Amish women are always busy. If they’re not helping with the farm chores, they’re sewing clothes for the family, tending their gardens or spending HOURS in their kitchens. And baking is one of their most important tasks.
I was thinking back to my childhood the other day…thinking about Pauline, my Amish neighbor, and how her cookies were worth their weight in gold.
One of my favorites was her “Church Cookies”.
Amish church services last for hours…and I mean HOURS. The Sunday service is held in one of the Amish homes in their district. The host family moves all of the furniture out of the main floor of their house, and a horse drawn “bench wagon” arrives on Saturday to unload the stack of wooden benches that are arranged throughout the house.
The Amish families arrive in their black buggies, and the horses are unhitched and put in the barn during the service.
The men sit on one side of the room and the women on the other…and the children are seated with their mothers.
Now I don’t know about YOUR children…but I know our two sons would have needed some form of distraction to last through a DAY LONG church service! So the Amish women have devised a way to keep their children under control. They bake a big batch of “Church Cookies” and hand them out to their children during the service!
This recipe is similar to the one I remember from my childhood…and after one bite…the memories came flooding back. Once again I was standing in Pauline’s kitchen…watching her measure out flour with a coffee cup!
These HUGE buttermilk sugar cookies are delicious, and you don’t have to be Amish to enjoy them!
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/4 cup sugar, divided
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 375 Degrees
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs
- Add the vanilla
- In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
- Add to the creamed mixture, alternately, with the buttermilk, beating well after each addition. (Batter will be moist!)
- Drop dough by HEAPING tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet. (Flatten slightly if desired)
- In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar with the cinnamon.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture liberally on top of each cookie.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container.
- YIELD: Approx. 16-18 LARGE cookies (You can make them smaller if your church service doesn't last all day!) AMEN.
My mouth is watering. My Amish Grandmother must have made these same type of cookies. I didn’t have her recipe, but she mailed me cookies from near Wichita, Kansas to Western Kansas and Colorado thru 8th grade. I loved them and was always so excited to get my package from her because I knew what was inside, and IT WAS FROM MY GRANDMA!.
Thanks Margie! I’m so glad this recipe brought back such special memories for you. That’s what I love about cooking…it not just food…it’s a family legacy left for the next generation… and beyond!
Looks delicious!
Thanks Jean…they really are! I hope you give them a try.
XOXO
Meemaw
Wow, that would be awesome.
Thanks Viola!
XOXO
Meemaw
I made these cookies and mine seemed a bit too thin and runny. They were still good. I used a tablespoon for the first pan but they were too big. Even using a smaller spoon, they were still a nice size.
Thanks so much for your comment Diane, and I’m sorry your cookies weren’t exactly what you expected. The dough is very soft and the cookies do spread out a lot! Next time you could add a bit more flour to firm up the batter. And try chilling the dough and placing batter on a COLD cookie sheet. Let me know how they turn out NEXT time. And Happy Baking!!!
XOXO
Meemaw
Thanks for the shout out Kevin!
XOXO
Meemaw