Mennonite Girls Can Cook is a collection of recipes which were posted daily for a period of ten years from 2008 to 2018. We have over 3,000 delicious recipes that we invite you to try. The recipes can be accessed in our recipe file by category or you can use the search engine.

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Blueberry Lemon Loaf


This bread will have you thinking of coffee time, but not only that.  Serve it warm with ice cream for dessert or leave it out for breakfast. It's not very sweet, yet filled with lots of lemon and blueberry flavor. Switch it up with orange rind, if you like.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • rind (grated) from one large lemon
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup sour cream (I use 7% fat)
  • 1/4 cups oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups blueberries. (fresh or frozen)
Method:
  1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease or line with parchment paper, one 5x9 inch loaf pan.
  2. Mix dry ingredients along with rind. 
  3. In separate small bowl, mix wet ingredients and add to dry along with blueberries.
  4. Stir until just combined and spread into loaf pan.
  5. Bake for 60 - 70 minutes, until cake tests done with pick. Leave in pan for 10 minutes before removing.
  6. If desired, drizzle with a mix of 3/4 cup icing (confectioners) sugar and juice of about 1/2 lemon. 


Alvina's Cinnamon Twists


For this Flashback I want to remind you of these sweet little twists I first sampled in Alvina's kitchen many years ago. Alvina is my cousin by marriage and lives about 1500 miles from us, but the visits we’ve had as families have been the best! Besides being an excellent cook and home-maker, Alvina has a wonderful warm personality and the best laugh!. I love reminders of our times together and when I make these I wish that the distance between our houses would not be so far.




More recently, this recipe came up when MGCC were invited to do a cooking class in Shipshewana, IN, and we demonstrated this simple biscuit pastry to be used plain, with a savory or a sweet filling.

Ingredients:

Your favorite biscuit or scone pastry. I use:
  • 2 c flour
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp soda
  • 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (optional)
  • 6 Tbsp butter, room temp.
  • 1 c buttermilk or milk
filling and icing:
  • 2 - 3 Tbsp melted butter
  • 3/4 c brown sugar 
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp flour
  • 3/4 c icing (confectioner's) sugar

Method:
 
  1. In medium sized bowl, mix dry ingredients, then cut in butter with pastry blender. 
  2. Add buttermilk, stirring with fork until dough holds together. Shape into a ball.
  3. Pat into a rectangular shape on lightly floured surface and roll out to a 6 x 24 inch strip.
  4. Spread with melted butter, then with sugar/cinnamon/flour (mixed)
  5. Starting from long side, fold over twice, so that you have a 2 inch strip that has 3 layers.
  6. Cut into 3/4 inch slices and twist each slice so that it looks like the figure 8. (right hand twists away from you and left hand toward you)
  7. Place on greased and floured (or parchment paper lined) cookie sheet.
  8. Bake at 400F until golden. About 12 - 14 minutes. Yield: approx. 30 mini twists
Icing:

Fill a 1 c measuring cup 3/4 full of icing sugar. Stir while adding a little water at a time, until it has an easy spreading consistency. Drizzle or brush over warm twists. (If you did not use
parchment paper, remove twists from sheet with lifter before sugar, that has run out, hardens.)


Rollkuchen Meatpockets




I remember the years when I was a teenager, we lived close to the church and my parents would often invite company home for lunch. My mom usually had a pot of soup ready and quickly made Rollkuchen to go along with the soup. It was pretty much the same, Sunday after Sunday, but she never stressed and everyone loved the meal. This recipe yields about 24 meatpockets or regular Rollkuchen ... you may want to double it. 

Ingredients:
  • 2 eggs
  • ¾ c milk
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 cups flour - could be more
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 generous teaspoons baking powder
  • 3 - 4 cups oil for frying
Filling:
  • 1 - 2 cups left over sloppy joe sauce or chili



Method:
  1. In a small bowl, mix eggs with fork and then mix in the rest of the wet ingredients.
  2. In another larger bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder, make a well and add the wet ingredients. Stir with wooden spoon, adding in the dry, until all ingredients are mixed well.
  3. Dust with flour and knead slightly jsut to gather and smooth. Add flour as needed so it is not sticky. (Can be wrapped and refrigerated at this time to roll and fry later.) Roll out quite thin on floured board or counter. 
  4. Place a rounded teaspoon of filling about one to one and half inches apart in a row, along one end.
  5. Fold dough over top of filling and press with a cup (dipped in flour) to form a perogie like crescent. No need to pinch. Lay on floured cookie sheet until all done before proceeding to fry. (If making regular Rollkuchen, simply cut into two inch strips and cut five inch lengths.  Cut a slit and flip one end through it to make a bow tie)
  6. Heat oil – test with a little dough to make sure it fries quickly, or throw in a few kernels of popcorn. Oil is ready when they pop. The trick to not have deep fried food soak up too much oil is to fry quickly in very hot fat. A cast iron works great. Use 2 forks or tongs and have a paper towel lined pan ready.