Classic Local Recipes

Popcorn is a local favorite and a farming tradition in Shipshewana. Check out the popcorn sections of the local stores and you’ll find blue, white, yellow, small kernel, no kernel, tiny, extra large, hull-less, rainbow, red, purple, and any combination possible. Try them all to find your favorite!

Step two in Amish Country popcorn-making is flavor! Salt and butter are timeless classics, but there are so many tempting toppings nowadays, that it’s fun to experiment. You’ll find popcorn flavorings, and flavored popcorn of all types in the shops: sweet, spicy, salty, cheesy just to name a few.

But if you feel like making your own at home, try this simple recipe from Yoder’s Popcorn for a sure-fire hit. Who doesn’t love the combo of bacon and cheese? Well. Vegetarians, yes. BUT! this recipe allows for a swap of soy ‘bacon’ so even a Vegetarians will love it.

Looking to buy a certain kind of popcorn to get started? Shop any of the following stores:

• E&S Sales
• Yoder’s Popcorn
• Shipshewana Popcorn Company
• Yoder’s Meat & Cheese

You can’t really get more ‘COMFORT FOOD’ than meat and potatoes, but that doesn’t mean that dinner has to be boring. Shepard’s Pie, in one form or another, has been around for hundreds of years. Why? Because it’s delicious!

There are versions using pastry, different sorts of proteins, like lamb, sometimes gravy, and there’s a similar dish called Cottage Pie.

Historically, Shepard’s Pie has been claimed as the creation of England, Scotland, and Ireland, but it’s probable that resourceful and thrifty cooks in all three countries came up with recipes like this back then to use up leftovers from the day before.

This simple but delicious recipe is courtesy of Clara Raber, of the Raber Patio Enclosures & Furniture family, and is known to be a phenomenal cook. Russet, Idaho, and Yukon Gold will all work well for this recipe. But if you decide to take an instant mashed potato shortcut while you’re making it, I won’t tell her if you won’t.

This Apple Pie Pull-Apart Bread recipe would be equally great as breakfast or a dessert, and the fact that it uses frozen rolls, and a pre-made apple pie desert mix, means that it’s a no-brainer for any occasion where you don’t have much time, but still want people to love what you’ve made.

This recipe is courtesy of Yoder’s Meat & Cheese, and they also make the Wind & Willow Apple Pie Cheeseball & Dessert Mix called for in the recipe. Probably just a coincidence.

Yoder’s Meat & Cheese is located at 435 S. Van Buren St. in Shipshewana. While you’re picking up the dessert mix, we recommend checking out their pre-made dip section as well. Those are also great for parties or dinners, or eating by yourself with an entire box of crackers while watching the Wheel. No judgement.

Oatmeal Cake has been around for a very long time, and it sometimes referred to as a heritage recipe. It became a regular household staple after Quaker Oats started printing a version of it on their Old Fashioned Oats and Quick Oats containers in 1950, calling it the Lazy Daisy cake, because it was so easy to make. There are also versions using a yellow cake mix, as well, and it’s said that the first public version of the Oatmeal Cake recipe was printed in 1914. The most important part of this cake, arguably, is the delicious topping. Instead of frosting or icing, this cake has a crunchy, coconut-ty topping mix that is toasted and caramelized under a broiler.

Well-known Shipshewana Chef, Baker, Caterer, Restauranter, Farmer, and Entrepreneur Shawna Rae is sharing her recipe for her delicious Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cake. Shawna is known for putting her own (usually tastier) spin on things, as well as using all natural ingredients. Fall is the perfect time of year for a warm, comforting recipe like this, and this gorgeous cake expertly toes the line between dessert and breakfast, as well as being simple to make, so there’s no real reason NOT to make it and have it for both.

The combination of sweet and salty in one bite has grown in popularity over the years, and a dessert recipe that uses tasty, crunchy bacon is sure to have complex and delicious flavors. The brilliant, mad people at Linder’s Tavern in LaGrange, Indiana have never been afraid to experiment or shy away from a challenge, as witnessed by perennial menu favorites the MacLinder Burger Pizza, or Smotchos (smoked meat nachos.)

This dish looks amazing, smells fabulous, appears difficult and time-consuming, but is actually pretty easy. Use this recipe when you’re out to impress a crowd, or for a family dinner dessert if you’re looking for all the parenting awards.