Mahogany Manor

Anchorage, Alaska

Heritage Recipe

Cracker Pudding

Ingredients

4 cups milk

1 cup crackers

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Bring milk to almost boiling, but watch it so it doesn't boil over. Put dry ingredients in bowl. Stir them into hot milk. Stir a few spoonfuls of hot mixture into beaten egg and then add eggs to mixture. Boil about 3 minutes. Chill and serve.

I grew up in a Pennsylvania Dutch family and community. There were many traditional dishes that were always served, however, occasionally new dishes were introduced. When someone in our family got a good recipe, it was spread like wildfire. It is often hard to know the actual origin, and of course everyone has a little different interpretation of the first time it was used. Here is a recipe that was a favorite for family gatherings. It seems to me that certain people were usually expected or unofficially designated to bring a certain dish because they made it best. They are still favorites among the "younger" women in the family.

• You found this recipe on 1st Traveler's Choice Internet Cookbook. (www.virtualcities.com)