PASTRY.
Delicate Paste.
1 pint of sifted flour.
1 gill of butter.
1/2 gill of lard.
1 tablespoonful of sugar.
1-1/2 teaspoonfuls baking powder.
1 teaspoonful of salt.
Mix all the dry ingredients together and rub through a sieve into a
bowl. Add the butter and lard, and cut and mix with a knife until the
shortening is in fine bits. Now add the cold water, still stirring with
a knife. Sprinkle the board lightly with flour, and turn the paste out
upon it. Roll down into a square sheet about one fourth of an inch
thick. Fold up and roll down again. Do this four times; then put away to
chill. This paste is suitable for meat and fruit pies, baked dumplings,
tarts, etc.
Plain Paste.
1 pint of sifted flour.
2 tablespoonfuls of butter.
3 tablespoonfuls of lard.
2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder.
1 teaspoonful of sugar.
2 teaspoonfuls of salt.
1 generous gill of cold water.
Make this the same as delicate paste, except that it is to be rolled but
twice. This paste answers for meat and fruit pies when one does not wish
to use pastry as rich as the delicate paste.
Mince Meat.
2-1/2 pounds of the round of beef.
2 quarts of chopped apples.
1/2 pint of chopped suet.
1-1/2 pints of stoned raisins.
1 pint of currants.
1/4 pound of citron.
1 quart of sugar.
1/2 pint of molasses.
3 pints of cider.
2 tablespoonfuls of salt.
4 tablespoonfuls of cinnamon.
1 tablespoonful of allspice.
1 tablespoonful of mace.
1 level teaspoonful of clove.
4 nutmegs, grated.
4 lemons.
Put the beef in a small stewpan and just cover with boiling water. Cook
for three hours, having the water only bubble at one side of the
stewpan. Take from the fire and let the meat cool in the water, with the
cover off the stewpan. When cold, remove all fat and gristle, and chop
the meat rather fine. Put it in a large bowl with all the other
ingredients except the cider, and mix thoroughly. Now add the cider, and
let the mixture stand in a cold place over night. In the morning turn
the mince meat into a porcelain kettle and heat slowly to the boiling
point; then simmer gently for one hour. Put the mixture into stone jars
and set away in a cold place; or it may be put in glass jars and sealed.
It will keep for years in this way. If one wish to add brandy or wine,
it may be done now or at the time that the pies are made. If economy be
necessary, half the amount of currants and raisins given will answer. On
the other hand, if one can afford it, when the pies are being made, one
tumbler of jelly or marmalade to three or four pies will be found a
great improvement.
Apple Pie, Sliced.
3 pints of pared and sliced apples.
1/6 of a nutmeg, grated, or 1 teaspoonful of cinnamon.
1/2 pint of sugar.
4 tablespoonfuls of cold water.
Half the rule for delicate paste.
Pare the apples and cut into thick slices. Line a large plate with paste
and then fill with the apples, being careful not to break the paste.
Sprinkle with the sugar and nutmeg, and then with the water. Roll the
remainder of the paste a little larger than the pie plate. Make a slight
opening in the centre. Cover the pie with this, tucking the edges under
the lower crust. Bake in a moderately hot oven for one hour. Reduce the
heat after the first half-hour.
Stewed Apple Pie.
1 pint of stewed apple.
1/2 pint of sugar.
1/5 of a nutmeg, grated.
Half the rule for delicate paste.
Cover with a thin crust a pie plate of medium size. Roll a piece of the
paste into a narrow strip about one fourth of an inch thick, and long
enough to go around the edge of the plate. Wet the edge of the
undercrust with cold water and lay the narrow strip of paste over it.
Now fill the plate with the seasoned apple. Roll the remainder of the
paste a little larger than the pie plate. Place a larger plate on this,
upside down, and cut around it. Remove the plate, cut a slit in the
centre of the paste, and cover the pie, fulling the crust on a little.
Bake in a moderately hot oven for forty-five minutes. Less sugar may be
used, and any flavor may be substituted for the nutmeg. It must be
remembered, however, that nutmeg, cinnamon, and lemon are the best
flavors for apple.
Mince Pies.
Make mince pies in the same way as directed for stewed apple, but bake
them for one hour.
Peach Pie.
Make this in the same way as sliced apple, but use only half as much
sugar.
Berry Pies.
1-1/2 pints of blueberries or blackberries.
2 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
1 tablespoonful of flour.
2 tablespoonfuls of water.
Half the rule for delicate paste.
Make this in the same way as sliced apple pie, and bake in a moderate
oven for fifty minutes.
Sour and juicy berries will require more sugar and no water.
Lemon Pie.
1 tablespoonful of corn starch.
2 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar.
1/2 saltspoonful of salt.
1 lemon.
1/2 pint of water.
1/2 pint of granulated sugar.
2 eggs.
1/4 the rule for delicate paste.
Mix the corn starch with one third of the water, and put the remainder
on to boil. Stir the sugar, salt, and corn starch into the boiling
water, and cook for one minute, stirring all the time. Take from the
fire, and add the juice and the grated yellow rind of the lemon. When
cool, add the yolks of the eggs, well beaten. Line a deep plate with the
paste and fill with the mixture. Bake in a moderate oven for half an
hour. Take from the oven and cool for fifteen minutes.
Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff dry froth, and then beat the
powdered sugar into them. Spread this meringue over the pie, and place
in the oven. Cook for twelve minutes with the oven door open; then put
away to get icy cold.
Squash Pie.
1 pint of milk.
1 pint of stewed squash.
1 level tablespoonful of butter.
1 level teaspoonful of salt.
1 gill of sugar.
1/6 of a nutmeg, grated.
2 eggs.
A piece of stick cinnamon about two inches long, or,
1 teaspoonful of ground cinnamon.
Put the milk and cinnamon on the fire in the double-boiler, and cook for
twenty minutes. Rub the squash through a fine strainer, and add the
salt, sugar, butter, and nutmeg to it. Pour the boiling milk on this
mixture. Remove the cinnamon, and beat well; then set away to cool. When
cool, add the eggs, which should have been thoroughly beaten with a
spoon. Line a deep plate with pastry and pour the squash mixture into
it. Bake for forty-five minutes in a moderate oven.
Sweet Potato Pie.
Make these the same as squash pies; using, however, a scant measure of
sugar.
Cream Pie.
1 gill of sugar.
1/2 pint of sifted flour, scant measure.
3 tablespoonfuls of butter.
4 tablespoonfuls of milk.
1 egg.
1 teaspoonful of baking powder.
Flavor.
Make this the same as cup cake and bake in a deep tin plate, in a
moderate oven, for about twenty minutes. When the cake is cool, split it
with a sharp knife, and fill with a mixture made as follows:—
_Filling._
1/2 pint of milk.
3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
1 level tablespoonful of flour.
1/2 saltspoonful of salt.
1 egg.
Flavor.
Put the milk in the double-boiler and set on the fire. Mix the flour and
sugar together and add the unbeaten egg to these ingredients. Beat with
a spoon until light; then stir into the boiling milk and cook for
fifteen minutes, stirring often. Now add the salt, and take from the
fire. When cool, add the flavor, which may be anything you choose. If
orange, lemon, or vanilla extract, use half a teaspoonful. Use the same
flavor for the cake.
Washington Pie.
Make the cake the same as for cream pie, but bake it in two deep tin
plates for about twelve minutes. Spread one sheet with any kind of jelly
or marmalade. Lay the second sheet on top of this and dredge with
powdered sugar.
Chocolate Pie.
Make the same as cream pie, but add to the cream one tablespoonful of
chocolate dissolved with one tablespoonful of sugar in half a
tablespoonful of boiling water. Cover the cake with a chocolate icing.
Berry Tart.
1-1/2 pints of berries.
1 gill of sugar.
1 tablespoonful of flour.
3 tablespoonfuls of water.
Half the rule for delicate paste.
Put the berries in an oval vegetable dish that has a broad rim. Mix the
sugar and flour together and sprinkle over the berries. Pour the water
over the mixture. Roll the paste to the shape of the top of the dish,
but a little larger. Prick with a fork, and cover the top of the dish,
turning in the edges. Bake in a moderate oven for about fifty minutes.
When cold, sprinkle powdered sugar over the crust, and serve.
The sugar is for blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries,
and cherries. Currants and gooseberries will require twice as much
sweetening.
The dish may be filled with apples or peaches, cut in quarters, instead
of the berries. In that case use twice as much water, and flavor with a
little nutmeg.
These tarts are much more healthful than pies, the undercrust of which
is apt to be soggy.
Apple Turnovers.
1/2 pint of flour.
1 gill of milk.
1 teaspoonful of baking powder.
1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of sugar.
1/4 teaspoonful of salt.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
1 egg.
10 tablespoonfuls of apple sauce.
Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Rub this mixture through
a sieve and then rub into it the butter. Now beat the egg till light,
and add to it the milk. Stir this liquid into the dry ingredients.
Sprinkle the moulding board with flour, and roll down the dough to the
thickness of about one fourth of an inch. Cut this dough into cakes the
size of a saucer. It is a good way to lay a saucer upside down on the
dough and cut around it with a jagging-iron or knife.
Put two tablespoonfuls of stewed, sweetened, and seasoned apples on each
piece of dough; fold over, and roll up, pinching the edges together.
Have on the fire a kettle containing hot fat about five or six inches
deep. When the fat begins to smoke, put in a few turnovers and cook for
eight minutes. Drain on brown paper. They are good hot or cold.
The apple used in turnovers may be flavored with either cinnamon or
nutmeg.
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