Rub one cup of b.u.t.ter to a cream, add four cups of sifted flour, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of brown sugar; work these together until the flour looks like sand, then take the yolk of an egg, a wine-gla.s.s of brandy, one-half cup of ice-water and work it into the flour lightly. Do not use the hands; knead with a knife or wooden spoon, knead as little as possible. If the dough is of the right consistency no flour will be required when rolling out the dough. If it is necessary to use flour use as little as possible. Work quickly, handle dough as little as possible and bake in a hot oven. Follow directions given with Fleischig Pie Crust. Fat may be subst.i.tuted for b.u.t.ter in the above recipe.

PARVE, COOKIE AND PIE DOUGH

Sift into a mixing-bowl one and one-half cups of flour and one-half teaspoon of baking-powder. Make a depression in the centre; into this pour a generous half cup of oil and an exact half cup of very cold (or ice) water; add pinch of salt, mix quickly with a fork, divide in two portions; do not knead, but roll on a well-floured board, spread on pans, fill and bake at once in a quick oven.

No failure is possible if the formula is accurately followed and these things observed; ingredients cold, no kneading or re-rolling; dough must not stand, but the whole process must be completed as rapidly as possible.

Do not pinch or crimp the edge of this or any other pie. To do so makes a hard edge that no one cares to eat. Instead, trim the edges in the usual way, then place the palms of the hand on opposite sides of the pie and raise the dough until the edges stand straight up. This prevents all leakage and the crust is tender to the last morsel.

TARTLETS

Roll puff paste one-eighth of an inch thick; cut it into squares; turn the points together into the middle and press slightly to make them stay. Bake until thoroughly done; place a spoonful of jam in the centre of each; cover the jam with meringue and brown the meringue in a quick oven.

By brushing the top of the paste with beaten egg, diluted with one teaspoon of water, a glazed appearance may be obtained.

BANBURY TARTS

Cut one cup of seeded muscatel raisins and one cup of nuts in small pieces, add one cup of sugar, one well-beaten egg, one tablespoon of water, the juice and grated rind of one lemon. Mix well. Line patty-pans with pie dough, fill with mixture and bake until crust is brown.

FRUIT TARTLETS

If canned fruit is used, take a large can of any kind of fruit, drain all the syrup off and put in a saucepan with an equal quant.i.ty of sugar.

Cook until it forms a syrup, then pour in the fruit, which has been stoned (if necessary), and cook until the whole is a syrupy ma.s.s.

If fresh fruit is used, put on two parts of sugar to one of water and cook until syrupy, then add the fruit, which has been peeled, sliced and stoned, and cook until the whole is a thick, syrupy ma.s.s.

Line the patty cases or plain m.u.f.fin rings with the puff paste. Put a spoonful or two of the fruit in each one and bake a nice brown. Peaches, white cherries, Malaga grapes, huckleberries and apples make nice tartlets.

One large can California fruit fills twelve tartlets.

APPLE FLADEN (HUNGARIAN)

Rub together on a pastry-board one-half pound of sweet b.u.t.ter with one pound (four cups sifted) of flour, add four tablespoons of powdered sugar, a little salt, four egg yolks and moisten with one-half cup of sour cream; cover and set aside in the ice-box for one-half hour. Take two pounds of sour apples, peel, cut fine, mix with one-half cup of light-colored raisins, sugar and cinnamon to taste. Cut the dough in two pieces, roll out one piece and place on greased baking-pan, spread over this four tablespoons of bread crumbs and the chopped sugared apples, roll out the other half of dough, place on top and spread with white of one egg, sprinkle with two tablespoons of powdered almonds. Bake in hot oven.

LINSER TART

Make a dough of one-half pound each of flour, sugar and almonds that are grated with peel on, two eggs, a little allspice, a little citron, pinch of salt. Flavor with brandy. Take a little more than half, roll it out and line a pie-pan, put strawberry jam on and then cut rest of dough in strips and cover the same as you would prune pie. Brush these strips with yolk of egg and bake in moderate oven.

MACAROON TARTS

Line a gem or m.u.f.fin-pan with rich pie dough; half fill each tart with any desired preserve, and bake in a quick oven. Beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth and add one-half pound of powdered sugar and stir about ten minutes or until very light, and gradually one-half pound of grated almonds. Divide this macaroon paste into equal portions. Roll and shape into strips, dusting hands with powdered sugar in place of flour.

Place these strips on the baked tarts in parallel rows to cross each other diagonally. Return to oven and bake in a slow oven about fifteen minutes. Let remain in pans until almost cold.

LEMON TART (FLEISCHIG)

Make a rich crust and bake in small spring form. Beat three whole eggs and yolks of three very light with one cup of sugar. Add juice of three lemons and grated rind of one, and juice of one orange. Put whole on stove and stir until it comes to a boil. Put on baked crust, spread a meringue made of the remaining three whites and three tablespoons of sugar on top, and put in oven to brown. May be used as a filling for tartlets.

VIENNA PASTRY FOR KIPFEL

Take one-half pound of pot cheese and one-half pound of b.u.t.ter and two cups of flour sifted four times, add a pinch of salt and work these ingredients into a dough; make thirty small b.a.l.l.s of it and put on a platter on the ice overnight. In the morning roll each ball separately into two-inch squares. These squares may be filled with, a teaspoon of jelly put in the centre and the squares folded over like an envelop; or fill them with one-half pound of walnuts, ground; one-half cup of sugar and moisten with a little hot milk. Roll and twist into shape. Brush with beaten egg and bake in a moderately hot oven.

CHEESE STRAWS

One-half cup of flour, two tablespoons of b.u.t.ter, four tablespoons of grated cheese, yolk of one egg, dash of cayenne pepper, enough ice-water to moisten. Mix as little as possible. Roll out about a quarter of an inch thick and cut into long, narrow strips. Shake a little more cheese on top and bake in hot oven. This is also an excellent pie crust for one pie, omitting pepper and cheese.

Serve cheese straws with salads.

LAMPLICH

Make a mince-meat by chopping finely eight medium-sized apples, one-half pound each of raisins, currants and sugar, a little citron peel, two or three cloves and one teaspoon of powdered cinnamon.

Cut some good puff paste into little triangles and fill with the mince, turning the corners of the paste over it so as to make little puffs.

Place these closely together and on a b.u.t.tered baking-dish until it is full. Now mix two tablespoons of melted b.u.t.ter with one teacup of thick syrup flavored with essence of lemon, and pour it over the puffs. Bake until done in a rather slow oven.

MIRLITIOUS

Pound and sift six macaroons; add one tablespoon of grated chocolate and one pint of hot milk. Let stand ten minutes, and then add yolks of three eggs well beaten, one tablespoon of sugar, one teaspoon of vanilla. Line patty-tins with puff paste; fill with the mixture and bake twenty minutes.

APPLE PIE, No. 1

Pare, core and slice four apples. Line a pie-plate with plain pastry.

Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Lay in the apples, sprinkle with one-half cup of sugar, flavor with cinnamon, nutmeg or lemon juice or two tablespoons of water if apples are not juicy. Cover with upper crust, slash and p.r.i.c.k and bake in moderate oven until the crust is brown and the fruit is soft.

APPLE PIE, No. 2

Put in saucepan one-half cup of sugar and one-fourth cup of water, let it boil a few minutes, then lay in five large apples or six small ones, which have previously been peeled and quartered; cover with a lid and steam until tender but not broken. Line pie-plate with rich milchig pastry, lay on the apples, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and bits of b.u.t.ter drop a few drops of syrup over all and bake.

INDIVIDUAL APPLE DUMPLINGS

b.u.t.ter six m.u.f.fin rings and set them on a shallow agate pan which has been well b.u.t.tered. Fill the rings with sliced apples. Make a dough of one and one-half cups of pastry flour sifted several times with one-half teaspoon of salt and three level teaspoons of baking-powder. Chop into the dry ingredients one-fourth of a cup of shortening, gradually add three-fourths of a cup of milk or water. Drop the dough on the apples on the rings. Let bake about twenty minutes. With a spatula remove each dumpling from the ring, place on dish with the crust side down. Serve with cream and sugar, hard sauce or with a fruit sauce.

WHIPPED CREAM PIE