Read The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook for Free Online Page A

Frosting (recipe follows).
    Maple Frosting
½ cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup butter
¼ tsp. maple flavoring
2 T. half-and-half
1 cup powdered sugar
    In a small saucepan, mix together the brown sugar and butter. Heat, stirring constantly to boiling; boil for 2 minutes, continuing to stir constantly. Remove from heat and immediately stir in maple flavoring and half-and-half. Stir in enough powdered sugar until the frosting has a spreadable consistency.

 
    Oatmeal Bread
2 cups milk
2 cups rolled oats, uncooked
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
2 T. shortening
1 T. salt
2¼ tsp. (1 package) active dry yeast
½ cup warm water
5 cups flour, approximately
egg white (see directions)
1 T. water
small amount rolled oats
    Scald milk; stir in 2 cups oats, brown sugar, shortening, and salt. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm.
    In large mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast on water and stir to dissolve. Add milk mixture and 2 cups flour to yeast. Beat with a spoon until batter is smooth. Add enough remaining flour, a little at a time, until dough becomes soft and leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a floured board and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
    Place the dough ball in a lightly greased bowl. Turn to allow the dough to become greased on all sides. Let stand in a warm place,covered, until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down and let rise again until nearly double, about 30 minutes.
    Turn onto board and divide in half. Make 2 balls. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape into loaves and place in 2 greased loaf pans. Let rise again until almost doubled, about 1 hour. Brush the top of the loaves with egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon of water (optional). Sprinkle top with rolled oats.
    Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until done. If bread starts getting too brown, cover loosely with aluminum foil after at least 15 minutes of baking time.

You can tell how hard a winter it will be by how many layers onions grow; the more layers, the harder the winter.

 
    Oven-Baked Doughnuts
4½ tsp. (2 packages) active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1½ cups milk, scalded and then cooled
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
⅓ cup shortening
4½ cups flour
¼ cup butter, melted
cinnamon sugar or plain sugar
    In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the milk, sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. Beat these ingredients with an electric blender for ½ minute, scraping the sides of the bowl often. Stir in the remaining flour and mix until the batter is smooth. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 hour.
    Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, and roll the dough around in the flour so all surfaces are covered. The dough will be soft to handle. With a flour-covered rolling pin, gently roll the dough to ½-inch thickness. With a floured biscuit or doughnut cutter, cut out doughnuts and lift them carefully witha spatula and place on a greased baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Brush them with melted butter and let them rise until double, about 20 minutes.
    Bake the donuts at 425° for 8-10 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately brush them with melted butter and shake on cinnamon sugar.

 
    Peasant Bread
2¼ tsp. (1 package) active dry yeast
1 T. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 cups warm water
1 T. oil, plus more for brushing top of loaf (olive oil tastes great in this recipe)
4½ cups flour
    Mix together the yeast, sugar, and salt; add the warm water and mix together; add oil. Begin adding the flour, incorporating well after each addition; knead the dough until smooth, about 5-7 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise for 30 minutes.
    Form into a round loaf and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise again, about 45 minutes.
    Brush top of loaf with oil and bake in a preheated 425° oven for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 375°, brush again with oil, and continue baking for 20 more