The Essential Amish Cookbook is full of easy to follow recipes for good, old fashioned comfort food. There is nothing fancy to be found in the pages of this book, but what you will find are tasty dinners like Oven Crusty Chicken, (only three ingredients!) Venison Bake, and Whole Baked Chicken. Simple, wholesome meals that you can probably make with what you already have in your pantry.

If you live anywhere near an Amish enclave you well know the desserts that can be found in the diners and bakeries located nearby. This book offers many recipes for pies, cakes, cookies and breads (both sweet and plain) to bake in a home kitchen. The recipes are very easy to follow but I do think it’s helpful to have some basic kitchen knowledge when using them. (For example, in the recipe below the cookbook does not tell you to preheat the oven. I’ve adjust the recipe to include that. The recipe also did not include salt and I’ve adjusted for that as well.)

The book is a delight to browse through as it is full of stunning photos from Amish communities. They bring the quiet, peaceful world to life. ( )

Not only do the foods featured in The Essential Amish Cookbook look good, they taste good too. In fact the ones I tried were delicious and begged for second helpings. Lovina Eicher’s book includes recipes that are family and community tested, so you know your family will love them too. The book is a feast for the eyes with beautiful photographs not only of the food, but the Amish countryside as well. Recipes are grouped as you would expect — Breakfast Foods, Vegetables and Sides, Desserts and Candies, etc. — with many ending in a personal note by the author. But as a special added bonus,the author features Amish Church Meals and Amish Wedding Meals with extensive background on both.

I made two recipes (so far) — Breakfast Casserole and Peanut Butter Dream Bars. Both were big hits. The instructions were easy to follow and the ingredients, many of which were in my pantry, easy to acquire. I made the Breakfast Casserole at our small cabin in the mountains. This make-ahead dish was easy to accomplish in my tiny kitchen, and it made a great pre-church meal.

For a bit of down-home goodness packaged in a lovely book, The Essential Amish Cookbook, would make a great gift for your favorite foodie. And remember Mother’s Day is just around the corner; mom will love this!

Highly Recommended.

(Thanks to Herald Press and MennoMedia for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )