Lemon sours were always my favorites. Our churchs Fall Harvest Festival always had plenty of these lemon sours to eat. In spite of eating this all these years I was excited to find this recipe in an old box. I tried my hand out and they turned to be better than the ones I had during childhood.

1 cup sifted cake flour
2 tbsp. white sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 cup margarine, softened
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup (firmly packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup packaged grated coconut
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Sieve flour, white sugar and salt and add butter to make rough dough. Take a 9 inch pan and grease it. Now press the dough hard on the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degree till the pastry becomes slight brown. In another bowl make a mixture of brown sugar, eggs, grated coconut, nuts and vanilla essence. Pour this over the half baked pastry. Bake it once again for half an hour till the topping becomes tough. Coo the pastry for about fifteen minutes.

Useful tip: Always pack brown sugar tight while measuring as tend to have lot of air. When tightly pressed the air is released and can give the correct measurement. Always use a knife to sweep the top of the measuring cup with brown sugar to level it.

Glaze:

2 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon rind

To make the glaze mix all the ingredients together to forma smooth paste and spread it evenly over the baked pastry.

Serves: 32 sours

Facts: Eliza Actons Modern Cookery for Private Families which was specially written for the housewife was not published till 1845. Best recipes are always hereditary. It runs down the families even today.

In the childhood memories of every good cook, theres a large kitchen, a warm stove, a simmering pot and a mom.
Barbara Costikyan