Special guest post by Melodie Davis
Apple Crisp: Are desserts a daily occasion?
When people think of Amish cooking it may be common to think first of the treats we see in Amish restaurants or tourist bakeries: pies, cakes, cookies, donuts, sweet rolls, breads, and a whole array of delicious desserts.
Several years ago when we at MennoMedia began working on creating a cookbook with Lovina Eicher, the weekly columnist for Lovina’s Amish Kitchen, we desired a well-rounded (no pun intended) cookbook touching on all the food groups and not just the favorite one for many of us: desserts or sweets.
Lovina surprised me by saying that she does not serve pies, cakes, or rich desserts to her family every day. Her family usually reserves those special desserts for birthdays, weddings, family reunions or gatherings like quiltings or other larger occasions (a barn raising?). She allowed that her family does try to keep cookies on hand for simple desserts or snacks for every day, or to pack in lunches for school or work.
It was refreshing to hear that. As the North American diet has changed to include foods from a variety of ethnic traditions, it impacts the Amish too. As Amish travel and eat out in a variety of places, they begin to enjoy and duplicate at home recipes for pizza, tacos or taco salad, salsa, burritos, and more. And of course they have always, especially in the growing season, eaten plenty of healthy fresh fruits and vegetables—and canned or preserved them for winter.
Lovina says this recipe is one of her mother’s original recipes—and I’m sure a favorite using crispy fall apples. She says, “We would pour cold milk on the warm apple crisp. Now we serve ice cream with it, but when I was young, we didn’t have a refrigerator so we couldn’t keep ice cream” (The Essential Amish Cookbook, Herald Press, 2017, p. 186).
This recipe has the benefit of also being very simple and basic, and has fewer calories because there is no crust. I want to taste it now!
Be sure to comment below to be entered into the giveaway for one free copy of The Essential Amish Cookbook! Don’t forget to share this post with your friends! One winner will be selected at random and announced on Monday, August 20th.
*Giveaway starts today, Monday, August 13th and ends Monday, August 20th and is only open to US residents*
Apple Crisp
9 cups apples, peeled and sliced
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Crumb topping
¾ butter or margarine, cubed
1 ½ cups white sugar, (or brown or a combination)
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
In a large bowl, toss together apples, sugar, and cinnamon. Pour into buttered 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
Using the same bowl (if you wish), combine all crumb topping ingredients with a pastry cutter or two forks, mixing until coarse. Spread over apples.
Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, or until browned and bubbly and apples are tender.
Connect with the editors for Lovina through social media below. We also print and send emails to her periodically.
Blog: http://www.lovinasamishkitchen.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LovinasAmishKitchen/
Email: [email protected]
*Photo credit to Lucas Swartzentruber-Landis for apple crisp*
74 thoughts on “The Essential Amish Cookbook: Recipe and Giveaway”
Thank you for a chance to win 🙂
Thank You For Letting Me Join This Site! My Daughter Loves To Bake & Cook So With Her Birthday Coming Up I Know She’d Love Another Cookbook! God Bless You All And Have A Great Week!
This looks like a recipe book I would use often!
This looks so yummy. I hope to see the rest of the recipes. Have a blessed week.
What a great opportunity you have given us to win a copy of this book. I love the cover, the apple recipe, and can only imagine the great recipes inside. Thanks!
Thank you for the recipe I will have to make it for dessert tonight. Thank you so much for your blog. I enjoy reading it and making the recipes.
I will have to try this recipe this fall. As we collect a lot of apple for the year! Thank you for sharing it.
Im not sure how I have gone so long without knowing your website and facebook page! Thank you for this chance to receive a copy of your cookbook. I will be a nice addition to all my other amish cookbooks I have collected while traveling.
Good morning!
This Apple crisp recipe sounds delicious. Thanks for a chance to win a copy of this book.
Blessings,Tina
Interesting post! The book looks like a good one to have in the kitchen. Thank you for the chance to win a copy of this cookbook. Can’t wait to try the recipe when the apples on my trees are ready for picking.
Love Amish cookbooks. Have to try this recipe. Hope I win.
Oh this sounds wonderful. Thank you for the recipe and the chance to win a copy of your book!
One of my favorite things to do during vacation is to peruse local cookbooks from that region and if possible to speak to the “real cooks”-those that cook for families and friends everyday with their local products. This cookbook looks great!
The Apple Crisp looks delicious, will be making this! Would love to win a copy of the cookbook!
Love these foods so reminiscent of my northern Indiana childhood and would love to share them with my own family.
Nice to “see” you here, cousin Arleta!!
wiuld lovee to win this cookbook
like all of the Amish Recipe’s , thank you for the chance to win one of your Recipe Book’s
Thank you for the chance to win. Growing we went to Lancaster PA all the time, I have such great memories of our time there and wish I could still visit.
Ready for some apple pie! 🙂 Love collecting cookbooks!
I have never been to any Amish communities, but would dearly love to see the area where they live. So since I cannot be there, winning her cookbook would be so nice. Thank you for a chance to win.
Thanks! Truly an honor to me to enter to win such a treasured book.
Thanks for the chance to win
Thank you for the opportunity to win a copy of The Essential Amish Cookbook! Have a wonderful week.
What a great giveaway, thank you for the chance to win a copy.
wfnren at aol dot com
Would love to win
Thank you for the opportunity to join your blog and to experience the wonderful recipes. It would be great to have the fun of using the recipes in your cookbook to expand my family’s menu. robeader53(at)yahoo(dot)com
WOULD REALLY LOVE TO WIN WHAT A GREAT BIRTHDAY IT WOULD BE FOR ME ON THE 4TH OF SEPT. (78)
Im sure the Amish cook book will be great. I love the Amish.
I’m so looking forward to some cooler weather so I can start fixing things like this Apple Crisp again! Thank you for the recipe & the chance to win this cookbook!
I would love to win this!
can’t wait to start making apple crisp for my family! my mom and grandmother always made it and its a favorite memory
Thank you for the chance to win!
This recipe sounds great and I will have to try it. Thanks for a chance to win the cookbook.
Thank you for the opportunity to win this wonderful book
Blessings – Robin robsnest60 {at} yahoo {dot} com
Thank you very much for the chance to win this cookbook. I love everything Amish.
That apple crisp looks delicious!!! I might just have to make that this fall!!
Thank you for the chance to win.
With fall coming my mind will soon turn to apple….anything! I’ll try any apple recipe.
I have always been interested in trying the foods that the Amish make. I would love to be entered into this contest.
I would love to win this live simple foods and learning – thank you
I am looking forward to trying this recipe. I would love to win this Amish recipe book. Thanks for the chance!
Great recipe for the upcoming apple season. I really like the apple crisp recipe, especially the crumb topping. This is a recipe book I would put to good use. Thanks for the great giveaway.
Thanks. This would be my first Amish cookbook so I am praying I win it.
Would love to win this cookbook, in the meantime, Apple Crisp today! Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this recipe and for the giveaway.
Must try the recipe. Sounds wonderful!!
I am sure I would great use of this wonderful cookbook. It is a great pleasure to find your
giveaway and to be able to enter.
Hello Everyone… happy to be here. Thank you for the opportunity to enter this cookbook giveaway.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to win the cookbook. ❤️
This cookbook would get some serious use in my house!
Live close to Amish area (Holmes County in Ohio). I know how good the food is!! I love cookbooks, so this would be a great one to have on hand!!???
Love read the weekly column, and would love to win the cookbook! Thank you for the chance.
Can always use another one of these great cookbooks, with all the interesting tidbits of Amish life. I like making crisps – no bottom crust to prepare 🙂
Love it when recipes have been tried and good. Don’t need a lot of ingredients to make it good.
My mom and I love reading Lovina’s column. I have a few of her other cookbooks. Would love to have this one as well.
Would love to win this cookbook.
I would love to win this book! thanks for trhe chance
I would love to win this. Love her columns and her mom’s books.
I would love to win the cookbook!
Thank you for a sharing the apple crisp recipes with us. Thanks for a chance to win.
Looks like so many good recipes.
I’d love to win!
What a great giveaway! Thank you for the opportunity and for the apple crisp recipe! I can’t wait to try it! <3
Thanks for giving us the chance to win this cookbook……i already have two Amish cookbooks but would love to have this one as i collect cookbooks.
I would love to have this cookbook. Looks so interesting. Thank you for the opportunity to win a copy.
I’ve always enjoyed Lovina’s column. Thanks for a chance to win her cookbook!
Amish cookbooks are the best! I would love to win this one.
I love apple desserts
Recipe sounds delicious!
Thank you for the chance to win. Recipe looks delicious!
Thank you for the chance of winning this cookbook and for the delightful Apple Crisp recipe that I know my family will love!
I have enjoyed traveling through Amish country! A cookbook would keep those memories alive.
The winner of a copy of The Essential Amish Cookbook is April Haury. Congratulations! Thanks for entering, everyone! 🙂