I looked for recipes that had a colonial history. Brandied peaches seemed to be the easiest to prepare of the the traditonal ones, but somehow they didn't seem right for a school project! Here's a recipe for Lemon Chess Tarts and one for Sally Lunn.

This originally was a cake or a tart of light pastry containing cheese and was often mentioned from around 1440 onward. Over the years, however, the cheese disappeared from the recipe, and lemon or orange or almonds were substituted. But the word "chess, " a housewifely corruption of "cheese, " has remained in the name to this day.

Mix sugar, juice, and rind Melt butter in top of double boiler. Add sugar mixture and eggs. Continue cooking over hot water until very thick, stirring constantly. Cool, cover, and regrigerate. When chilled, fill tart shells.