I received this lovely cookbook to review some time ago with the First Team of Reviewers. I didn't receive it in time to review it along with the others on the team and was asked to review it when I could. Well, of course, I wanted to try out some recipes first. Unfortunately, life has been so crazy that I have only tried two recipes out. And both were pie crusts. So, my review is based on what I see in the cookbook and on what I experienced with the two pie crust recipes. :) YUM!
The pie section starts on page 175 and covers 12 pages and includes 21 recipes, 2 of which are are pie crust recipes. They are called Pie Crust and Never-Fail Pie Crust. I made Mini-Pumpkin Pies using the Pie Crust recipe and my family liked it and thought the pie crusts were delicious.
Today, I decided to surprise my family with a homemade Apple Pie. I had canned some Apple Pie Filling a couple of years ago and have a couple left, so I pulled one out and pulled out this cookbook as well. I flipped to what I thought was the recipe and pulled out and measured out the flour and salt, then added the shortening. I was in the midst of mixing this, when I realized it wasn't the same recipe!
The pie section starts on page 175 and covers 12 pages and includes 21 recipes, 2 of which are are pie crust recipes. They are called Pie Crust and Never-Fail Pie Crust. I made Mini-Pumpkin Pies using the Pie Crust recipe and my family liked it and thought the pie crusts were delicious.
Today, I decided to surprise my family with a homemade Apple Pie. I had canned some Apple Pie Filling a couple of years ago and have a couple left, so I pulled one out and pulled out this cookbook as well. I flipped to what I thought was the recipe and pulled out and measured out the flour and salt, then added the shortening. I was in the midst of mixing this, when I realized it wasn't the same recipe!
I was shocked by the next ingredient... can you read it? It's VINEGAR!? And then milk. So, since I had already started, I figured why not finish? Since I was doing an Apple Pie, I wanted a top crust as well, so I doubled the recipe. After you mix the ingredients, the recipe says to chill for 30mins. When it was time to roll it out, I thought the mix was a little hard and was afraid it would crumble and fall apart, but as it warmed a little it did fine. I put the first crust into the pan, filled it, then topped it with the second crust. Unfortunately, I am not very good at making those pretty edges on my crust, but ya' know what? My pies usually get eaten anyhow. So, here's a picture of it going into the oven.
I had a little bit of extra crust left over, so I rolled it out, brushed it with melted butter and sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar. I figure my kids will love it as an after school snack. Let me show you something:
Isn't that BEAUTIFUL!?! Wow, so flaky.... and pretty. And it tasted good too! :)
I wasn't sure how long to bake the pie, so I just watched it. When it was almost done, I pulled it out, brushed it with butter and sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on it. Voila!
As I said, my decorative pinching of the crust leaves a lot to be desired, but the pie looks great (ignore that OLD pan it's on!).
Here's a glimpse at the rest of the cookbook:
The table of contents...
Some Amish Wisdom And Wit:
The wisdom pieces are scattered throughout on just about every page (not quite) and the wit is at the beginning of each to section.
I love the simplicity of this book. There are lots of "sweets" and desserts and honestly, there aren't a TON of different recipes (in other words, different from what I would normally make). BUT, I love anything Amish/Mennonite and I collect cookbooks, so I am thrilled with this book. I look forward to trying MORE recipes besides just sweets.
To Purchase: The Amish Family Cookbook at Amazon.
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