Recipes from my books


Books including recipes listed below:

 


Recipes from The Christmas Singing:

 


3-Layer Strawberries-and-Cream Cake

From The Christmas Singing

2 cups sugar
1 small package strawberry gelatin
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
2 3/4 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup strawberries, puréed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9-inch, round cake pans. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, gelatin, and butter until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Mix the flour and baking powder together, and add to the sugar mixture in two parts, alternating with the milk and beating after each addition. Fold in vanilla and puréed strawberries. Divide equally into the three cake pans.

Bake for 25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then remove from the pans and cool completely.

Filling:

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

Beat the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff. Cover the bottom and middle cake layer each with 1/3 of the whipped cream and 3/4 cup sliced strawberries. Set aside remaining whipped cream.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, halved or quartered

Beat the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Spread frosting around the sides of the cake. Make a pretty piping of frosting along the top edge of the cake. Gently spread remaining whipped cream on cake top. Decorate top with strawberries.

 

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Orange Coconut Cake

From The Christmas Singing

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature; separate yolks and whites
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk or coconut milk
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch, round cake pans, or place parchment paper circles coated with flour in the bottom of the pans.

Beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating constantly until thoroughly mixed. Add yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in two parts, alternating with buttermilk or coconut milk. Beat in the coconut extract and lemon zest.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat egg whites until medium-firm peaks form. Fold one third of the egg whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining whites.

Divide batter between the pans, and bake on the middle rack of the oven about 30 minutes. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and finish cooling completely. Decorate with buttercream frosting.

Orange Buttercream Frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
16-ounce bag powdered sugar
4 teaspoons grated orange zest
orange food coloring

Whip butter and sugar together until perfectly smooth. Add orange food coloring one drop at a time until the desired shade is achieved.

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Recipes from Plain Wisdom: An Invitation into an Amish Home and the Hearts of Two Women:

 


Chicken Spagetti

From Plain Wisdom

1 chicken, cooked and chopped (about 2–3 cups)
1 pound spaghetti, cooked
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped onion
pat of butter
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can condensed tomato soup
½ pound Velveeta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Place cooked chicken and spaghetti in a container and set aside. In a large pot sauté onions and celery in a pat of butter. Add broth, milk, and soups. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add chicken and spaghetti. Pour mixture into a 9”x13” greased or sprayed casserole dish. Cover with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until heated thoroughly and the cheese is brown.

 

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Zucchini Bread

From Plain Wisdom

3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
3 cups zucchini, grated
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup nuts (optional)

Grease and flour two 8″ x 4″ pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans. Bake for 1 hour or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes. Then remove the bread from the pan, and cool completely.

 

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Green Bean and Ham Casserole

From Plain Wisdom

1½ cups shell macaroni
1 can green beans, drained
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, mixed with half a soup can of milk
1 to 2 cups  cheddar cheese, grated (depending on how much cheese you like)
2 cups ham, chopped
½ cup onion, chopped
2 cups hash-brown potatoes, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Cook and drain macaroni according to directions. Layer ingredients, as listed, in a greased small roasting pan or medium casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

 

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for every season

Recipes from Book 3 in the Amish Vines and Orchards Series, For Every Season


Old Fashioned Apple Cake

From For Every Season

A family recipe shared by Imogene Moody, the mom of Carla Moody Weatherly, a longtime friend

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs
¼ cup orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans

Filling:

3 teaspoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons sugar
2 cups apples, peeled and thinly sliced (Courtland, Macintosh, or your choice)

Combine sugar, oil, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla. Beat together for ten minutes. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together, and add them to the wet mixture. Fold in pecans. Mix cinnamon and sugar and set aside. Pour 1/3 of the batter into a greased Bundt or tube pan. Spread 1 cup of the apples on top of the batter. Sprinkle with 3 teaspoons of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Add 1/3 of the batter. Spread 1 cup of the apples over that batter, and add remainder of cinnamon and sugar. Cover with remaining batter. Bake at 325° for 1½ hours. This cake is best if baked 1 or 2 days in advance.

 

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Apple Crisp

From For Every Season

This is an old family recipe provided by Marion Woodsmall. Aunt Marion’s husband and his brother (my late father-in-law) worked an apple orchard with their father while growing up. When she first sent me this recipe, it was missing the temperature setting for the stove, so I wrote to her and asked about it. Her answer was so precious I had to share it with you. She wrote: This recipe is very old and they used woodstoves to cook and hoped for the best, but I set my oven at 375 degrees.

Thank you, Aunt Marion!

8 tart apples, peeled and sliced (Courtland, Macintosh, or your choice)
cup orange juice
1 cup sugar, divided in half
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons margarine or butter

Place the sliced apples in an 8″ x 8″ ungreased pan. Pour the orange juice over the apples. Mix 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Work the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, flour, salt, and margarine or butter together using your fingers or a pastry cutter. Mixture should be crumbly, pea size or smaller Spread over the apples and pat smooth. Bake at 375 degrees for 40–45 minutes until crust is crisp and brown and apples are tender. Serve with milk or cream. Enjoy this very old recipe.

My daughter-in-law Erin made this recipe, and the following are her thoughts:

The “8 apples” must refer to the normal size of homegrown apples, not the gigantic grocery store size. I could only fit four and a half sliced and peeled apples in the 8×8 dish. Also, 1/2 cup of orange juice makes a lot of liquid at the bottom of the dish, or perhaps the kind of apples I used produced more juice. When I make it again–and it’s delicious, so I will!– I’ll reduce the orange juice to 1/4 cup. I needed to bake it for a little over an hour, possibly because I’d stuffed it with more apples than intended. And I’m sure cooking in a wood-burning oven makes a big difference!

It was really easy to make and delicious! Adam and I ate over half the dish immediately. And it’s nutritious enough that Lucy can have some with her breakfast!

 

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4-Seasons of Tomorrow
Recipes from Book 4 in the Amish Vines and Orchards Series, Seasons of Tomorrow


Dutch Apple Pie

From Seasons of Tomorrow

Crumb Topping:

2 cups quick oats
2/3 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup melted butter (no substitutions)
1 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients together and set aside.

Apple Pie Filling:

6 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I use a variety, including a few Granny Smith apples, for best flavor)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon butter (no substitutions)
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare apples and place in large bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Set aside.

Combine water, sugar, butter, and cornstarch, in a medium saucepan. Cook until thickened. Stir in apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Pour into your favorite unbaked pie shell.

Sprinkle topping over apples. Bake for about 40 minutes. Remove and let cool a bit before serving. This pie is especially scrumptious when served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Baking Tip: You may use a pie crust shield or cover the rim of the pie crust with strips of foil for the first half of baking time to allow the best flaky-crust experience without over-browning.

Recipe provided by Sherry Gore. Sherry Gore is editor-in-chief of Cooking & Such: Adventures in Plain Living magazine, author of Simply Delicious Amish Cooking, and a weekly scribe for the national edition of the 120-year-old Amish newspaper, The Budget. Sherry is a year-round resident of Sarasota, Florida, the vacation paradise of the Plain People. She has three children and is a member of a Beachy Amish Mennonite church. She’s a caregiver to her twenty-something daughter, a Sunday school teacher, a cooking show host, and an official pie-contest judge.

 

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Apple Dumplings

From Seasons of Tomorrow

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon Crisco
1 Tablespoon butter
7/8 cup milk (or 1 cup scant)
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 chopped apples
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Work shortening into flour mixture. Add milk. Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick. Spread soft or melted butter on the top side of the dough. Cover dough with brown sugar, cinnamon, and apples. Roll up starting with one long side of the dough, rolling brown sugar, cinnamon, and apples into a spiral or jelly roll shape. Cut into slices 1 1/2 inches thick.

Sauce:

1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water
1 1/2 cinnamon

Mix flour, sugar, and salt. Add hot water and cinnamon and boil 3 minutes. Pour over dumplings. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Serve with milk or whipped cream.

Recipe provided by Sherry Gore. Sherry Gore is editor-in-chief of Cooking & Such: Adventures in Plain Living magazine, author of Simply Delicious Amish Cooking, and a weekly scribe for the national edition of the 120-year-old Amish newspaper, The Budget. Sherry is a year-round resident of Sarasota, Florida, the vacation paradise of the Plain People. She has three children and is a  member of a Beachy Amish Mennonite church. She’s a caregiver to her twenty-something daughter, a Sunday school teacher, a cooking show host, and an official pie-contest judge.

 

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Apple Scones

Originally from Seasons of Tomorrow

Because of word restrictions, I had to cut this recipe out of the book. But that doesn’t mean my readers can’t still enjoy it here on my website!

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus some for rolling
1 1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, plus some for topping
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 ½ cups diced granny smith apple (about two apples)
2/3 cup cold buttermilk
Raw turbinado sugar for sprinkling over scones (Turbinado sugar is simply raw sugar)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl with a whisk. (Flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, salt.) Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender, or by using your fingers until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Add the apples and buttermilk, stirring until the dough just comes together. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Pat dough into two circles, about two inches in thickness. Cut each circle into six wedges. (Twelve scones total) Using a spatula, gently lift scones onto baking sheets, leaving about two inches between each one. Sprinkle the tops with oats and raw sugar. Bake 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. After removing from the oven, let the scones cool on the sheets for about ten minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

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