Amish Friendship Bread

It’s kind of funny, but Amish bread is a staple of Mormon culture. It’s been several months, maybe a year or more since I made it.

I recently reconnected with some friends. Several years ago, when I was a youth leader at church, I became close to a couple dozen teenage girls. Needless to say, they are not teenagers anymore, and many of them have moved from the area. Anyway, I invited some that I rarely if ever see over for Sunday dinner. One of them brought me a starter for the friendship bread.

This girl said she was sick of it, because it had gone around their apartment building so much. It turns out, she only had one flavor… the vanilla with cinnamon. A tragedy, if you ask me. I think the fun of this recipe is the variations. Since the favoring comes from instant pudding mix, there are lots of options.

Here are a few I have tried:
Chocolate pudding with chocolate chips
Banana cream pudding with bananas and walnuts
Coconut pudding with shredded coconut
Lemon pudding with poppy seeds
Butterscotch pudding with butterscotch chips

The options are practically endless. As you can see from my list, I’m not even that creative. If someone gives you a starter, I recommend keeping it, and making lots of bread. The bread freezes really well, and its a great snack for last minute guests.  Sometimes I make them up as muffins, too, for another variation.

Incidentally, if you want the recipe, I’ve posted it as a note on my Facebook page. You’ll have to get your own starter though. I don’t know how to make that, and I hear the recipe is a closely guarded secret!