Ruth's Amish Baking Secrets

Sound familiar?

You followed the recipe. It still came out wrong.

The pie crust shrank down the sides of the plate and came out tough as cardboard.

The bottom stayed pale and soggy under a fruit pie that looked perfect on top.

The bread came out heavy as a brick, or never rose at all.

The cookies ran together into one flat sheet on the pan.

The cinnamon rolls were hard by the next morning.

The person who knew how is gone, and nobody ever wrote it down.

It was never you, and never your oven. Nobody ever told you why.This book does.

Ruth Troyer in her kitchen holding her book — Ruth Troyer, in her kitchen near Charm, Ohio

A stool in my mother's kitchen

My mother never measured. So my granddaughter measured me.

I was born in 1950 on an Amish dairy farm in Holmes County, Ohio, the third of seven children. My mother baked six loaves at a time, four mornings a week, on a wood stove with no dial. She checked the heat by holding her arm inside and counting.

In 1976 my husband Daniel built me a pine table at the end of our lane. Every Friday and Saturday for forty years I baked from five in the morning, and people paid into a coffee can and came back the next week. One schoolteacher bought two loaves every Saturday for thirty years.

1950born on an Amish dairy farm

1976the bake stand opens

2016last Saturday, sold out by ten

2026every recipe written down

So my granddaughter Hannah sat at my counter with a notebook. Every time I baked, she wrote. Every cup, every minute, every little thing my mother did that no recipe card tells you.

Then she baked every recipe again in her own kitchen, so I know it works in yours. If you found me through my videos, you already know a few of these tricks. The book has all the rest.

Ruth Troyer

Holmes County, Ohio

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Look inside

Real pages. Big print on purpose.

Large, clear type, so you can read it at the counter without your glasses.

Never-Fail Pie Crust, a page from the book — **Page 69 · Never-Fail Pie Crust.** The spoon of vinegar that forgives a rough hand.

Cinnamon Rolls, a page from the book — **Page 177 · Cinnamon rolls.** Still soft on Thursday, and here is why.

Amish White Bread, a page from the book — **Page 144 · Amish white bread.** Rises every time, even in a cold kitchen.

Soft Amish Sugar Cookies, a page from the book — **Page 243 · Soft sugar cookies.** Thick and soft, and they never spread.

Forty Kitchen Secrets, a page from the book — **Page 47 · Forty kitchen secrets.** Learn them once and every recipe gets easier.

When Something Goes Wrong, a page from the book — **Page 499 · When something goes wrong.** Thirty answers to “why did my…?”

Tap a page to see it bigger

What's inside

12 baking chapters. Every one fixes something.

Chapter 1

Pie crusts & fruit pies

The crust that forgives a rough hand, and fruit pies that slice clean instead of running all over the plate.

Chapter 2

Cream & old-time pies

Pumpkin pie that never cracks, pecan, sugar cream, peanut butter cream, and wet-bottom shoofly.

Chapter 3

Bread & rolls

White bread that rises every time, and the potato rolls that sold out at my stand by noon.

Chapter 4

Sweet rolls & doughnuts

Cinnamon rolls that stay soft till Thursday, caramel sticky buns, and my grandmother's fasnachts.

Chapter 5

Quick breads & breakfast

Tall buttermilk biscuits, banana bread, baked oatmeal, and friendship bread with the ten-day calendar.

Chapter 6

Cookies for the jar

Soft Amish sugar cookies, molasses cookies, and chocolate chip cookies that stay soft for days.

Chapter 7

Whoopie pies & bars

The whoopie pies that were gone from my stand by nine, fudgy brownies, and lemon bars.

Chapter 8

Cakes

The church chocolate sheet cake, an angel food cake that stands tall, and an old-fashioned pound cake.

Chapter 9

Cobblers & puddings

Baked apple dumplings, peach cobbler, and the Ohio date pudding from Amish wedding dinners.

Chapter 10

Christmas baking

Cut-out cookies, soft gingerbread men, stollen, and a six-week plan for a calm December.

Chapter 11

Candy & frostings

Fudge that never turns grainy, buckeyes, my father's peanut brittle, and soft caramels.

Chapter 12

For two, a crowd & giving

Small batches for one or two, baking for a hundred at a church dinner, and gifts from the oven.

The first pages

Ruth's forty kitchen secrets

The things I would tell you if you stood beside me at the counter. Small things that change everything you bake.

The last chapter

When something goes wrong

Why did my cake sink? Why did my bread not rise? Thirty answers, and how to fix it next time instead of giving up.

And shoofly pie, potato rolls, whoopie pies, apple dumplings, date pudding, buckeyes, stollen, and a pantry guide for what to use when you run out…

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Every recipe has

Not just steps. The knowing.

Exact measures

Cups, sticks, and ounces, with the flour and butter I trust from any grocery store.

What to look for

Golden edges, a hollow thump, a soft middle. The signs that tell you it is done.

Ruth's secret

The one thing my mother did that the recipe on the bag never tells you.

How it keeps

How long it lasts, how to freeze it, and how to make it taste fresh again.

From the first pages

Six of my forty kitchen secrets

Spoon your flour, never scoop it.

A scooped cup holds a fourth more flour than the recipe means. That is why cookies turn into biscuits.

Your oven is lying to you.

Mine ran forty degrees hot for years. One simple test tells you the truth about yours.

III

A spoon of vinegar in the crust.

You will never taste it. It is why my mother's crusts were the best at every church dinner.

Take cookies out before they look done.

They finish on the hot pan. Wait for a done middle, and they are hard once they cool.

Warm as a baby's bath.

The water for yeast should feel barely warm on your wrist. Too hot, and the bread never rises.

Three hours before you cut.

A fruit pie sets as it cools. Cut it hot, and it runs all over the plate.

And thirty-four more inside the book.

The honest arithmetic

What the bakery really costs.

Buying it

A bakery fruit pie $18–25
A dozen cinnamon rolls $24+
A dozen bakery cookies $15+
A loaf of good bread $6–8
A holiday cookie tin $30+

A few treats a month$80+

Ruth's kitchen

An apple pie from scratch about $7
A dozen cinnamon rolls about $4
A loaf of white bread about $1
The whole Christmas tin one Saturday
Every holiday, every year yours to keep

The whole book, once$39

Your numbers will be different. The point is not: two bakery pies pay for the book.

Who this book is for

For anyone who wishes somebody had shown them.

For the one who grew up on a grandmother's baking and never got her recipes.

For the one whose crust, bread, or cookies never come out the same twice.

For the one who bakes for church, family dinners, and every bake sale in town.

For the one who wants baking from scratch, without fancy flour or tools.

For the one who bakes for one or two now and still wants a warm kitchen.

For the daughter or granddaughter who should have these recipes. A better Christmas present than another sweater.

Everything in one book

Ruth's Amish Baking Secrets

120 recipes and the old Amish tricks my mother taught me

120 recipes in 12 chapters, 524 pages
Exact cups and spoons, and what to look for at every step
40 kitchen secrets from forty years at the bake stand
When something goes wrong: 30 answers to “why did my…?”
Small batches for two, and baking for a crowd
A six-week plan for a calm December
Big, clear type you can read at the counter

$79 $39 Save $40

That is about 33 cents a recipe.

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7DAYS

Seven days, my word on it. Bake three recipes from the book. If they do not come out better than before, ask within 7 days and you get every cent back. I would rather that than have you feel taken.

Questions, answered honestly

Before you buy

How do I get the book?

Right after you pay, the book is yours, with no shipping and no waiting. It is a digital book (PDF) that opens on a phone, tablet, or computer, and you can print any recipe and keep it by the oven.

Why buy a book when recipes online are free?

Because the free ones are the ones that gave you the shrinking crust and the brick of bread. They tell you what to do. They almost never tell you why, or what to do when it goes wrong. Every recipe here sold for forty years at my bake stand, and each one comes with the secret and the fix.

I'm not much of a baker. Is this too hard for me?

That is exactly who I wrote it for. Exact cups and spoons, short numbered steps, and what to look for, not just how long to wait. And a whole chapter on what to do when something goes wrong.

Do I need special ingredients or tools?

No. Everything comes from an ordinary grocery store, and the book uses the pans most kitchens already have. I name the brands I trust, so you know what to buy.

Are these real Amish recipes?

I grew up Amish in Holmes County and joined the Mennonite church when I married. These recipes come from my mother's kitchen, our church dinners, and forty years at my bake stand. The one recipe that came from Lancaster cousins, I tell you so in the book.

Is the print big enough to read?

Yes. The book is set in large, clear type with short steps, so you can read it at the counter without hunting for your glasses.

Can I give it as a gift?

Of course, and with Christmas coming many people do. It makes a lovely gift for a daughter, granddaughter, or friend who bakes.

Is this a subscription?

No. One payment, one time. No membership, no monthly charge, no free trial that turns into a bill.

What if I don't like it?

Ask within 7 days of your purchase and you get your money back. No questions, no hard feelings.

You followed the recipe. It still came out wrong.

My mother never measured. So my granddaughter measured me.

Real pages. Big print on purpose.

12 baking chapters. Every one fixes something.

Pie crusts & fruit pies

Cream & old-time pies

Bread & rolls

Sweet rolls & doughnuts

Quick breads & breakfast

Cookies for the jar

Whoopie pies & bars

Cakes

Cobblers & puddings

Christmas baking

Candy & frostings

For two, a crowd & giving

Ruth's forty kitchen secrets

When something goes wrong

Not just steps. The knowing.

Exact measures

What to look for

Ruth's secret

How it keeps

Six of my forty kitchen secrets

Spoon your flour, never scoop it.

Your oven is lying to you.

A spoon of vinegar in the crust.

Take cookies out before they look done.

Warm as a baby's bath.

Three hours before you cut.

What the bakery really costs.

Buying it

Ruth's kitchen

For anyone who wishes somebody had shown them.

Ruth's Amish Baking Secrets

Before you buy

Saturday morning. The whole house smells of cinnamon.