Easy-to-make banana and/or coconut cream pie in an unbaked Graham cracker crust.

Cream pie filling

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 3 cups milk
• 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 2 T butter
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut and/or 1 or more sliced bananas

In double boiler top, mix sugar, flour and salt. Stir in milk and cook 15 minutes over hot water until thickened. Add egg yolks. Cook 3 minutes. Add butter. Cool. Add vanilla and 1/2 cup coconut for coconut cream pie, or line pie plate with sliced bananas before pouring in filling for banana cream pie. Fill graham wafer pie crust.

Can make a meringue by beating the 3 egg whites stiff with about 6 T of sugar and a pinch of salt. Mound on top and place until broiler for a few minutes until the peaks begin to turn golden.

Graham wafer pie crust

• 1 cup graham wafer crumbs
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 tbsp sugar (optional)

Combine all ingredients and press into a pie plate. Chill 5 minutes before filling.

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup margarine
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1-1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut
• 2 T flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t vanilla
• pinch salt

Cream together the margarine and sugar. Add the flour. Press into lightly buttered 8″ pan and bake at 300F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Beat eggs with sugar. Add walnuts and coconut.

Mix flour with baking powder and salt and add to egg mix with vanilla.

Pour on top of base and bake at 300 F for 40 minutes more.

A dense, yummy dessert that will fill your kitchen with old-world fragrance.

Ingredients for Loretta’s German Honey Cake

• 1-1/2 cups honey
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 4 T butter, softened
• 2 t lemon juice
• 1 T kirsch or rum (optional)
• 4-1/2 cups flour
• 2 cups ground almonds
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t cloves
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 4 T chopped candied lemon peel
• 4 T chopped candied orange peel
• (or 1/2 cups chopped mixed candied fruit in place of above)

For Icing:

• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
• 2 T kirsch , rum, or lemon juice

Preparing Loretta’s German Honey Cake

Warm honey and sugar. Mix with eggs, butter, lemon juice and kirsch. Combine dry ingredients. Add to honey mixture with candied fruit. Press into a large, buttered and floured cookie sheet, or roll out and cut as desired. Bake at 350F until firm and browned.

Icing: Mix sugar with kirsch, rum, or lemon juice. Pour onto cake while still hot from oven so it will soak in.

A surplus of fall apples would sometimes inspire Mom to pull out her pastry skills and make a few cinnamon-laden apple pies, topped with either a full or a lattice-work crust.

Ingredients for Apple Pie

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 T flour
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1/8 t salt
• 1 T grated lemon rind
• 5 cups sliced, tart apples
• 1 T lemon juice
• 2 T butter

Preheat oven to 425º F.

Line a 9″ pie plate with pastry. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt ,and lemon rind. Add apples and toss to coat. Arrange in plate. Sprinkle with lemon juice and dot with butter. Top with pastry, pricking top with fork in several places, or form into a lattice-work pattern. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until browned.

• 2 cups raisins
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup oil or margarine
• 1/2 t each salt, cinnamon, nutmeg
• 1/4 t cloves
• 1 cup hot water
• 1-3/4 cup flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Simmer raisins, sugar, margarine, salt and spices in hot water for 6 mins. Allow to cool. Add flour, baking powder, egg and nuts. Pour into greased 8″ pan. Bake at 325 F for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

With cream cheese icing

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 1-1/2 t baking powder
• 3/4 t salt
• 1-1/2 t baking soda
• 1-1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 3 eggs
• 1-1/4 cups oil
• 3/4 cups nuts, chopped
• 2-1/2 cups grated carrots

Sift together the flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, baking soda and spices. Add eggs and oil, nuts, and grated carrots. Stir well.

Pour into 9″ cake pan and bake at 350F for about 40 minutes. Cool and top with Cream Cheese Icing (see below)

FOR THE ICING

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 t vanilla
• 1 lb. icing sugar

Cream Cheese Icing:  Beat cream cheese and butter together. Add vanilla and icing sugar.

Pastry:

• 

  2 cups flour

• 1 t salt
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 5 T ice water

To make pastry: sift flour and salt; rub shortening into the flour to form balls the size of small peas. Add water and mix with a fork. Knead slightly for form a smooth ball. Roll and cut to fit tart pans.

Filling:

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 T vinegar
• 1 T vanilla
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1-1/2 cups raisins

To make filling: combine eggs, sugar, vinegar, and vanilla. Stir in melted butter and raisins.

Topping:

• 1/2 cup whipped cream

Fill tart shells two-thirds full. Bake for 10 minutes at 450º F; reduce heat to 325º F and continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve topped with whipped cream.

Polvorones are melt-in-your-mouth Mexican sugar cookies, extremely simple and popular.

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 2-1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t salt
• 1-1/2 t vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in flour. Add rest of ingredients and mix until smooth. Shape into 1″ balls.

Place 1″ apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 F for 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with icing sugar.

This is not a quick, stove-top rice pudding. This is the real thing: the hours of slow cooking turn the rice into a delicious vanilla-flavored cream with crusty edges.

• 4 cups milk
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/2 cup raisins

In oven-proof dish, mix the milk, sugar. rice, salt and vanilla. Bake, uncovered, for 3 hours at 300F, stirring three times during the first hour. After the first hour, stir in raisins and continue baking until done.

Easy vegan: Substitute almond milk for the regular milk and use raw sugar.