LindseyfromBFCG reviewed Wanda E. Brunstetter's Amish Friends Christmas Cookbook on + 117 more book reviews
Hi yall!
Im doing something Ive never done on here beforereviewing a cookbook! And this is a special cookbook! Its an Amish cookbook! Not only that but its an Amish Christmas cookbook!
My American Heritage Girls troop is having a bake sale this weekend so the timing of this is perfect! :)
I dont really know where to start this review, so Ill just start with the Contents. Whats neat about this cookbook is that theres a lot about the Amish and what they do for Christmas! {Ill call those the learning parts in this review.} Plus many Scriptures are written out!
Contents~
Introduction: A Brief History of the Amish and Mennonites
An Amish Christmas
Snacks and Bites
Christmas Program
Christmas Traditions
Breads and Rolls
Christmas Meals
Christmas Gifts
Gifts from the Kitchen
Christmas Music
Christmas Decorations and Cards
Salads, Main Dishes, and Sides
Second Christmas
Old Christmas
Sweets and Desserts
Entertainment and Games
Index
All of these recipes are sent in from Miss Wanda E Brunstetters Amish Friends; therefore, youll see last names such as Yoder & Miller and places like Shipshewana, IN & Middlefield, OH.
In the Gifts from the Kitchen section of this cookbook theres some really fun recipes! But not like all of them are recipe-recipes. Theres all kinds of fudge and mixes in a jar but theres also Silly Putty!
As a photographer, I didnt like the picture of the food at the learning part, Christmas Mealsit wasnt very pretty and seemed like pictures from cookbooks my Momma has had for 30+ years. The recipes that had pictures, though, were good. :)
My Momma and I have made three recipes so far out of this cookbook, the Fudge Puddles (which were a hit at our church!), the Ginger cookies (which I share down in this post!) and the Fudgy Chocolate Cookie Bars (really yummy! Ours didnt quite turn out picture-perfect so Im not sharing a picture but they are yummy!).
Some other recipes Id like to try are Buttery Corn Bread, Peanut Butter Fudge, and Never Fail Caramels.
There also are some recipes I wont eat (like ones with Ham, no, not Jewish, we just dont eat Pork/Ham) but I think theres plenty I will eat. ;) I have to admit to laughing when I saw a recipe called for Velveeta processed cheese or Rice-a-Roni.
My family has semi-recently started using Young Living Essential Oils and Ive been wanting to try to bake with them! I attempted to in this recipe! :)
So with that, Lets eat!
Ginger Cookies
Youll need:
1 cup shortening
½ cup sugar
½ cup molasses
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¾ cups flour
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ginger*
1 teaspoon cinnamon*
1 teaspoon cloves*
*Optional:
Young Living Essential Oil Ginger
Young Living Essential Oil Cinnamon Bark
Young Living Essential Oil Clove
Toothpicks
Put Shortening and sugar together in a mixing bowl and cream well. Beat in molasses, egg and vanilla.
If youre going to do the Essential Oil route, the E.O. way, make sure your Essential Oil is a 100% Therapeutic Grade Oil. {Click Here to see what I mean! Stay away from Food Grade oils!} Because Pure Essential Oils (like YL) are very strong you do not want to do a full drop of oil! Take a (wooden) toothpick and quickly dip it in the hole in the clear insert inside the bottle. (Orifice Reducer, is the technical name. ;) ) Pull out and swirl the tooth pick around in batter for all three, using a different toothpick for each oil then throwing away the used ones.
Sift together dry ingredients and gradually blend into wet mixture. (If go the normal way of baking, this is when youd add the 1 teaspoon of each ginger, cinnamon, and clove to the dry ingredients.) {We, uh, had a little accident...the switch got stuck on high...}
Now the waiting! Chill your dough for at least 3 hours. {The light was fading fast in our kitchen so I finished the recipe this morning. :) }
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough out to 1/8-to 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut cookies with floured cookie cutter. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 8 to 10 minutes.
Yield: 2 ½ dozen.
Elsie Mast
Shiloh, OH
Ive never been a super big fan of molasses but these were good! Im positive theyll go great at our bake sale! :)
Link to review & Full Recipe:
http://booksforchristiangirls.blogspot.com/2014/12/lets-eat-ginger-cookies-from-wanda-e.html
*I received this book for free from the Author for this review.
Im doing something Ive never done on here beforereviewing a cookbook! And this is a special cookbook! Its an Amish cookbook! Not only that but its an Amish Christmas cookbook!
My American Heritage Girls troop is having a bake sale this weekend so the timing of this is perfect! :)
I dont really know where to start this review, so Ill just start with the Contents. Whats neat about this cookbook is that theres a lot about the Amish and what they do for Christmas! {Ill call those the learning parts in this review.} Plus many Scriptures are written out!
Contents~
Introduction: A Brief History of the Amish and Mennonites
An Amish Christmas
Snacks and Bites
Christmas Program
Christmas Traditions
Breads and Rolls
Christmas Meals
Christmas Gifts
Gifts from the Kitchen
Christmas Music
Christmas Decorations and Cards
Salads, Main Dishes, and Sides
Second Christmas
Old Christmas
Sweets and Desserts
Entertainment and Games
Index
All of these recipes are sent in from Miss Wanda E Brunstetters Amish Friends; therefore, youll see last names such as Yoder & Miller and places like Shipshewana, IN & Middlefield, OH.
In the Gifts from the Kitchen section of this cookbook theres some really fun recipes! But not like all of them are recipe-recipes. Theres all kinds of fudge and mixes in a jar but theres also Silly Putty!
As a photographer, I didnt like the picture of the food at the learning part, Christmas Mealsit wasnt very pretty and seemed like pictures from cookbooks my Momma has had for 30+ years. The recipes that had pictures, though, were good. :)
My Momma and I have made three recipes so far out of this cookbook, the Fudge Puddles (which were a hit at our church!), the Ginger cookies (which I share down in this post!) and the Fudgy Chocolate Cookie Bars (really yummy! Ours didnt quite turn out picture-perfect so Im not sharing a picture but they are yummy!).
Some other recipes Id like to try are Buttery Corn Bread, Peanut Butter Fudge, and Never Fail Caramels.
There also are some recipes I wont eat (like ones with Ham, no, not Jewish, we just dont eat Pork/Ham) but I think theres plenty I will eat. ;) I have to admit to laughing when I saw a recipe called for Velveeta processed cheese or Rice-a-Roni.
My family has semi-recently started using Young Living Essential Oils and Ive been wanting to try to bake with them! I attempted to in this recipe! :)
So with that, Lets eat!
Ginger Cookies
Youll need:
1 cup shortening
½ cup sugar
½ cup molasses
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¾ cups flour
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ginger*
1 teaspoon cinnamon*
1 teaspoon cloves*
*Optional:
Young Living Essential Oil Ginger
Young Living Essential Oil Cinnamon Bark
Young Living Essential Oil Clove
Toothpicks
Put Shortening and sugar together in a mixing bowl and cream well. Beat in molasses, egg and vanilla.
If youre going to do the Essential Oil route, the E.O. way, make sure your Essential Oil is a 100% Therapeutic Grade Oil. {Click Here to see what I mean! Stay away from Food Grade oils!} Because Pure Essential Oils (like YL) are very strong you do not want to do a full drop of oil! Take a (wooden) toothpick and quickly dip it in the hole in the clear insert inside the bottle. (Orifice Reducer, is the technical name. ;) ) Pull out and swirl the tooth pick around in batter for all three, using a different toothpick for each oil then throwing away the used ones.
Sift together dry ingredients and gradually blend into wet mixture. (If go the normal way of baking, this is when youd add the 1 teaspoon of each ginger, cinnamon, and clove to the dry ingredients.) {We, uh, had a little accident...the switch got stuck on high...}
Now the waiting! Chill your dough for at least 3 hours. {The light was fading fast in our kitchen so I finished the recipe this morning. :) }
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough out to 1/8-to 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut cookies with floured cookie cutter. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 8 to 10 minutes.
Yield: 2 ½ dozen.
Elsie Mast
Shiloh, OH
Ive never been a super big fan of molasses but these were good! Im positive theyll go great at our bake sale! :)
Link to review & Full Recipe:
http://booksforchristiangirls.blogspot.com/2014/12/lets-eat-ginger-cookies-from-wanda-e.html
*I received this book for free from the Author for this review.
