by Mary Ellis
1 teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup salted peanuts
1 cup chocolate chips
2 sticks butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
½ cup corn flakes, crumbled
Glaze
1 tablespoon water
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add butter or margarine and egg and mix well. Drop the cookies onto a baking sheet and flatten with a glass. Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Drizzle on the glaze while still warm.
Simply Delicious Cinnamon Rolls
From Simple Pleasures Bed-and-Breakfast
Carol Lee Shevlin
⅓ cup natural sugar (may substitute with white)
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 package yeast
½ cup warm water
3½ cups all-purpose flour
Melted butter for brushing on dough
Cinnamon sugar
Raisins, optional
Pecans, optional
Mix together the sugar, salt, and melted butter in a large bowl. In a small saucepan scald the milk (but do not let it boil) and pour over the sugar-and-butter mixture and mix. Add the eggs. Dissolve the yeast in warm water and add to the mix and stir. Add in the flour, a little at a time, until the dough reaches a good consistency. It should be firm and not “wet” looking. Refrigerate dough overnight.
The next morning roll out the dough and brush with melted butter. Then sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar (raisins and chopped pecans may also be sprinkled on). Roll up the dough and cut into 1½-inch slices. Place cut-end up into a round cake pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray or lightly coated with oil. Let rise for 1 to 2 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or until slightly brown. Cool for a few minutes and then ice with your favorite icing.
Carol’s secrets: I use real butter, not margarine, and I also use Robin Hood Flour.
Blackberry Cheesecake Pie
Mary Ellis
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
2 cups blackberries (washed and drained), reserve some for garnish (fresh fruit is best, but canned also works if out of season)
1 10-ounce tub Cool Whip
1 graham cracker piecrust (you can use storebought or prepare one yourself)
Cream together sugar and cream cheese. Stir in berries. Fold in Cool Whip. Use a spatula to scrape the cheesecake filling into graham cracker piecrust and refrigerate for three hours. (Eat any leftover with a spoon.) Garnish with the prettiest berries of the bunch!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why would working at a local diner be especially appealing to Old Order Leah?
2. Members of the Amish community usually steer clear of conflicts in the English world. Why is it so hard for Matthew to stay removed from the problems at the horse farm where he works?
3. Jamie’s devotion to his bride, Emma, has changed his life in profound ways. How do the “little changes” threaten to undermine their relationship more than the major ones when he became New Order Amish?
4. With the runaway success of the diner, what particularly female character flaw rears its head in Leah’s personality? Why would this be especially onerous for an Amish woman?
5. What is it about Jonah Byler that makes him irresistible to Leah? Why does human nature cause us to seek the apple beyond our reach, while surrounded with prime fruit ready to be picked?
6. How does Matthew’s God-given gifts serve him well as a horse trainer, but doom him to a lonely future with humankind? How would becoming an independent trainer be hampered by the Ordnung?
7. Why would Leah enter a baking competition, knowing her parents wouldn’t approve? What about the contest becomes problematic for someone Amish?
8. Leah long suspects something isn’t right with her business partner at the diner. Why does she wait so long to confront her, and what is it about April’s personality that allows this to snowball in the first place?
9. Why does Leah believe the diner’s closing has ruined her chances with Jonah, even though she wasn’t culpable in the mismanagement?
10. Why wouldn’t Matthew return to his beloved horse-training job after the owner fires his former boss?
11. How does Emma’s frequent disagreements with Jamie’s family members help her to mature in her marriage and grow as a Christian?
12. What had caused Jonah’s lapse of faith, and how does Leah help him restore his relationship with God?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Ellis grew up close to the eastern Ohio Amish Community, Geauga County where her parents often took her to farmers’ markets and woodworking fairs. She and her husband now live in Medina County close to the largest population of Amish families, and enjoy the simple way of life.
The Way to a Man’s Heart is Mary’s third novel with Harvest House, following up on her bestselling first and second books in The Miller Family series, A Widow’s Hope and Never Far from Home.
www.maryeellis.wordpress.com
OTHER BOOKS BY MARY ELLIS
A WIDOW’S HOPE
Can a Young Amish Widow Find Love?
After the death of her husband, Hannah Brown is determined to make a new life with her sister’s family. But when she sells her farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and moves her sheep to Ohio, the wool unexpectedly begins to fly. Simon, her deacon brother-in-law, finds just about everything about Hannah vexing. So no one is more surprised than the deacon when his own brother, Seth, shows interest in the beautiful young widow.
But perhaps he has nothing to worry about. The two seem to be at cross-purposes as often as not. Hannah is willful, and Seth has an independent streak a mile wide. But much is at stake, including the heart of Seth’s silent young daughter, Phoebe. Can Seth and Hannah move past their own pain to find a lasting love?
An inspirational story of trust in the God who sees our needs before we do.
NEVER FAR FROM HOME
What Happens When an Amish Girl’s Prince Charming Is an Englischer?
Emma Miller is on the cusp of leaving childhood behind and entering the adult world. She has finished school, started her own wool business, and longs for someone to court. When the object of her affection is a handsome English sheep farmer with a fast truck and modern methods, her deacon father, Simon, knows he has more than the farm alliance to worry about.
Emma isn’t the only one with longings in Holmes County. Her mother yearns for relief from a debilitating disease, Aunt Hannah wishes for a baby, and Uncle Seth hopes he’ll reap financial rewards when he undertakes a risk with his harvest. But are these the plans God has for this close-knit Amish family?
An engaging story about waiting on God for His perfect timing and discovering that dreams planted close to home can grow a lasting harvest of hope and love.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Recipes
Discussion Questions
About the Author
Other Books by Mary Ellis
AmishReader.com
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