Recipes: Banana Cream Pie and Honey Nut Cheerio Macaroons

I got up early, a list of to-do's and a spatula in hand.

First thing on my agenda: Banana Cream Pie. The recipe is from my favorite cookbook of all time, "The Settlement Cook Book". I love this book and have relied on it since I first got it back in '76.

Banana Cream Pie

1/3 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups milk, scalded
3 egg yokes (set egg whites aside for meringue or Macaroons, recipe to follow)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4teaspoon salt* optional
3 sliced bananas
1 baked 9-inch pie shell

Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in a small bowl. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. Cook in double boiler until cornstarch is clear and begins to thicken. Beat egg yokes slightly. Add gradually to mixture. Cook about 2 minutes. Add vanilla. Cool.
To assemble pie:
Slice bananas into baked pie shell, alternating layers of custard and bananas. Cover with meringue or whipped cream (*I use Cool Whip) and top with 3 banana slices for garnish. Serve chilled.

*To scald milk, place milk in a double boiler and heat just until bubbles form around edge. DO NOT bring to a boil. Remove from heat immediately.

What you you can make with the egg whites you saved from this recipe:

Honey Nut Cheerio Macaroons


This is my recipe, based on another I found which used cornflakes. *I omitted the salt, justified in knowing there was probably enough salt already in the cereal to make up for it.

3 cups Honey Nut Cheerios
1 cup sugar
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 300.
Beat egg whites until frothy. Gradually beat in sugar and continue beating until stiff. Add remaining ingredients. Butter a 9 x 13 cake pan, and pour mixture into pan, spread to edges. Bake in a slow oven, 300° for 30 minutes. Cut into bars and remove from pan while warm.


I had a 1 lb bag of Folgers coffee beans, but didn't have a coffee grinder, so I used my mini food processor to coarse chop the beans and made a pot of coffee while the macaroons were in the oven. The coffee came out good, not too bitter or strong, and was waiting for me when I was finished in the kitchen.

Retro Rose waits patiently for the macaroons.

Igor was too pooped from a busy day in the fresh air Saturday.