An Amish Christmas Recipe Box

by Jan Drexler

  “Ach, look at that!” Mamm said, peering through the window next to her. “Not only an early snow, but it’s still coming. I hope it stops soon.”

  “I like the snow,” Ada said.

  “You won’t like it if it keeps customers away today.” Mamm took a breakfast casserole out of the oven. “Did you get all of the pies baked?”

  Ada turned from the window to finish placing the pie shields on the two pecan pies that were set to go into the oven.

  “I only have these two left.” She adjusted the oven temperature, then started setting the table for breakfast.

  “Will they be done in time?”

  “That won’t be a problem. Mrs. Cunningham told me her husband would pick them up on his way home from work this evening.”

  Mamm opened a jar of canned peaches. “After those pies go into the oven, would you have time to bake a couple pumpkin pies for our dinner tomorrow?”

  Ada glanced at the clock above the sink. “For sure. It’s only six-thirty, and I’ve already made the crusts.”

  “The crusts for what?” Rose breezed into the kitchen, tying on her apron. She was late, as usual, but still looked as fresh and unhurried as Mamm always did.

  “Tomorrow’s pies,” Mamm said. “You’re just in time to finish setting the table. Dat will be in soon.”

  “Will both Carolyn and Malinda be able to come for dinner tomorrow?” Rose asked, taking four plates from the cabinet.

  “They’ll be here for the whole day.” Mamm’s smile was bright. “Both families will come after breakfast and stay until just before it gets dark. Wilmer and Henry are planning to help Dat fix the saw in the workshop, so we girls will have plenty of time to chat. It will be just like old times.”

  “Except for the babies.”

  Rose made a face that Ada couldn’t understand. How could someone not like babies? Both of her older sisters had little girls, both less than a year old. Ada never tired of caring for her nieces, but Rose was always quick to pass them back to their mothers as soon as they got fussy.

  Mamm chuckled. “The babies are the best part.”

  After breakfast, Dat went out to the workshop, but Mamm refilled their coffee cups.

  “While we have a minute, I want to go over tomorrow’s tasks with you girls.”

  Rose spooned some sugar into her coffee and exchanged her usual “here we go again” look with Ada. Ada pressed her lips together to keep from grinning. Mamm never started a day without penciling her to-do list on the back of an old envelope, and a big meal like tomorrow’s meant that she had jobs for each of them.

  “Ada, you’ll make the rolls, won’t you?” Mamm tapped her list with her pencil, frowning at it.

  “For sure. I’ll make potato rolls. They’re easy, and everyone likes them.”

  “And Rose, I’ll need you to make the green bean casserole.” She added an item to her list. “And we’ll need to peel the potatoes.”

  “I’ll do that in the morning,” Ada said. “I need a potato for the rolls, so I might as well peel all of them.”

  Mamm patted Ada’s hand. “What would I do without my Ada? I’m so happy that you don’t have a beau. I can count on you being at home to help with many Thanksgiving dinners to come.”

  Rose set her coffee cup down. “What if Ada does find a beau?”

  Ada’s face was hot. “I’ll still help Mamm in the kitchen, you know that.”

  Mamm gave her a bright smile, then went on through her list, assigning more tasks to each of them.

  “That will do it. After dinner, we’ll be able to relax for the rest of the day.”

  “I noticed you didn’t put Malinda’s or Carolyn’s names on your list,” Rose said, finishing her coffee.

  “They’ll be busy enough with their families. And they’re each bringing something to share.”

  “All the more reason for me to get married,” Rose said, laughing.

  Mamm gave her a mock frown. “The sooner, the better.”

  While Ada and Rose washed the breakfast dishes, Mamm went to finish the morning chores in the rest of the house. As soon as she left the kitchen, Rose leaned close to Ada.

  “I had an idea,” she said as she dried a plate. “I thought of it last night.”

  Ada frowned. Rose’s ideas rarely turned out well. “What is it?”

  “You want to attract Amos’s attention, don’t you?”

  Swirling the dishcloth around in the casserole dish, Ada eyed her sister. “What do you have in mind?”

  Rose’s face lit up. “Don’t worry. You’ll love it!” She leaned even closer and whispered, “I call it the Great Cookie Campaign.”

  Ada shook her head. “I’m not going to push myself at any man.”

  “You don’t have to. That’s the best part.” Rose started drying the silverware in the dish drainer. “All you need to do is to make a batch of cookies for the guys in the workshop. No one will know you are targeting Amos. You know you bake the best cookies around, and he’ll be sure to notice you.”

  Ada looked out the window. The snow had stopped, and the sky was gray as the sun came up somewhere behind the clouds.

  “Do you really think it would work?”

  “How could it fail?”

  Ada grinned at Rose. “You know that most of your schemes fail.”

  “Name one.”

  “What about the time when you thought Dat should buy some goats to mow the grass for us?” Before Rose could answer, Ada continued, “Or the time when you tried to attach a pulley for the clothesline to the attic eave.”

  “It isn’t my fault that the wood had rotted. Dat even thanked me for finding it so he could fix it.”

  “But the only way we found out was when the pulley gave way and all the clean laundry fell into the barnyard.”

  Rose dried the next two plates in silence. Then she said, “This plan is a good one. It won’t backfire. The worst that can happen is that Amos still doesn’t notice you.”

  Ada wrung out the dishcloth in the sink, then pulled the plug, letting the soapy water drain away. Rose was wrong. The worst that could happen would be if Amos laughed at her. But maybe Rose was right, and no one would know she was trying to attract his attention.

  “All right. Tell me how it would work.”

  Rose grinned and leaned her elbows on the kitchen counter.

  “After this week, we have three weeks before Christmas is here. Choose four of your favorite cookie recipes. Special ones that you don’t usually make for the store. Then bake a different recipe each week between now and Christmas and save the best one for Christmas Eve. You know Vernon and that new boy will appreciate the cookies, too.”

  “I suppose that sounds like it might work.”

  Rose grabbed her hand. “I know it will. Let’s think about which recipes you can make.”

  “I have to get these pies out of the oven first and make pumpkin ones for our dinner tomorrow.” Ada opened the oven door. The pecan pies that had been baking during breakfast were done perfectly. She set them on top of the stove.

  “We can talk while you work.” Rose opened the far drawer and rummaged through it until she found a scrap of paper and a pencil.

  Ada took her mixing bowl out of the cupboard and opened the refrigerator door to find the rest of the pureed pumpkin she had made for pies.

  “What kinds of cookies do you suggest?” she asked as she grabbed the bowl of eggs, too.

  “Remember when you made molasses crinkles last summer? Those were good.”

  “They were good, weren’t they?” Ada cracked the first egg into the mixing bowl. “And I haven’t made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for a long time. Most of the customers at the store would rather have oatmeal raisin.”

  “Wonderful! We have two already.” Rose wrote them down on the paper. “What else?”

  As Ada whisked the eggs in the bowl, she thought through all the cookie recipes she had in her file.

  “Everyone likes decorated cookies. In the recipe card
s that Grossmutti gave me, there is a recipe for icing flavored with anise and I’ve been wanting to try it on gingerbread cookies. I think they would look very pretty with blue sugar sprinkles.”

  Rose added to her list. “We only need one more. Something special for Christmas Eve.”

  Ada set the timer as she thought. “It should be something very special, shouldn’t it?”

  “Maybe a heart-shaped cookie. He’d be sure to get the message then.”

  Her stomach a bit queasy at the thought, Ada shook her head. “I don’t want to be so obvious.”

  Rose laughed. “I suppose that is too much. You don’t have to worry about that, not with the delicious cookies you make. You know that they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

  Ada checked the pies she had taken out of the oven. She had glazed the pecan halves before placing them in a swirling pattern on top of the pies, and they glowed in the early morning light. Mrs. Cunningham would be pleased with such beautiful pies to serve her guests. If anything would get Amos to notice her, it would be her baking. She couldn’t do any less than go into this project wholeheartedly.

  She pulled her recipe box close and started thumbing through the cookie section. “Here are those almond crescents Mamm likes so well.”

  “Those are good, but you want something that shows how much you love Amos, don’t you?”

  “But I don’t love him. At least, not yet.” Ada pulled a recipe card out. She hadn’t noticed this one from Grossmutti before.

  “What is that?” Rose peered over her shoulder and read the note Grossmutti had written across the top of the card. “‘Thumbprint Cookies. My Ben’s Favorite.’”

  Ada’s eyes grew misty as Rose’s voice brought back the memory of her grandparents. They had been so close, even after years together. Their marriage was the kind Ada wanted, with a man who loved her through all the ups and downs of life.

  “This is the one,” she said. “I’ll make them with red jam in the thumbprint. They’ll look wonderful for Christmas Eve.”

  And maybe, she thought, they will become Amos’s favorite cookie, too.

  CHAPTER TWO

  While Matthias milked the cow on Thanksgiving morning, he considered the day ahead.

  His three sisters and their families were coming to spend the day, but he had no idea how they would all fit into the house. Mamm was determined that the family should all be together if possible, and Matthias knew it was to help fill the empty spot Dat had left behind. But this first Thanksgiving without him wasn’t going to be fixed by crowding the family into their tiny kitchen and front room. His oldest sister, Sally, had volunteered their big, welcoming house for the gathering, but Mamm had refused.

  Taking the milk into the kitchen, Matthias drew a deep breath. Mamm had been up and working even before Matthias this morning, and the kitchen was filled with scents of the good things to come. He peeled off his gloves, closing his eyes as he waited for his steamed-over glasses to clear. Turkey. Potatoes. Onions and sage. Bread dough rising. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Mamm’s face, pink from the oven’s heat and smiling as she washed a mixing bowl.

  “Breakfast is ready for you,” she said. “Leave the milk on the porch, and I’ll take care of it later.”

  “When did you have time to fix breakfast?” Matthias asked as he sat in his chair.

  “It was no trouble.”

  Mamm was right. It had been no trouble. She set a bowl of cold cereal in front of him and a pitcher of last night’s milk.

  “You go ahead and eat.”

  “When will you have your breakfast?” Matthias poured the milk over his corn flakes.

  She waved his concern away as she opened a large pot on the stove and peered inside. “I had a slice of bread as I was making the stuffing.” Taking a fork, she poked it into the rising steam.

  Matthias crunched his corn flakes, watching her. Dinner would be a feast, as it always was on Thanksgiving. It would more than make up for his light breakfast.

  When he finished, he took his bowl to the sink and washed it in the waiting water. Then he caught sight of Mamm struggling to lift the heavy pot.

  “Let me do that.” He grasped the handles. “Where do you want it?”

  She peered at him, worry creasing her brow. “Are you sure that isn’t too heavy for you?”

  “I can handle it easier than you can. Where do you want it?” He couldn’t believe Mamm thought she could carry this pot full of potatoes and water by herself.

  Mamm placed the strainer in the empty side of the sink. “Pour it in here.”

  As Matthias tipped the pot, the water and potatoes fell into the strainer, filling it. He pulled it back and looked inside. There were still plenty of potatoes in the water.

  “How many potatoes did you make?”

  “Only ten pounds,” Mamm said as she dumped the first potatoes into her largest mixing bowl, then stood back as Matthias emptied the pot. “Do you think it will be enough?”

  “We’ll have plenty. Didn’t Elizabeth say she was bringing potatoes?”

  “We don’t want to run out.”

  “There’s no danger of that.” Matthias set the empty pot on the counter. “What else needs to be done?”

  “We need to set up the extra tables in the front room. I thought the older children could eat in the kitchen, and the adults and the littlest ones will be in the front room.”

  “I’ll get the tables down from the attic.”

  “Don’t forget the chairs, too,” Mamm said as he started up the steps.

  By the time the folding tables and chairs were set up, the front room had no extra space. When the families started to arrive, the house was crowded. Like usual, as soon as Simon and Sally arrived with their five children, Simon took over.

  “Let’s get these tables in order,” he said, his voice booming over the girls’ chatter. “Eli, fold up those chairs for now.”

  He directed his ten-year-old son to put the chairs against the wall, then moved the two folding tables together into one long one. Matthias had separated the tables so they would seat more people, but he knew better than to argue with Simon. Now that Dat was gone, Simon was the oldest man when the family gathered together, and he stepped into the role as if it was his right.

  When it was time to sit down for the meal, Matthias went to find a seat in the living room with his sisters and their husbands, but all the chairs were taken except the one closest to the kitchen. Matthias couldn’t take Mamm’s seat.

  She passed him as he stood in the doorway, her hands filled with bowls of mashed potatoes to set on the table. “What is wrong, Matthias?”

  “There isn’t a spot for me to sit at the table.”

  “You’re in the kitchen today.” She paused and looked at him, her eyes bright with the joy of having the family together. “The children love it when you spend time with them.”

  Matthias took his seat at the kitchen table with his nieces and nephews. All of them, from Eli down to his two-year-old nephew Charles, stared at him. Eight children crowded on the benches on either side of the table. Matthias sighed. From his seat, he could see into the living room, where his brothers-in-law were laughing at a comment Simon had made. A comment Matthias hadn’t heard.

  He tapped one finger against his knee, waiting for Simon to start the prayer. He tried to push away the growing irritation. He was twenty-one years old and should be the man of the house. But Mamm still treated him like one of the children.

  Four-year-old Yost poked his five-year-old cousin Susie, and Matthias glared at him. He should be sitting in the living room with the other adults, not in the kitchen babysitting these youngsters he barely knew. When would Mamm stop treating him like a boy?

  The week after Thanksgiving, Ada prepared for the first phase of the Great Cookie Campaign. On Thursday night, Ada had mixed the batter for the molasses crinkle cookies and set the bowl in the propane refrigerator to cool. Early on Friday morning, she shaped the
cookies while she preheated the oven.

  Just like Dat had tools specially made for working with wood, Ada had collected the tools that made her baking easier. For cookies, she had purchased a dough scoop that measured each cookie to a uniform two-ounce size. She rolled the first scoop between her floured palms to make a perfect ball and placed it on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. When the cookie sheets were filled, she washed the flour off her hands, then rolled each ball in a bowl of sugar. She slid the two cookie sheets into the large oven and set the timer.

  As the spicy molasses fragrance filled the quiet kitchen, she washed the bowl and utensils, then started measuring the ingredients for the first batch of cookies for the store. By the time the molasses cookies were baked and cooling on the racks, she slid two cookie sheets filled with oatmeal raisin cookies into the oven. Next would be the sugar cookies, made with the dough that had been in the refrigerator overnight with the molasses cookies.

  Long ago, Ada had worked out her baking routine so that she would be finished using the oven by the time the rest of the family woke up. She loved working in the kitchen this early, with the house quiet and no one around to interrupt her. After the cookies were done, she would frost the cupcakes she had baked yesterday afternoon.

  As she was mixing the frosting, Mamm came into the kitchen, tying her apron. She peered out the window over the sink.

  “The sky is beginning to lighten up, and it looks like the clouds have scattered away. A sunny and frosty morning for the first week of December.” She patted Ada’s arm as she reached around her for her mixing bowl. “You made extra cookies this morning, I see. Are you trying something new in the store?”

  Ada felt her face heat. She and Rose could laugh about the Great Cookie Campaign, but she knew Mamm wouldn’t approve.

  “They are for the workers in the shop. I thought it would be a nice gesture for them, with Christmas coming and all.”

  Mamm cracked eggs into her bowl. “That is thoughtful. Vernon lives alone, so I’m sure he doesn’t get such a treat very often.”

  Ada held her bowl close, whipping the frosting. Vernon was a bachelor and close to Dat’s age, but everyone knew he would never marry. He might be an adult, but his mind was a child’s. Mamm was right. He would appreciate the homemade cookies.