Cookery for every household

To Decorate the above Pastry. — When the pastry is well baked and nicely brown, lift it from the oven and let it cool on a sieve or wire stand. Then either spread it with jam, or decorate with dots of jam or jelly in different colours, and sprinkle with desiccated cocoanut, or chopped almonds and chopped pistachio nuts. Instead of the jam a little royal icing may be forced out on the pastry through a forcing bag with a small fancy pipe at the end. Avoid using too much icing; the design should be as light looking as possible, and it may be in two colours. Allumettes Glacees. — Roll out some puff pastry very thinly into a strip from 4 to 5 inches in width. Take a little royal icing and mix with it a small quantity of ground almonds and a pinch of flour. Spread this thinly over the pastry and then cut in finger-shaped pieces, using a wetted knife. Sprinkle with sugar and bake in a moderate oven. Petits Amours. — Cut small rounds about 2 inches in diameter from thinly-rolled puff pastry and lay them on a wetted baking sheet. Then cut the same number of slightly smaller rounds and stamp the centre out of them so as to form little rings. Wet the rounds of pastry with white of egg, and lay the rings on the top. Prick the centre of the pastry and then bake. When cold, fill the hollows in the centre with a little bright-coloured jelly. 1565. Nut Pastries (1) Roll out some puff or flaky pastry to \ inch in thickness, and cut it in pieces about 4 inches long by 1 inch wide. Lay these on a baking sheet and cook them in a good oven until brown and crisp. Then lift them out, and when cool brush them over with slightly beaten white of egg and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Return to the oven for two or three minutes to dry and brown the coating. (2) Roll out some puff or flaky pastry to rather less than J inch in thickness, and cut it in strips about 4 inches in length by 2 inches wide. Mix some jelly or marmalade with sufficient chopped nuts to make a stiffish paste, spread this on the pastry and roll up like little Swiss rolls. Place the rolls on a baking sheet with the joins downwards, brush them over with white of egg, dredge them with sugar, and bake in a good oven until brown and crisp. 1566. Small Fruit Pies (Petites Tartes aux Fruits) Fruit. I Flavouring. Sugar. | Short crust. Almost any fruit that is in season may be used for these. It must be carefully prepared. Small fruits, such as currants, gooseberries, cranberries, &c., may be used whole, apples, rhubarb, and such like cut in very small pieces, and all stone fruit must have the stones removed, and if large cut in pieces. A mixture of fruits may also be used, and sugar must be added according to individual taste and the acidity of the fruit. A little flavour may also be added if wished, such as grated orange or lemon rind, powdered cinnamon, ginger, or nutmeg, or a clove. Roll out the quantity of short crust, given in Recipe 1439, to an eighth of an inch in thickness. Cut out from ten to twelve rounds with a fluted pastry cutter, and put them to one side. Roll out the pastry again, and cut out more rounds, repeating this until you have other ten or twelve rounds. Grease some small patty tins, and line them with the rounds of pastry that were last cut out, as these are never quite so good as the first cuttings from the pastry.