PIES
Paste for pies should be one-fourth inch thick and rolled a little
larger than the plate to allow for shrinking. In dividing paste for
pies, allow more for upper than under crusts. Always perforate upper
crusts that steam may escape. Some make a design, others pierce with a
large fork.
Flat rims for pies should be cut in strips three-fourths inch wide.
Under crusts should be brushed with cold water before putting on rims,
and rims slightly fulled, otherwise they will shrink from edge of plate.
The pastry jagger, a simple device for cutting paste, makes rims with
fluted edges.
Pies requiring two crusts sometimes have a rim between the crusts. This
is mostly confined to mince pieces, where there is little danger of
juice escaping. Sometimes a rim is placed over upper crust. Where two
pieces of paste are put together, the under piece should always be
brushed with cold water, the upper piece placed over, and the two
pressed lightly together; otherwise they will separate during baking.
When juicy fruit is used for filling pies, some of the juices are apt to
escape during baking. As a precaution, bind with a strip of cotton cloth
wrung out of cold water and cut one inch wide and long enough to
encircle the plate. Squash, pumpkin, and custard pies are much less care
during baking when bound. Where cooked fruits are used for filling, it
is desirable to bake crusts separately. This is best accomplished by
covering an inverted deep pie plate with paste and baking for under
crust. Prick with a fork before baking. Slip from plate, and fill. For
upper crusts, roll a piece of paste a little larger than the pie plate,
prick, and bake on a tin sheet.
For baking pies, perforated tin plates are used. They may be bought
shallow or deep. By the use of such plates the under crust is well
cooked. Pastry should be thoroughly baked and well browned. Pies require
from thirty-five to forty-five minutes for baking. Never grease a pie
plate; good pastry greases its own tin. Slip pies, when slightly cooled,
to earthen plates.
Apple Pie I
4 or 5 sour apples
⅓ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Few gratings lemon rind
Line pie plate with paste. Pare, core, and cut the apples into eighths,
put row around plate one-half inch from edge, and work towards centre
until plate is covered; then pile on remainder. Mix sugar, nutmeg, salt,
lemon juice, and grated rind, and sprinkle over apples. Dot over with
butter. Wet edges of under crust, cover with upper crust, and press
edges together.
Bake forty to forty-five minutes in moderate oven. A very good pie may
be made without butter, lemon juice, and grated rind. Cinnamon may be
substituted for nutmeg. Evaporated apples may be used in place of fresh
fruit. If used, they should be soaked over night in cold water.
Apple Pie II
Use same ingredients as for Apple Pie I. Place in small earthen
baking-dish and add hot water to prevent apples from burning. Cover
closely, and bake three hours in very slow oven, when apples will be a
dark red color. Brown sugar may be used instead of white sugar, a little
more being required. Cool, and bake between two crusts.
Blackberry Pie
Pick over and wash one and one-half cups berries. Stew until soft with
enough water to prevent burning. Add sugar to taste, and one-eighth
teaspoon salt. Line plate with paste, put on a rim, fill with berries
(which have been cooled); arrange six strips pastry across the top, cut
same width as rim; put on an upper rim. Bake thirty minutes in moderate
oven.
Blueberry Pie
2½ cups berries
Flour
½ cup sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
Line a deep plate with Plain Paste, fill with berries slightly dredged
with flour; sprinkle with sugar and salt, cover, and bake forty-five to
fifty minutes in a moderate oven. For sweetening, some prefer to use
one-third molasses, the remaining two-thirds to be sugar. Six green
grapes (from which seeds have been removed) cut in small pieces much
improve the flavor, particularly where huckleberries are used in place
of blueberries.
Cranberry Pie
1½ cups cranberries
½ cup water
¾ cup sugar
Put ingredients in saucepan in order given, and cook ten minutes; cool,
and bake in one crust, with a rim, and strips across the top.
Currant Pie
1 cup currants
1 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons water
Mix flour and sugar, add yolks of eggs slightly beaten and diluted with
water. Wash currants, drain, remove stems, then measure; add to first
mixture and bake in one crust; cool, and cover with Meringue I. Cook in
slow oven until delicately browned.
Cream Pie
Bake three crusts on separate pie plates. Put together with Cream
Filling and dust over with powdered sugar. If allowed to stand after
filling for any length of time, the pastry will soften.
Custard Pie
2 eggs
3 tablespoons sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
1½ cups milk
Few gratings nutmeg
Beat eggs slightly, add sugar, salt, and milk. Line plate with paste,
and build up a fluted rim. Strain in the mixture and sprinkle with few
gratings nutmeg. Bake in quick oven at first to set rim, decrease the
heat afterwards, as egg and milk in combination need to be cooked at low
temperature.
Date Pie
2 cups milk
⅓ pound sugar dates
2 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
Few gratings nutmeg
Cook dates with milk twenty minutes in top of double boiler. Strain, and
rub through sieve, then add eggs and salt. Bake same as Custard Pie.
Lemon Pie I
½ cup chopped apple
1 cup sugar
1 beaten egg
¼ cup rolled common crackers
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Grated rind 1 lemon
1 teaspoon melted butter
Mix ingredients in order given and bake with two crusts.
Lemon Pie II
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup boiling water
2 tablespoons corn-starch
2 tablespoons flour
2 egg yolks
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Grated rind 1 lemon
1 teaspoon butter
Mix corn-starch, flour, and sugar, add boiling water, stirring
constantly. Cook two minutes, add butter, egg yolks, and rind and juice
of lemon. Line plate with paste same as for Custard Pie. Turn in mixture
which has been cooled, and bake until pastry is well browned. Cool
slightly, and cover with Meringue I; then return to oven and bake
meringue.
Lemon Pie III
Yolks 4 eggs
6 tablespoons sugar
Few grains salt
1¼ cups milk
Whites 4 eggs
⅞ cup powdered sugar
1 lemon
Beat yolks of eggs slightly, add sugar, salt, grated rind of lemon, and
milk. Line plate with paste as for Custard Pie. Pour in mixture. Bake in
moderate oven until set. Remove from oven, cool slightly, and cover with
Meringue III (see p. 480) made of whites of eggs, powdered sugar, and
lemon juice.
Lemon Pie IV
3 eggs
⅔ cup sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
Grated rind ½ lemon
2 tablespoons water
Beat eggs slightly, add sugar, lemon juice, grated rind, and water. Bake
in one crust in a moderate oven. Cool slightly, cover with Meringue II,
then return to oven and bake meringue.
Lemon Pie V
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Yolks 2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
Whites 2 eggs
Few grains salt
Mix sugar and flour, add lemon juice, egg yolks slightly beaten, milk,
butter, whites of eggs beaten stiff, and salt. Bake in one crust, and
cover with meringue or not, as desired.
Mince Pies
Mince pies should be always baked with two crusts. For Thanksgiving and
Christmas pies, Puff Paste is often used for rims and upper crusts, but
is never satisfactory when used for under crusts.
Mince Pie Meat I
4 lbs. lean beef
2 lbs. beef suet
Baldwin apples
3 quinces
3 lbs. sugar
2 cups molasses
2 quarts cider
4 lbs. raisins, seeded and cut in pieces
3 lbs. currants
½ lb. finely cut citron
1 quart cooking brandy
1 tablespoon cinnamon and mace
1 tablespoon powdered clove
2 grated nutmegs
1 teaspoon pepper
Salt to taste
Cover meat and suet with boiling water and cook until tender, cool in
water in which they are cooked; the suet will rise to top, forming a
cake of fat, which may be easily removed. Finely chop meat, and add it
to twice the amount of finely chopped apples. The apples should be
quartered, cored, and pared, previous to chopping, or skins may be left
on, which is not an objection if apples are finely chopped. Add quinces
finely chopped, sugar, molasses, cider, raisins, currants, and citron;
also suet, and stock in which meat and suet were cooked, reduced to one
and one-half cups. Heat gradually, stir occasionally, and cook slowly
two hours; then add brandy and spices.
Mince Pie Meat II
5 cups chopped cooked beef
2½ cups chopped suet
7½ cups chopped apples
3 cups cider
½ cup vinegar
1 cup molasses
5 cups sugar
¾ lb. citron, finely chopped
2½ cups whole raisins
1½ cups raisins, finely chopped
Salt
Juice 2 lemons
Juice 2 oranges
1 tablespoon mace
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Cinnamon│2 tablespoons each
Clove │
Allspice│
────────┴──────────────────────────────
2 nutmegs grated
2 tablespoons lemon extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1½ cups brandy
3 cups liquor in which beef was cooked
Mix ingredients in the order given, except brandy, and let simmer one
and one-half hours; then add brandy and shavings from the rind of the
lemons and oranges.
English Mince Meat
5 lbs. raisins, seeded
────────────────────────┬──────────────
5 lbs. suet │finely chopped
5 lbs. apples │
4 lbs. citron │
1½ lbs. blanched almonds│
────────────────────────┴──────────────
5 lbs. currants
5 lbs. light brown sugar
½ teaspoon mace
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2½ cups brandy
Cook raisins, suet, apples, citron, currants, and sugar slowly for one
and one-half hours; then add almonds, spices, and brandy.
Mince Meat (without Alcoholic Liquor)
Mix together one cup chopped apple, one-half cup raisins seeded and
chopped, one-half cup currants, one-fourth cup butter, one tablespoon
molasses, one tablespoon boiled cider, one cup sugar, one teaspoon
cinnamon, one-half teaspoon cloves, one-half nutmeg grated, one
salt-spoon of mace, and one teaspoon salt. Add enough stock in which
meat was cooked to moisten; heat gradually to boiling-point, and simmer
one hour; then add one cup chopped meat and two tablespoons Barberry
Jelly. Cook fifteen minutes.
Mock Mince Pie
4 common crackers, rolled
1½ cups sugar
1 cup molasses
⅓ cup lemon juice or vinegar
1 cup raisins, seeded and chopped
½ cup butter
2 eggs well beaten
Spices
Mix ingredients in order given, adding spices to taste. Bake between
crusts. This quantity will make two pies.
Mock Cherry Pie
Mix one cup cranberries cut in halves, one-half cup raisins seeded and
cut in pieces, three-fourths cup sugar, and one tablespoon flour. Dot
over with one teaspoon butter. Bake between crusts.
Peach Pie
Remove skins from peaches. This may be done easily after allowing
peaches to stand in boiling water one minute. Cut in eighths, cook until
soft with enough water to prevent burning; sweeten to taste. Cool, and
fill crust previously baked. Cover with whipped cream, sweetened and
flavored. Fresh strawberries, cut in halves, slightly mashed and
sweetened, are attractively served in a pastry case.
Prune Pie
½ lb. prunes
½ cup sugar (scant)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1½ teaspoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
Wash prunes and soak in enough cold water to cover. Cook in same water
until soft. Remove stones, cut prunes in quarters, and mix with sugar
and lemon juice. Reduce liquor to one and one-half tablespoons. Line
plate with paste, cover with prunes, pour over liquor, dot over with
butter, and dredge with flour. Put on an upper crust and bake in a
moderate oven.
Rhubarb Pie
1½ cups rhubarb
⅞ cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons flour
Skin and cut stalks of rhubarb in half-inch pieces before measuring. Mix
sugar, flour, and egg; add to rhubarb and bake between crusts. Many
prefer to scald rhubarb before using; if so prepared, losing some of its
acidity, less sugar is required.
Squash Pie I
1¼ cups steamed and strained squash
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, or
½ teaspoon lemon extract
1 egg
⅞ cup milk
Mix sugar, salt, and spice or extract, add squash, egg slightly beaten,
and milk gradually. Bake in one crust, following directions for Custard
Pie. If a richer pie is desired, use one cup squash, one-half cup each
of milk and cream, and an additional egg yolk.
Squash Pie II
1 cup squash, steamed and strained
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
4 tablespoons brandy
────────┬──────────────────────────
Cinnamon│1 teaspoon each
Nutmeg │
────────┼──────────────────────────
Ginger │¾ teaspoon each
Salt │
────────┴──────────────────────────
¼ teaspoon mace
Line a deep pie plate with puff paste. Brush over paste with white of
egg slightly beaten, and sprinkle with stale bread crumbs; fill, and
bake in a moderate oven. Serve warm.
Pumpkin Pie
1½ cups steamed and strained pumpkin
⅔ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1½ cups milk
½ cup cream
Mix ingredients in order given and bake in one crust.
[Illustration:
CHEESE STRAWS.—_Page 475._
]
[Illustration:
COCOANUT TEA CAKES.—_Page 477._
]
[Illustration:
FRUIT BASKETS.—_Page 479._
]
[Illustration:
LEMON TARTLETS.—_Page 479._
]