Mama’s Down-Home Amish Cinnamon Bread
Well butter my biscuits and call me Grandma! If you’re looking for a recipe that’ll make your kitchen smell like heaven and your family act like angels (at least until the bread’s gone), you’ve hit the jackpot. This here’s the same cinnamon bread my Aunt Mabel used to make every Sunday after church – the kind that disappeared before the coffee pot was empty!
Gather Up Your Goods:
(For the bread dough – simple as pie)
- 2 sticks real butter (the kind that makes your doctor frown)
- 2 cups plain white sugar (don’t be skimping now)
- 2 farm-fresh eggs (room temp works best)
- 2 glugs of vanilla (that’s teaspoons for you fancy folks)
- 2 cups buttermilk (or make your own with milk and a splash of vinegar)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (sifted if you’re feeling proper)
- 2 spoonfuls baking powder
- Just a pinch of salt (about half a teaspoon)
(For the cinnamony magic in the middle)
- A good ⅔ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed tight (none of that loosey-goosey measuring)
- 3 generous teaspoons cinnamon (more if you’re feeling sassy)
- Another pinch of salt
Let’s Get Cookin’:
- Fire up the oven to a nice 350° – just like Mama used to do.
- Mix up your cinnamon sugar in a little bowl. Try not to eat half of it with your finger like I always do.
- Grease up two loaf pans real good – I use butter and my fingers because that’s how we roll. Sprinkle some of that cinnamon sugar in the bottom for a little surprise crunch.
- Now for the main event:
- Mix your dry stuff (flour, baking powder, salt) in one bowl
- In your biggest mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until it’s fluffy as a summer cloud (about 3 minutes with your mixer on high)
- Crack in those eggs one at a time, then splash in the vanilla
- Alternate adding buttermilk and flour mixture (start and end with flour)
- Here comes the fun part:
- Plop about a quarter of the batter in each pan (it’ll be thick – that’s how we want it)
- Sprinkle half your cinnamon sugar over both loaves
- Dump the rest of the batter on top (don’t worry about making it pretty)
- Top with the remaining cinnamon sugar
- Take a butter knife and make swirly-doos through the top
- Bake those beauties for 45-55 minutes until they’re golden brown and your whole house smells like Christmas morning. Let ’em sit for 10 minutes before you try to take ’em out – patience is a virtue, sugar!
Some Handy Tips:
- The crust gets this crackly sugar top that’ll make you weak in the knees
- Wrap one loaf in foil and freeze it for when surprise company comes calling
- Makes the best dang French toast you ever did taste the next morning
- If you’re giving it as a gift, wrap it in a clean tea towel – looks homespun and lovely
Final Word to the Wise
This ain’t just bread, honey – it’s a memory maker. It’s the kind of recipe that’ll have your grandkids begging you to make it when they come to visit. And if you don’t burn your fingers trying to sneak a piece before it’s cooled, you’ve got more self-control than me!
Now get in that kitchen and make some magic! And if you eat half a loaf in one sitting… well, that’ll just be our little secret.
(P.S. If your man doesn’t propose after tasting this, he ain’t the one.)
Jenifer
