In an earlier post about Oakland, I mentioned learning about bread soup and moon pies, and a couple of readers asked for the recipes. Turns out what I called bread soup is really bean soup, but it does have bread in it. I’ve shared both of the recipes below, straight from the kitchen of my sister-in-law, Verda, who attends the New Order Amish church here in Pleasant Valley. Although the Amish here serve these dishes only occasionally, they talk about them being a staple in the Old Order Amish churches where many of them originated. Some Amish groups serve bean soup and moon pies (in Dutch that would be bohna soup and schnitz boi) every Sunday for lunch.
If you’re familiar with the Old Order Amish, you know they take turns meeting in each others’ homes, and the week before a church service involves a lot of butza und wascha und backa und kocha (otherwise known as cleaning and washing and baking and cooking) for the family whose house is next in line. The traditional meal for many Amish, served after the 3-hour long service, includes the following:
- Bean soup
- Pickles and red beets and cheese
- Schmeercase, which is a white cheese sauce
- Peanut butter mixed with marshmallow creme and a little corn syrup
- Homemade bread
- Schnitz boi, or half moon pies made with a dried apple filling
One local man remembers how in the Amish services when he was young, all the children would be given a moon pie to eat during the preaching, and the heartbreaking day when his dad told him he was too old to take one. For some reason, the thought of the flop-haired little boys and bonneted little girls sitting on hard wooden benches and nibbling moon pies, delights me. I wish my parents had given me moon pies to eat when I was little and sat on a hard wooden bench through a long service. They only gave me raisins, and Cheerios, and little toy cars.
But all that aside, here are the recipes for bean soup and schnitz boi.
Bean Soup (Bohna Soup)
- 6 Tbsp. butter
- 1 pint sulphur beans
- 2 quarts milk
- Homemade bread, cubed
- Salt and pepper to taste
In a 3-quart kettle, brown 6 Tbsp of butter. Add about a pint of sulphur beans and saute. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 2 quarts of milk and heat to almost boiling. Cool the milk a little–it should be hot but not boiling–and then add chunked or torn pieces of bread. Add enough bread to stir through the beans, but not so much it soaks up all the milk. Serve immediately after adding the bread cubes.
Beware of three things that can make the bread slimy:
- Too-hot milk.
- Store-bought bread. If you do buy your bread, get something substantial, not that fluffy white stuff.
- Reheating the soup later. If you do want to reheat it, place your bowl of leftover soup in a bowl of hot water. Place the bowl of hot water in a kettle of water on the stove and heat until the soup is warm.
Pie Crust (for half moon pies)
- 6 cups flour
- 2 cups Crisco
- 2 beaten eggs
- 2 Tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup cold water
Mix flour and Crisco until crumbly. Beat eggs, vinegar, salt, and water. Mix into flour and Crisco with hands.
Half Moon Pies (Schnitz Boi)
- 1 quart dried apple schnitz (cut-up dried apples)
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ tsp allspice
- Pinch of cloves
Take 1 quart dried apple schnitz (cut-up dried apples) and boil in 1 ½ cups water until soft and no water remains. Put in blender. After blended, take out of blender and add 1 ½ cups brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, ¾ tsp allspice, and a pinch of cloves. Mix well.
Make pie dough, then shape dough to the size of a large egg. Roll out thin as for pie crust. Fold over to make a crease through center. Fold back. On bottom half, place apple schnitz filling. Wet edge of dough and fold top over. Press edges together. Cut off pressed edge if too wide. Take a straw and poke 3 holes in the top. Brush with mixed white sugar and cream. Bake at 400* until brown.
The bean soup doesn’t tempt me altho I’ve had it and it’s pretty good. Some browned butter would add flavor. 😚 But I love those half moon pies. Yummy!!!
I’ve always wanted a recipe for the snitz pies. Formerly Amish ladies that I used to go to church with would tell me how to make them, and I thought I couldn’t without a recipe. But I will admit the bread soup makes me shiver! :-) Our pretty adventuresome eaters might mutiny if I try serving that. But hey, maybe they will take over cooking for a few days, then!
The bread and bean soup is actually delicious! A comfort food. :) But I can see how it would be hard to get used to the idea of bread soaked in milk.
Hm, well I do like arrowroot biscuits in honey-sweetened warm milk as an ‘invalid’ food . . . somehow I’ve never thought to throw a can of beans in there, but why not!😬 Also, aren’t all beans sulfer beans? 🤭
:) Lol, I spelled that wrong, didn’t I? Should have been sulphur. Going to change that…I do think that sulphur beans complement bread and milk a whole lot better than, say, green beans or kidney beans. Don’t think I’d want to try those!
Oops oh no, I don’t know about spelling–I was just making the digestion joke 😳😂
Lol. Yeah I get it. 🤣🤣🤣
Oh you’re taking me back to my roots! This is comfort food, for sure. Thanks for the post. :)
You’re welcome. ☺️
Thanks for the recipes. The bean soup recipe sent me on a search for information about sulphur beans – I had not heard of them before. Do families in Maryland grow them in their gardens? Always fun to learn something new!
Families here in Pleasant Valley grow them. I don’t know how widespread it is. I had never heard of them before coming here. But they remind me of something like a garbanzo bean. Which could make a good substitute for the sulphur beans for those who have no idea what they are or how to get them. :)
I have no idea what sulphur beans are, we always used kidney or great northern beans. I made some for my mother in law this past Saturday evening for her dinner, she loves it. My husband and I eat it on occasion if it’s cold outside; we both grew up with it but our kids were not impressed as they grew up!
Mmmm. Great northern beans sound good!
Oh my..this brings back memories of visits to Belleville, PA to visit our Amish relatives, and going to Amish church services and eating this meal! I always hunt for moon pies when I go back there!