Pastry, Pies and Tarts
“Cook your husband what he likes, and save a hundred household strikes.”
PIE CRUST.—For one pie, mix one large cup of flour sifted with half a teaspoon of salt, with one half cup of lard and butter mixed. Blend these ingredients thoroughly with the hands or cut and shape with a knife, then lightly mix in one quarter cup ice cold water, just enough to bind the flour and lard together. Use scant measure of water and do not handle much. Flour the molding board and quickly roll half the dough into a thin crust and line the pie tin. Fill the pie with prepared fruit, wet the edges of the crust with water, roll out the balance of the dough for the upper crust, gash it across the center and lift it carefully and cover the pie, pressing edges together with a fork. If a glazed crust is wanted rub the crust over with a little milk, egg and sugar slightly mixed together. This insures a nice brown crust. The oven should be hot enough to turn white note paper a nice, rich brown color in five minutes time. Pastry requires a brisk oven but not too hot. The ingredients for pastry should be very cold. The measure of shortening (lard) should be generous and the water scant and it should not be handled after the water is added only sufficient to lift out of the mixing bowl and roll out. Flour the board well and flour the rolling pin.
CURRANT PIE.—One cup currants (fresh fruit), one cup sugar, one tablespoon flour, two tablespoons water, one lump of butter and yolks of two eggs. Beat all together and bake in one crust. When done frost with the beaten whites of the eggs.—Mrs. Davidson.
CHERRY PIE.—Line a pie plate with pie crust, fill it generously half full of fresh, stoned sour cherries, and sprinkle a generous cupful of sugar over them mixed with one large tablespoon of flour, dot with one level tablespoon of butter cut into bits, cover with another layer of cherries sprinkled lightly with sugar. Cover with an upper crust wetting the edges and pressing well together to prevent juice escaping. Cut a gash in center of top crust to allow steam to escape and bake in a moderate oven for forty minutes or until cherries are tender and the juice bubbles in a simp. If a novice at the work, test the fruit with a broom straw through the gash in the upper crust. If the straw can pierce the fruit easily the pie is done.—Mrs. Whitehead.
FRESH FRUIT PIES.—The recipe for cherry pie applies to all fresh berry or fruit pies gauging the sugar and flour according to the juicy sweetness of the fruit. Gooseberries, currants, strawberries, cranberries and plums will take good full measures of sugar and flour. Raspberries, blue berries and black berries require less sugar and apricots and peaches and apples small measures of flour. A little butter improves the flavor of all fruit pies and apple pie needs a dusting of nutmeg or cinnamon before adding the top crust. Canned fruit may be drained free of its syrup and used the same way using less sugar and adding half a cupful of the syrup.—L. W. W.
LEMON PIE. Crust.—One half large cup of flour, one heaping tablespoon of lard, pinch of salt. Mix well. Add enough water to make paste. Roll thin, put in tin, prick with fork and bake. Filling. One large cup of sugar, two heaping tablespoons of flour, one large cup of boiling water, butter the size of a walnut, juice and grated rind of one lemon, yolks of two eggs. Mix the flour and sugar together, add boiling water, put on the stove and let come to a boil, then add butter, yolks of two eggs, juice and grated rind of one lemon. Remove from fire at once. Beat the whites of two eggs with two tablespoons of sugar and put on top. Put in oven to brown.—Mrs. R. Meidell.
AMERICAN PRUNE PIE.—Stew about twenty four or thirty prunes, pitt and sweeten the prunes. Bake a pie crust. Whip one half pint of cream, sweeten with sugar, flavor with vanilla. Put a layer of prunes in the crust, then the whipped cream on top and serve cold.—Mrs. R. Meidell.
PUMPKIN PIE.—One cupful of mashed pumpkin, three quarters cup of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, one half teaspoonful each of mace, cinnamon and ginger. Heat one teacupful of milk and beat three eggs and add to mixture. Bake with under crust only.—Mrs. H. Hanson.
PUMPKIN PIE.—One quart milk, three cups stewed pumpkin, one tablespoon flour, four eggs, one and one half cups brown sugar, one half cup molasses, one teaspoon salt, one level tablespoon cinnamon, one teaspoon ginger, one tablespoon melted butter. Bake with an under crust. Makes three pies. Beat eggs, add pumpkin, then flour, sugar, salt, spices, molasses and butter and lastly the milk which may be partly cream. Mix well, fill pie tins which have been lined with pie crust and bake from thirty to forty minutes.—L. W. W.
RHUBARB PIE.—One cup diced fresh rhubarb, one cup sugar, one tablespoon flour. Mix all together, turn into a pie tin lined with pie crust. Dot bits of butter over the top of rhubarb, sprinkle with one tablespoon of water. Cover with top crust and bake in moderate oven about forty minutes.—Contributed.
CREAM PIE.—Two yolks of eggs beaten with one half cup sugar, add one large tablespoon of flour and a scant tablespoon of corn starch dissolved in a little milk. Cook in one pint of boiling milk on back of range, stirring constantly. Flavor with vanilla or lemon. Fill baked pastry shell, cover with meringue and brown in oven. Serve cold.—L. W. W.
CUSTARD PIES.—The rule for custard pie is four beaten eggs and one scant cup sugar to each quart of milk. For one small pie use half this recipe. Mix all together and add flavoring of vanilla, lemon, almond or nutmeg. Line deep pie tin with pie crust and fill with the raw custard and bake in a moderate oven until the custard sets and can be cut clean with a silver knife. Do not bake too long or it will be dry and tough and use scant sugar measure to avoid a watery custard. Cocoanut custard pie is made by adding one cup of shredded cocoanut before baking. Date pie is made by pressing stewed dates through a colander and adding to the custard. Open fruit custard pies are made by laying a layer of prepared fruit on the crust in the tin and covering with the raw custard. All custard pies are baked with an under crust only. Pumpkin, squash and sweet potato pies are made by adding a quart of the cooked and mashed vegetable to each quart of custard and adding spices and salt to suit individual taste.—Contributed.
CREAM PIES.—The cream fillings are cooked on top of stove until thick. Line pie tins with a rich pie crust, pick with a fork to let out air while baking, and bake a golden brown, then fill with the cooked filling, cover with a meringue and bake until meringue sets. The rule for the cream filling is two eggs beaten with half a cup of sugar and one large tablespoon of flour or one scant tablespoon of cornstarch mixed smooth with a little milk, add flavoring. Bring two small cups of milk or water to a boil, add the egg mixture and cook thick. If liked add one teaspoon of butter to the milk or water. For chocolate pie double the sugar and use two squares of chocolate shaved fine and heat with the cream filling. For pineapple add grated pineapple to the cream filling, double the measure of flour as acids thin the mixture considerably. For lemon cream pie use the juice and grated rind of one large lemon or two small ones and double the flour and sugar measure. (For orange pie use juice of one large orange and half a lemon.) In lemon and orange pie water is generally used in preference to milk and if a rich pie is liked use an extra egg yolk and a large measure of sugar.—Contributed.
MERINGUE.—To make the meringue, beat the whites of two eggs very light and stiff, cut in two level tablespoons of sugar and beat five minutes. Spread on top of the filled pie, sprinkle lightly with sugar and brown in a slow oven. When meringue is firm to the touch it is done and will not fall or shrink, if under-done it falls. If the oven is too hot leave the oven door open for three minutes before putting the meringue in to bake. Long beating of the whites of eggs and sugar however will usually make a good, thick and firm meringue.—Contributed.
ENGLISH ORANGE CHEESE CAKES OR TARTS.—One half pound sugar (one cup) mixed with one fourth pound butter (one half cup) add three eggs, (reserving white of one); juice of two oranges and grated rind of one; juice of one lemon. Beat well. Simmer until like honey. Fill baked patty or tart shells of pie crust. Make a meringue of the stiffly beaten white of egg and one tablespoon of sugar. Frost the tarts, sprinkle with sugar and brown in a moderate oven. Serve cold.—Mrs. Whitehead.
DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE.—One and one half cups of sugar, creamed with one half cup butter, yolks of three eggs, one half cup milk, one square chocolate melted in half cup boiling water, two cups flour sifted with two heaping teaspoons baking powder. Add vanilla and the unbeaten whites of the three eggs the last thing.—Mrs. T. B. Huff.
BURNT SUGAR CAKE.—One and one half cups sugar creamed with one half cup butter, yolks of three eggs, one large cup cold water, three large tablespoons of thick burnt sugar or enough to make a light brown in color; two cups flour sifted with two heaping teaspoons baking powder. Add the unbeaten whites of the three eggs and vanilla the last thing. Frost with boiled frosting to which has been added one tablespoon of burnt sugar and a half cup broken nut meats.—Mrs. T. B. Huff.
TO MAKE BURNT SUGAR.—Put in a sauce pan one cup sugar and cook, stirring constantly; the sugar will then form into lumps, then melt and throw off a thick black smoke. Now take from fire and add three tablespoons hot water and place on stove and let come to a good boil; it is then ready to use and can be kept indefinitely.—Mrs. T. B. Huff.
CHOCOLATE FROSTING.—To make a good chocolate frosting make a quantity of fudge, beating it until very smooth and until it sets. Then add a teaspoon, or the necessary amount of cream, or milk, until the right consistency to spread.—Mrs. T. B. Huff.
BAKED FISH.—Large white fish, pike or cat fish are best, but small fish can also be used. Put in a pan, sprinkle well with salt and pepper and cover with bits of butter; then pour a little water or milk in the pan and bake, basting the fish often, and adding more water or milk as needed. This takes about a half hour to bake in a hot oven. Make a white gravy of milk, butter and flour, season well and add a can of mushroom and serve over the fish. Delicious.—Mrs. T. B. Huff.
COCOANUT CHEESE CAKES OR TARTS.—Boil one pint of sugar with two thirds of a pint of water and add one and one half cups of shredded cocoanut and boil slowly twelve minutes; remove to rear of range and while warm beat in one half cup of butter until smooth; then beat in the beaten yolks of five or six eggs. Flavor with lemon juice or vanilla or almond extract. Line patty pans or gem tins with a rich pastry crust, fill with the cocoanut custard and bake. They are pretty capped with a cube of currant jelly. Serve either hot or cold.
APPLE CHEESE CAKES.—One pint of steamed, sweetened and stewed apple sauce heated. Add grated rind of half a lemon, two level tablespoons of butter and beat smooth, then cut in two eggs beaten well. Bake in patty pans lined with pastry. Good way to use left over pie crust and apple sauce.
MINCE MEAT.—Four pounds of lean boiled meat, chopped fine; twice its weight in sour apples, peeled, cored and chopped fine, one pound of minced suet; three pounds of seeded raisins, two pounds of currants; one pound of brown sugar; one pint of molasses and of maple syrup or of fruit syrup, two quarts of sweet fresh cider, one pint of cider boiled, one tablespoon of salt, one scant teaspoon of pepper, one tablespoon each of mace, allspice and cloves, four tablespoons of cinnamon. Mix well and bring to a boil on the stove. When nearly cold stir in one pint of brandy and one pint of wine. If these are not liked use syrup from pickles or pears or unfermented grape juice. Pack in a large stone crock or seal in Mason jars and keep covered in a cool place. Will keep good all winter. Half of this recipe will suffice for the winter for a small family. Considering that the mince meats put up in cartons and packages contain no meat and often an inferior grade of dried apples, it certainly pays to make mince meat at home out of fresh material, when butchering is done and apples are cheapest.—Mrs. Whitehead.
MINCE MEAT. (Small jar for small family.) Two cups chopped boiled meat, or of hamburger steak, steamed tender in a double boiler, four cups of chopped apples, one pint of sweet cider or of juice from pickled peaches, one cup molasses, two cups sugar (scant), juice of three lemons, one cup shredded or chopped suet or one half cupful of butter or sweet drippings, one teaspoon of salt, mixed spices to suit taste. Cook five minutes. When ready for pie thin the mixture with cider or with a glass of tart jelly melted and add seeded raisins or currants and a little brandy if liked. Bake between two crusts of pastry and serve warm. One heaping cup of mince meat will make one pie. Fruit juice left from canned fruit is nice added to mince meat and often can be nicely utilized this way.
NEOPOLITANS.—Take pie crust left over after mixing pie. Roll it into a thin sheet and cut into oblong strips three by two inches. Bake in quick oven. Spread half with jam, lay balance of strips over that like sandwiches and spread jam or jelly on top. Dust with powdered sugar. Lemon or orange cake filling or frosting may be used instead of juice or marmolade, and crushed fresh, sweetened berries make a good filling and covering if capped with whipped cream.
ENGLISH CHEESE PIE.—One cupful of thick sour cream or milk curd, salted slightly, two beaten eggs, three fourths cup of sweet milk, one half cup sugar, one half cupful of English currants (dried). Rub curd thoroughly first and mix with other ingredients. Bake in a deep pie tin lined with pie crust. Powder with cinnamon.
FRENCH TART.—Pound eight macaroons fine, pour boiling milk over them to make a soft batter, add six well beaten eggs and one half cupful of sugar. Cook thick, add one half cup of butter and the juice of an orange. Line a pie with pastry, fill with the mixture and bake. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. Eight good sized macaroons will take from two to three cups of milk.
PATTIES.—Three cups flour, one cup lard, three fourths cup of ice water, one teaspoon baking powder, one teaspoon salt. Mix and roll like pie crust. Bake in patty pans. Makes thirty patties.
PIE CRUST.—One and one quarter cups flour, pinch baking powder, mix with one half cup lard and one teaspoon salt. Add ice cold water enough to roll out—about one fourth cup. Flour board and roll thin.
BERRY TARTS.—One pint of buttered strawberries or red raspberries, one cup sugar, the beaten white of one egg stirred through the sugar. Mix with the berries. Bake between two crusts until egg is set then serve with whipped cream.—Contributed.