1 quart flour.
2 tablespoonfuls lard—or half butter is better.
2 cups of milk.
1 teaspoonful soda, dissolved in hot water.
2 teaspoonfuls cream-tartar sifted into the dry flour.
1 saltspoonful salt.
Chop the shortening into the flour after you have sifted this and the
cream-tartar together; put in the soda and wet up quickly—just stiff
enough to roll into a paste less than half an inch thick. Cut into
squares, and lay in the centre of each a juicy, tart apple, pared and
cored; bring the corners of the square neatly together and pinch them
slightly. Lay in a buttered baking-pan, the joined edges downward, and
bake to a fine brown. When done, brush over with beaten egg, and set
back in the oven to glaze for two or three minutes. Sift powdered sugar
over them, and eat hot with rich sweet sauce.
I greatly prefer the above simple crust for all kinds of dumplings, to
the rich paste which becomes heavy so soon as it begins to cool. It is
also more quickly and easily made, and far more wholesome than pastry.