and obviously wasn’t infertile, I still mourned for the loss of that baby. I didn’t feel like myself for a while, and I felt frustrated by people who dismissed the loss or rushed me through the grieving process. Much of Mattie’s inner dialogue comes right out of my diaries during that time in my life.

How do you try to have a simple Christmas without turning Amish?

 

Oh, I wish I could say that I’ve got the perfect formula for a simple Christmas! Sometimes, I think my Christmases are getting even more complicated. Our extended family is changing—oldest children are marrying, one has a baby, two of our brothers’ have divorced, my dad has Alzheimer’s disease, our mothers are getting quite elderly. Paying attention, during the Christmas season, to all of the people in our lives is a lot to juggle. But here’s the one principle that helps to simplify Christmas: make time to reflect on the coming of Christ and all that it brings to us. It might mean skipping Christmas cards or limiting gifts or saying no to some parties. Whatever it takes! Worship is the heart of Christmas.

 

Amish Values for Your Family is such a great book. You talk about the lost childhood. How can we give our children a more "plain and simple" Christmas?

 The term “lost childhood” comes from recent studies that indicate children are overscheduled and don’t have enough down time for…just being children. Seems like this is where parents can put some thought into Christmas gifts that encourage imagination. For example, we have a family tradition of starting a new 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle on Christmas Eve. It usually takes until New Year’s Day to finish it and includes lots of mellow time by the fireplace.

 I’ve heard of two different ideas to put some parameters around Christmas. One is the “Three Wise Men” rule. Each child receives three gifts: one that he wants, one to share, and one (such as a book) for his spiritual life.

Another suggestion comes from the Victorian tradition. Children receive four gifts, one from each category: need, want, wear, read.

 What I like about both of those plans is that they create a limit to the amount of gifts a child can expect and it takes some pressure off of Mom and Dad (who hasn’t worried on Christmas Eve that one child has less gifts than another?). I read recently that the average American family spends over $4,500 each Christmas. Ridiculous!

 How can we live more simply like the Amish?

I’m a big fan of living with less clutter and chaos and simplifying the daily routine--but sometimes we look at the Amish and stop at the buggies and bonnets and beards. There’s so much more to the Amish than living without television or cars or “stuff.”

 As I’ve studied the Old Order Amish, I think what has touched me in a deep, unsettling way is their intentional forgiveness. We just don’t emphasize that enough! To the Amish, it’s a daily attitude of “letting things go.” The Amish place great importance on forgiving others because of Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount: “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:15). It really makes me gulp!

I think “letting go” of pettiness and grudges is another form of simplifying. The best kind. 

 What new projects are on the horizon?

Lots of exciting things are in the pipeline! A new 3-book Amish fiction series kicks off with The Keeper in January (it might be my favorite!), and an Amish children’s chapter book series is coming out next summer. I’m co-writing the series with Mary Ann Kinsinger, who was raised Old Order Amish and writes an amazing blog called “A Joyful Chaos” (ajoyfulchaos.blogspot.com). Some exciting projects are getting finalized, too. (Stay tuned!) My goal is that every book is better than the one before it—I never want to stop improving my craft.

Wow, that sounds really exciting. What message would you like your readers to take from reading A Lancaster County Christmas?

Emmanuel—God is with us (Matthew 1:23). Stop for a moment and think about that simple phrase. God has entered His creation to come alongside of us. Such a miracle!

Last thing—I love to hear from readers! I can be found at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com, and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SuzanneWoodsFisherAuthor. I try to answer everyone back within a day or so. And I’d like to invite each of you to sign up for my newsletter—filled of contests and giveaways and good stuff! Hope to connect with you.

Thanks, Karen, for having me visit on your blog today.

Thank you Suzanne. It's been an honor. If you'd like to purchase Lancaster County Christmas, for a good price, see the link below to my store, Thrifty Christian Shopper.;)

 http://thriftychristian.clearcheckout.com/index.php?module=viewitem&item=4165861

Blessings to you!

Karen Anna Vogel

Interview with Roger Rheinheimer, author of Amish Snow

What was it like growing up among the Amish?

My dad was the town doctor in a small town in northern Indiana, and the town had a hitching rail for the Amish to tie their horses on a side street right around the corner from his office. I remember going on house calls with him, sometimes to Amish homes, but of course as a kid, I never realized how special that was. Those are some of my favorite memories.

 Do you have any favorite stories about an Amish friend you'd like to share?

I worked for an Amish craftsman when I was in high school, after school and summers.  One summer - I was probably a junior in high school - we were working on a room addition for another Amish family, and their five year old son came sauntering up with a very broad grin, announcing to anyone in earshot, “Here comes trouble!”  We just cracked up. 

 I believe you’re Mennonite. Where your grandparents Amish or Old Order Mennonite?

I was raised in a Mennonite family, yes, but Mennonites have a wide variety of beliefs and practices.  We were part of the most liberal group, and I remember my dad always bought a new Ford from the local dealership every year.  He was also a gadget nut, and bought one of the first color televisions in town, then forbade us from watching anything but sports on it!  My maternal grandfather was born into an Amish family, but left that faith and joined a Mennonite church.  I used to love to hear his stories about barn raisings.  As long as we kids were willing to turn the homemade ice cream handle, he was willing to tell stories.  He was an antique dealer, and provided well for his family selling antiques, even during the Depression.

What is the one big misconception people have about the Amish?

Boy, this is a tough question because there are so many misconceptions. I suppose the biggest misconception is that all Amish are the same, in terms of beliefs and practices. Partly because they eschew modern means of communication and still travel by horse and buggy, it is virtually impossible for them to have a central religious committee. So the interpretation of the Bible and Christianity is up to the local Elders, usually Bishops. That is why you will see things in one community, like cell phones, that another community will ban.  My wife Ginny and I were in Ohio one time, and saw an Amish man drive up to a filling station, grab two five gallon gas cans from the back of the buggy, fill them up and then head out. Ginny was aghast until I explained that no doubt their particular community had approved the use of gasoline for lawn mowers, etc. The Amish craftsman I worked for had some of the latest power tools, but the Elders in his community said they had to be powered by generators, not public utilities, unless we were working at an English home, then we could use their power outlets.

You have a new Amish series coming out soon. What inspired you to write Amish Forever?

I had been toying with writing a sequel to Amish Snow for some time, and when Trestle Press inquired whether I would be interested in writing a serialized Amish romance, it seemed like a perfect opportunity. I’ve always heard there are only seven plots in fiction writing, and they’ve been used since the beginning of storytelling, so the only thing we writers can hope to contribute are a fresh way of telling and, of course, characters that come alive. It’s hard to describe how gratifying it is to hear from readers that they couldn’t put the story and characters out of their minds after they finished reading.

 Can you tell us a little about the book without giving too much away?

The Amish really are “strangers in a strange land,” meaning there is always this tension between their way of life and the “English,” what they call the rest of us. This becomes especially important when it involves marriage and family. Ava Troyer, the seventeen year old protagonist, is a beautiful young Amish girl, and is rescued from a bad, Sunday morning wreck by a mysterious young man in military fatigues that speaks Pennsylvania Dutch and then disappears from the scene. Ava is smitten, to the consternation of her family, but she can’t put him out of her mind. Crystal Linn, my co-author, came up with the title, Amish Forever.

 Thank you for sharing with us on Amish Crossings. More information about Roger Rheinheimer can be found at  http://rogerrheinheimer.com/

Do Amish Women Knit?

Since my book series, Amish Knitting Circle, came out with Trestle Press, I’ve been asked if Amish women really knit. Most people think they only quilt. I’m so glad to say, yes, they knit too!

            The Amish came to America in the early eighteenth century. At that time it was typical for women to know how to spin their wool and knit. Amish women knit shawls for warmth, usually in dark colors to match their dark clothing. Between1860-1920 Lancaster County women had more colors accessible to them and knit fancy colorful socks to wear under their long dresses and boots. These were called wedding socks and worn only by married women as part of their wedding attire.

As the Industrial Revolution produced more yarn in mills at affordable prices, Amish women  set aside their spinning wheels. But, they still made socks, mittens, shawls, and other apparel. They made their own knitting looms, now called Amish Knitting Looms, that require no needles and where made of wood and nails. Most are about 32 inches long, the right size for a shawl. When items became cheap enough to buy in stores, the need to knit was replaced by a want to knit. To this day, Amish women knit  mats to put under their oil lamps, placemats for their tables, rag rugs to warm their floors, and much more.

 Today the traditional Amish Knitting Loom is replaced by plastic ones, although the Amish still make their wooden ones. Lion Brand Yarn sells them in different lengths. But if you go into any craft store you’ll find knitting looms, some as kits, for sale. The top rated knitting loom book on Amazon is Loom Knitting Primer: A Beginner's Guide to Knitting on a Loom, with over 30 Fun Projects.

If you’re reading The Amish Knitting Circle you’ll know their making shawls to send to tornado victims in Joplin, MO. Why not get a loom and knit along with Granny Weaver and her circle and give your shawl to someone in need. Happy knitting!

I think it's safe to say that some things never change. Men aren't made to knit ;)

Do the Amish give to charities? Do they help the poor?

Can you picture a group of Amish men flying cows into Romania to start a farm to feed orphans? How about Amish distributing Bibles door to door?  How about Amish women processing 400,000 cans of chicken, beef and hamburger to give to the needy? The latter seems Amish, doesn’t it? We see the Amish as folk living quaint lives on the farm. Let me help blow your mind!

Christian Aid Ministries (CAM) is a worldwide Amish and Mennonite charitable organization run by volunteers that log in over 200,000 hours of work a year.  Annual donations made by mostly “plain people” are $116,168,060, according to Charity Navigator.  BUT 98.8% of this money actually goes to ward relief efforts in the US and around the world. (Some charitable organizations give less than 70%  to their actual cause)  CAM is run by a volunteer board and has only three paid positions, the top CEO making $45,895 a year. CAM has staff, bases and distribution networks in Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Haiti, Nicaragua, Liberia and Israel. I don't know? I was blown away completely. CAM is doing a top-notch job.

So what is CAM doing right now? According to their newsletter, their international focus is the ongoing devastation in Haiti and the famine in Africa. In the US, they're helping Hurricane Irene victims.

Plans are for CAM’s Rapid Response Teams to help victims of Manville, New Jersey, clean up from flood damage caused by the hurricane. Leroy Heatwole, a Rapid Response Team director, says, "We are in Manville walking into the flood area with the homeowners who are just returning to their homes. There are a lot of homes flooded, from six inches to all the way to the roof. Plans are to do more investigating and then start mucking out homes as soon as the water level goes down. We will be needing lots of volunteers from the PA community.”

CAM has a wonderful mission statement:  Glorify God and help enlarge His kingdom.  “. . . whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (I Corinthians 10:31)

For more information on Christian Aid Ministries, visit their website, run by less conservative Mennonites who use electricity and the internet ;) http://www.christianaidministries.org 

I've chosen to really spotlight CAM in my Amish Knitting Circle Series with Trestle Press. The women in the circle will be knitting scarves and shawls for Joplin, Missouri hurricane victims. I hope it will raise awareness for this wonderful ministry.

Blessings!

Karen Anna Vogel

Amish helping Hurricane Irene victims...