For banana custard pie she substituted sliced banana for cherries on top of pie.

“RIVEL KUCHEN”

Place in a bowl 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar (good measure), 1/2 cup butter and lard, or all butter is better (scant measure).  Some like a little grating of nutmeg, especially if part lard is used.  Mix or crumb the ingredients well together with the hands to form small lumps, or rivels.  Line pie-tins with a rich pastry crust and strew the rivels thickly over and bake in a quick oven.  A couple tablespoons of molasses spread over the crumbs is liked by some.  This is a favorite pie or cake of many Pennsylvania Germans.

AUNT SARAH’S LEMON MERINGUE

Two cups of water, 1-1/2 cups of sugar, 2 rounding tablespoonfuls of corn starch, 4 eggs, 1 tablespoonful of butter, 2 small lemons.  Mix the water, sugar and corn starch dissolved in a little cold water, pour in sauce-pan, place on range and stir mixture until thickened.  Beat separately the yolks of 4 eggs and the whites of 2, then add both to the above mixture.  Remove from the fire, add the juice of two small lemons and grated rind of one; add butter.  Fill two previously baked pastry shells with the cooled mixture.  Beat the remaining whites of egg (another white of an egg added improves the appearance of the pie.) Add one tablespoonful of pulverized sugar to each egg used; place the stiffly beaten whites of egg rockily over tops of pies stand in oven until a delicate shade of brown.  This is a delicious pie.

A COUNTRY BATTER PIE

Line two medium-sized pie-tins with pastry crust in which pour the following mixture, composed of 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and one egg, creamed together; then add 1/2 cup of cold water and the grated yellow rind and juice of one lemon.

For the top of pies:  Cream together 1 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of lard and 1 egg, then add 1/2 cup of sour milk alternately with 1-1/2 cups of flour, sifted with 1/2 teaspoonful of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoonful of cream of tartar.  Place 1/2 of this mixture on top of each pie.  Bake in oven.

PUMPKIN PIE (AUNT SARAH’S RECIPE)

The best pumpkin for pie is of a deep orange yellow with a rough, warty surface.  Remove the soft, spongy pulp and seeds of the pumpkin, pare and cut into small pieces.  Steam until tender.  Put in a colander to drain, then mash through colander with wooden potato masher.  For one deep pie allow one pint of the stewed pumpkin, beat in 2 eggs, one at a time, 1/2 teaspoonful salt, 1 teaspoonful ginger, 1/2 teaspoonful grated nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoonful cinnamon, 2/3 cup sugar, 1 scant pint milk.  Beat all together.  This mixture should barely fill a quart measure.  Pour in a deep pie-tin lined with rich crust, grate nutmeg over the top of pie and bake from 45 to 50 minutes in a moderate oven.  Have the oven rather hot when the pie is first put in to bake and then reduce the heat, else the filling in the pie will boil and become watery.  If liked, two tablespoonfuls of brandy may be added to the mixture before filling the crust.  In that case, use two tablespoonfuls less of milk.