Thursday Favorites: Amish Coffeecakes and Breakfast Breads

By Kevin Williams

Coffeecakes are a staple among the Amish.  But why?

A sweet breakfast bread provides a balancing act to the heavy protein breakfasts of eggs, bacon and sausage often on Amish tables in the morning.  And a simple coffeecake, or breakfast bread, can usually be made with just your basic building blocks of baking: butter, flour, sugar, eggs, and milk, which are mainstays in most Amish kitchens.  Those are your basics and then you can build out from there by adding glazes and fruit toppings, etc.  Over the years I've sampled cherry coffeecakes, blueberry coffeecakes, cinnamon coffeecakes, cream-filled coffeecakes, molasses coffeecakes, maple coffeecakes, and even one time a "carrot coffeecake" which I wish I had thought so snap a photo of.  It was a bright orange and had a festive taste.

So this week in our "Favorites" feature I thought I'd issue this ode to coffeecakes.  Enjoy this gallery of posts and recipes you might have missed or old favorites you want to connect with.

Blueberry Banana Coffeecake, yum!

BLUEBERRY BANANA COFFEECAKE:  Try this delicious, delicious visitor to your morning breakfast table! Click here.

THE BREAKFAST BEAST:  This is a HUGE coffeecake. I think in the photo it is tough to tell just how big it is, but it's mammoth. I picked it up at an Amish bakery in Milroy, Indiana (I think the place is called Troyer's Country Store).  And they were nice enough to give me a recipe. Check it out here.

SOUR CREAM PUMPKIN COFFEECAKE:  Really, who says you can only enjoy pumpkin in the fall?  Not me.  This delicious coffeecake tastes great any time of year. Like right now!  Check out the recipe here.

GERMAN COFFEECAKE:   This is an Amish classic, a quintessential basic breakfast bread. Try it here!

RANDOM, NON-RECIPE POST - NEW BEDFORD, OHIO:  Ahhhh, a nice summer scene makes me long for the long, green days of summer.  check out the Amish enclave of New Bedford, Ohio here.