Yay! I am so happy to post my first submitted story to you all! And this one hits home because it is my husbands mother who submitted this and its all about her family and a tradition that has been passed on through the generations, even into my own home!! Follow along carefully, so you can fully understand how special this is. The name Koeke Bread, pronounced ‘kooka’, i believe the original name for it is Ontbijtkoek or what they would call ‘breakfast bread’. It is so delicious, I hope you enjoy this story, the memories and a new recipe for you! Here’s her story….
So I thought about one recipe that stands out with my side of the family.
My grandmother on my dad’s side, (his mother) Etje Hiemstra, 
who I was named after and who actually delivered me, was a great cook and baker. One of her special recipe’s was her famous ‘Koeke’ also know as spice cake.This is an old dutch recipe that came from the Netherlands which she brought over and taught her daughter’s and daughter-in-laws to bake especially for the holiday’s.
who I was named after and who actually delivered me, was a great cook and baker. One of her special recipe’s was her famous ‘Koeke’ also know as spice cake.This is an old dutch recipe that came from the Netherlands which she brought over and taught her daughter’s and daughter-in-laws to bake especially for the holiday’s.One of her daughter-in-laws was my mother Sieta Hiemstra.
After Grandma who we called Beppe, passed away in 1975, my mother cherished many of her mother-in-laws recipes of cakes and cookies. Without fail, she always baked her Koeke for Christmas. There was something about that special spice smell/aroma in the house around the holidays. As years passed and my dad had passed away in 1988, my mother, who had 9 children – all married and with 27 grandchildren (some of who were married and 13 great grandchildren) couldn’t afford to give all her kids gifts for Christmas so she decided to bake a Koeke for each family (at least 12 cakes) every Christmas along with a calendar with each one’s Birth dates and Anniversary dates that she personally wrote in for every month of the year. We all loved the idea and were very grateful for this gift. That went on for around 12-14 years.
My mom passed away in 2002 and so the eldest daughter Judi 
decided to carry on the tradition. One year Judi baked 46 Koeke’s for Christmas since the family was still growing. Well several years later, Judi became very sick and ended up in the hospital for 7 weeks.
decided to carry on the tradition. One year Judi baked 46 Koeke’s for Christmas since the family was still growing. Well several years later, Judi became very sick and ended up in the hospital for 7 weeks. She no longer could carry on the tradition and so Shelly Hiemstra 
(a daughter-in-law) decided that this tradition had to continue, so she took on the task of baking 1 Koeke every year for each family at Christmas time…(25 plus.) Since some of the family lives in other States, no longer did she have to make 40-50. The family has grown to 98 individuals.
(a daughter-in-law) decided that this tradition had to continue, so she took on the task of baking 1 Koeke every year for each family at Christmas time…(25 plus.) Since some of the family lives in other States, no longer did she have to make 40-50. The family has grown to 98 individuals.An interesting thought came to me as I realized that the daughter-in-laws carried on their mother-in-laws baking tradition of this special spice cake ‘Koeke’. And now I’m passing it on to my daughter-in-law Darci, who is one of the finest cook’s and baker’s in the country, to try this 90 plus year old family recipe.
-Edie Bos
Since my husband and I moved out here over a year ago, we have had to spend one Christmas so far without getting to go to Aunt Shelly’s and get our Koeke Bread, so last year I made it for us and my brother and sister in law, keeping the tradition going all the way out here in TN!
Please remember, you can submit stories of your families as well! You can read my last post about it here.
Food Is Memories: Koeke Bread
Author: Bake & Style
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2 loaves
Ingredients
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 box brown sugar
- 1- ½ cups white sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp cloves
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 4 table spoons of butter softened
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325*
- Grease bread pans(flour optional)
- Combine dry ingredients first.
- Then add eggs, milk & butter and mix altogether.
- Pour into prepared bread pans.
- Bake about 45min-1hr or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Makes 2 loaves.