6 Amish Baked Goods Everyone Should Try At Least Once

If you ever find yourself driving down a road in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, there’s a good chance you’ll pass a bona fide horse-and-buggy trotting alongside you. No, you haven’t stepped back in time — you’ve found your way into Amish territory. Or, to look at it another way, you’ve stumbled upon a food lover’s paradise.

The next time you’re in or around Lancaster, you’d be remiss not to stop by an Amish bakery or two. Sure, not all the baked goods inside are unique, and you’ll find a lot of familiar favorites — but Amish baked goods are often intensely flavorful, and rival even the best homemade recipes. I recently visited some spots in Lancaster’s Amish Country and got to sample several bakes for myself, most notably from Bird-in-Hand Bake Shop (which we’ve already named as the spot to get the best pie in Pennsylvania). Keep reading to discover some standout Amish bakes you simply have to try, largely drawn from my experience at the bakery. 

“What’s snitz?” This was one of many questions I asked while inside the bakery, and the Amish employees seemed surprised that the term wasn’t familiar to me. They told me that snitz refers to dried apple slices, which are basically rehydrated, run through a mill, and baked into pie. The pie typically gets both a top and a bottom crust before being baked to golden-brown perfection.

The texture differentiates snitz pie from traditional apple pie. The filling of a snitz pie is smooth and thick, whereas an apple pie often boasts slices or chunks of apples within. Snitz will have almost a pecan pie consistency on the inside. The flavor is often more compact because of this, and the benefit of two crusts can’t be overstated — especially if a buttery crust is your favorite part of a pie, as it is mine. 

Shoofly pie has a long and interesting history, but one thing’s for certain — this Pennsylvania Dutch delicacy is a must-have the next time you’re in Amish Country. I mean, even if you have no clue what’s inside, it’s hard not to be tempted by its looks alone. A crackly, crumbly, golden-brown topping? Yes, please! 

But, as with any pie, the interior is the real star of the show — and shoofly pie is no exception. The filling is relatively simple, and traditionally features molasses and brown sugar combined to create a thick, custard-like texture. And, yes, it’s definitely as good as it sounds. I got a slice of shoofly pie from Bird-in-Hand and was quite surprised that it managed not to be too cloying. There’s a dark richness present from the molasses that’s just sweet enough to satisfy a sweet tooth. It was really an excellent slice that anyone in Pennsylvania Dutch country should treat themselves to. 

I know, I know, we’re all familiar with the classic pecan pie, but trust me — the Amish do it better. Unfortunately, I can’t give you an exact reason as to why. I can infer that their use of scratch-made goods and high-quality ingredients, like their butter and eggs, makes a large difference. It’s also possible that they use some techniques we’re not privy to. Whatever the exact difference may be, the result is pretty stunning. 

My bite of an Amish-made pecan pie had everything you’d expect to get from such a pie, and then some. It was rich and flavorful with almost a dark intensity, sweet without being cloying, and oozed that “comfort food” feel we all look for in the pie. The crust was impeccably flaky. There’s no question that the Amish make incredible pecan pies; maybe one day, they’ll divulge their secrets so I can try to mock up my own at home. For now, I’ll just have to travel to Pennsylvania more often!

Making homemade whoopie pies can be a bit tricky, so instead of trying your hand at the sweet treat, just head over to Bird-in-Hand! The bakery has no shortage of whoopie pies on offer — there’s even a shoofly whoopie pie if you want to get a best-of-both-worlds situation. No matter which you pick, you’re very unlikely to be disappointed.

I bought an oatmeal whoopie pie while at the bakery, and I absolutely adored it. Two soft, thick oatmeal cookies housed a rich frosting, which also wasn’t too sweet (this is a trend with Amish bakes, and I hugely appreciate it!). The “pie” was an effortlessly satisfying bite, and nearly had me heading back inside to try more — had I not also tasted the following two bakes the same day, I very well may have.

If it’s Amish and has “pecan” in the name, take my advice — just buy it. Granted, I’m a huge fan of sticky buns in general, but Bird-in-Hand’s pecan sticky buns were off the charts. It’s not hard to imagine after looking at the above photo, and yes, the buns are absolutely as scrumptious as they look here. 

The actual bun is effortlessly soft and moist, while the pecan topping provides that sticky, sweet, nutty appeal that makes the dessert so desirable in the first place. Moreover, everything was held together in perfect balance and was incredibly flavorful — again, I suspect some homemade butter is at play here. As with the pecan pie I talked about earlier, these buns have everything you’d expect, dialed up to 10. They’re really exceptional entries in their class that could easily win any sticky bun bake-off.

The sole bake I tried that didn’t come from Bird-in-Hand can be found at a small stall in Lancaster’s Central Market. Köm-Essa was immediately alluring, especially considering my penchant for soft pretzels, which I make at home pretty regularly. Mine aren’t nearly as good as the one you can see me holding above. 

Again, this is a bake that makes me wish I had some of the Amish’s baking secrets. This pretzel was everything a soft pretzel should be — chewy, doughy, malted, buttery, and full of flavor. It hardly needed the salt on top, and yes, it was definitely better than Auntie Anne’s (which is my current soft pretzel of choice). Can I petition for these to become airport staples? Probably not, but hey — a girl can dream!