The Old Home Place and Double Orange Cookies

By Kevin Williams

Every time I visit one of these places it becomes my "new favorite."   SIGH, these stores are so fun and each one has their own special qualities and things that make them stand out. But, wow, it is hard not to like the Old Home Place.  The workers were super friendly and there's just something scrappy about this store that is literally out on a windswept plain at an isolated exit off the highway. I think they've become a success purely by pluck and word-of-mouth, and that is impressive.

Tucked away on US 35 just west of Chillicothe, Ohio sits a relatively nondescript building.   But don't be fooled.  Look inside and you'll get some sweet treats.  The Mennonites that own this bakery are part of a more progressive fellowship than the more conservative Beachy Amish.  They dress plainly, but otherwise are more liberal in using cars, cell phones, and computers.  Many are also very active in mission work.  Their store has a nice website here.  This store  is not to be confused with The Home Place, which is a Mennonite-owned bakery in Brown County, Ohio.

The Old Home Place has the usual assortment of bulk foods that you find at such places, but the bakery and deli is where the action is.   The bakery has an assortment of homemade pies, breads, cookies, and much more.  The deli is a place where you can stop and get made-to-order sandwiches and there's a cooler full of homemade dips and salsas.  Those are so popular that they can comprise up to 10 percent of the store's business.  You can also pick up dinners like a 3 cheese lasagna that you take home.  There is also a whole line of homemade fried pies made by a local Mennonite woman.

Saturday, not surprisingly, is the busiest day at The Old Home Place.  Here are some more "sweet scenes" from the Old Home Place

Charlene Martin and Katie Schwartz work the register

A worker makes peanut butter cookies. I felt kind of dumb calling them donut holes, but they did kind of look like donut holes at first...

These are double orange cookies, before being baked and frosted. They were the January "Cookie of the Month" and they were GOOD! See below for the recipe!

The Old Home Place has a great selection of bagged bulk items. Since the last grocery store closed in the nearby town, the Old Home Place has filled a void.

Okay, I know some of you want the recipe for "Double Orange Cookies" probably and I actually did find a recipe ine one of my Amish cookbooks.  The recipe is below.

When researching the recipe online I found a video,  little girl, maybe about 8 or 10, making some "double orange cookies"....she does a good, cute job...I can imagine my daughter Aster doing a video like this in a few years.  Well, sheesh, the way she is, maybe a few months.  So for your cute kid fixes cookies fix, click here. (again, no clue who the kid is).  You know, actually, I had the video playing in the background as I posted the recipe below and the video really is worth watching for the instructional aspects. Beyond the cute kid part, she actually does a great job of walking you through the recipe and you can see the final product.  So, check it out and leave her an encouraging comment, I'm sure you'll make her day.  That would be fun to do with Aster sometime.

The Old Home Place

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Serves: 3 dozen

Ingredients

• 1½ c. sugar
• 1 c. butter, softened
• 1 c. sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 (6 oz.) can orange juice concentrate, thawed & divided
• 4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. grated orange peel
• FROSTING
• 1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1 tbsp. butter, softened
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp. orange peel
• 1 tbsp. reserved orange juice concentrate
• 2 tbsp. milk

Instructions

1. Cream sugar and butter until fluffy, add sour cream and eggs.
2. Beat until well blended.
3. Reserve 1 tablespoon orange concentrate for frosting; add the remaining concentrate with combined dry ingredients to creamed mixture.
4. Mix well.
5. Stir in orange peel.
6. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto lightly greased cookie sheet.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until edges just begin to brown.
8. Remove from cookie sheet and allow to cool on wire rack before frosting.
9. Instructions for frosting:
10. Cream sugar and butter until fluffy.
11. Combine remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.
12. Spread small amount over each cookie.

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