8 Hands Down Best Amish Bakeries In Pennsylvania
Snitz pie, shoofly pie, and whoopie pie are just a few of the Amish baked goods everyone should try at least once. But given the plethora of bakery options across Pennsylvania Dutch country and beyond, how can anyone decide where to procure their fresh breads, soft pretzels, and sticky buns? For that, I turned to customer reviews to uncover not only which shops throughout the commonwealth earned the most love, but also what specifically has customers journeying from hours away.
Traditional recipes, cooking techniques, and tools — all paired with limited lists of fresh ingredients prepared daily — are indicators of what makes a recipe Amish-style. That said, some bakeries with wide selections still credit one star item as the main attraction, be they located in Lancaster County or elsewhere in the Keystone State. Whether it's the luscious cream filling of a doughnut, the balance of textures in a salted pretzel, or the yeasty dough used in various loaves and rolls, many of the best Amish bakeries have a telling reason why shoppers maintain exclusivity.
Achenbach's Pastries
A glance at a display with an array of popular doughnuts and one shape will readily stand out among the rest: the Long John. Differing from the éclair with its yeast dough as opposed to choux pastry, these delightful vessels for fillings and toppings also happen to be the speciality of Achenbach's Pastries. Located in Lancaster County's Leola, this bakery has been around since the '50s.
While reviews adore the breads, buns, cakes, and whoopie pies, it's the Long Johns that keep customers coming back. Standout varieties include doughnuts filled with chocolate, coconut, and a peanut butter that is described as both rich and creamy in testimonial from a lifelong patron. Of course, the Pennsylvania Dutch establishment is keenly aware of the draw of its pastries that are well-represented.
In addition to selling plush versions of the cartoon Long John mascot and hosting a timed eating competition, a unique offering from Achenbach's has graced some of the most memorable of occasions like weddings. The bakery makes Long John cakes that come as sheet cakes or tiered cakes that, thanks to their design, come ready to serve without the need for slicing. All told, thousands of the doughnuts are sold each week.
(717) 656-6671
375 East Main Street, Leola, PA 17540
Beiler's Doughnuts
The success of Beiler's Doughnuts has seen the namesake family's Amish heritage expand beyond Lancaster to open locations in Philadelphia as well as Germantown, Maryland. Handcrafted daily, each shop serves up a selection of nearly 50 different kinds of the sweet treats with powders, glazes, crèmes, and some unique toppings. There's a reason that long lines are a common sight, especially first thing in the morning.
Early birds catch the worm, and at Beiler's that means maximizing your chances at snagging your doughnut with a fresh dip. Special attention is also paid to the two fritters on the menu — apple and blueberry — as the soft dough contrasts with a crispy crunch, thanks to the exterior. As for the dozens of doughnut options, be it the banana, lemon, maple nut, mocha, or one of the other crème selections, Beiler's is said to be generous with the fillings. You can also get a doughnut with toppings like graham cracker and marshmallow, M&M, Fruity Pebbles, or bacon.
Multiple locations
Bird-in-Hand Bake Shop
Competitive naming conventions can lead to confusion and familiar jokes about a business being famous, original, famous original, or some other variation of the same. Understanding the room for easy confusion, fans of the Bird-in-Hand Bake Shop are very clear in stating its location to avoid mixups with the alternative Bird-in-Hand Bakery. Both are located in Bird in Hand, Pennsylvania, but only the former gets top honors from experienced shoppers.
While customers are guaranteed a whole experience with extras like a petting zoo and ice cream, the baked goods keep them coming back. Travelers from out of state speak highly of the dinner rolls and pies, both regular and whoopie. On that front, it's the shoofly offering that garners the most attention. This molasses-based dessert with an origin linking the sugar substance, a mule, and a circus, draws crowds by the busload. Considering the trek some take to reach the bakery, its worth noting that freezing the pies is said to be a viable option along with calling and requesting goods be shipped to your door.
(717) 656-7947
542 Gibbons Road, Bird in Hand PA, 17505
Countryside Road Stand
A lot of bakeries are known for cakes, cookies, pies, or one of any number of speciality desserts. However, at the Countryside Road Stand in Ronks, it's savory rather than sweet that keeps customers coming back for the Pennsylvania Dutch experience. Run by the Stoltzfus family, even canned goods and crafts play second fiddle to the praised pretzels.
Numerous reviews speak to the contrasting textures of the pretzels with a soft interior beneath the bite of outer layer — all of it buttery. Eli Stoltzfus gets high marks for his take on the symbolic food rooted in Lenten tradition of the Middle Ages, with some suggesting vendors on the streets of New York City start sourcing their wares from the family business.
While dipping the pretzels in the honey mustard is optional, it's recommended that whatever you buy you enjoy on site, as there's no restoring the softness of the dough once the pretiola (little rewards) have had time to set. Another tip for an optimum pretzel experience is to order yours unsalted. This ensures your twisted snack will be made fresh for you to enjoy while browsing apple butter, noodles, and more.
(717) 656-9206
2966 Stumptown Road, Ronks, Pennsylvania 17572
Dutch Haven
If when driving through Lancaster County you happen to pull over at a business with a windmill atop its roof, there's more than a good chance you'll be presented with a free sample of shoo-fly pie when you go inside. That's because the purveyors of Dutch Haven, considered the largest Amish souvenir store in the county, know precisely how enticing a taste can be. So enjoyed is its traditional pie, sold whole or by the slice, that longtime customers boast of journeying from hundred of miles away to get one.
With the molasses and sugar, the pie comes out thick, but still runny, in the way connoisseurs like it paired with the crumbles. While shipping makes it possible to procure one of the wet bottom shoo-fly pies at home, you'll still have to make the trek for other treats like homemade root beer (of which making your own is a lot easier than you might think), lemonade, or pretzels. In the same way they serve the pie, customers describe the hospitality as being warm and inviting.
(717) 687-0111
2857A Lincoln Highway E., Ronks, PA 17572
M & A Sweet Treats
Located in the Lancaster County village of Intercourse, the Amish-owned M & A Sweet Treats runs the gamut on baked goods, but puts its focus on doughnuts. For some, it is where a trip through Pennsylvania Dutch country both starts and ends — quite literally for some particular shoppers, as more than a few apply the honor of best bakery in the nation. So, beyond the friendly service, authentic recipes, and fresh baking on the spot, what is it about M & A's goods that merit such high praise?
For one doughnut fan with a penchant for peanut butter, delicate decadence is at play. The treat being neither big nor heavy makes it satisfying in a way that you don't regret it moments after indulging. Plus, the scent of the dough alone is said to be enough to kick the salivary glands into overdrive. Even with the wide selection of lattice pies, whoopie pies, cupcakes, buns, and more — along with an array of gluten-free goods — M & A doesn't begrudge special orders. In fact, a rave review for a special request loaf of sourdough bread done with cinnamon and brown sugar received permission from the bakers to spread the word on their willingness to accommodate palates.
reallancastercounty.com/m-a-sweet-treats
(717) 874-0397
3463 Old Philadelphia Pike, Ronks, PA 17572
Miller's Bakery
At the start of the great depression, the Shoppes at Miller's began with Anna Miller serving meals and pies to customers at her husband's repair shop. More than forty years later, growing demand for baked goods called for the addition of Miller's Bakery at the Ronks location. After another five decades, the desire for made-from-scratch savories and sweets finds the bakery cranking out buns, pies, and raisin bread for in-person and at-home shoppers alike.
While fans admire the cookies and pies, it's the sticky buns and cinnamon rolls that steal the show. The buns are sold with raisins and pecans with the latter credited as having just the right balance of the cinnamon sugar with the nut. What's more, the rich flavors aren't compromised in the shipping process. Those who order from home receive individually wrapped goods that taste as fresh as those bought in person. Of course, making the trip opens the door for the rest of the wares and nostalgia for some thanks to the assortment of canned jams and jellies.
shoppesatmillers.com/pages/millers-bakery
(717) 687-6621
2811 Lincoln Highway E, Ronks, PA 17572
Sunnyside Pastries
Seen from the road, a red barn tucked between two fields of green is set past a wooden fence with some adjacent smaller buildings. Readily mistaken for any farmstead, some have driven by the unassuming locale of Sunnyside Pastries only to regret missed opportunities when they finally take a first visit. As for those who may not have visited in some time, they may not be aware that the menu has expanded where once it kept to chocolate whoopie pies, cookies and doughnuts.
Sunnyside's sweet assortment includes pies, seasonal cream eggs and truffles, and pastries, in addition to its varieties of breads, spreads, and pickled vegetables. Though the wide selection challenges the indecisive, selections once made keep customers coming back for more. On the savory side, particular favor is expressed for the dinner rolls which can be paired with the bakery's selection of honey, jams, and jellies. While much of the menu boasts fresh and bold flavors, the firm texture really sells the rolls. On the sweet side, customers prefer to stock up on whoopie pies with flavors like mint, peanut butter, and chocolate raspberry, and one taste of the doughnuts with "killer" cream leaves the flavors lingering on the mind for weeks.
(717) 445-5350
421 Weaverland Valley Road, East Earl, PA 17519
Methodology
In order to determine what customers consider to be the best Amish bakeries in Pennsylvania, a first list of locations was compiled with a consensus of highly favorable reviews. That love needed to be supported with a why. So, utilizing Facebook, Reddit, TripAdvisor, and Yelp reviews, the bakeries were limited to those where customers offered definitive reasons on taste, texture, and other aspects as to why a particular shop is a must to visit.