The complete cook book

In making a pie, after you have rolled out your top crust, cut it about the right size, spread it over with butter, then shake sifted flour over the butter, enough to cover it well. Cut a slit in the middle, place it over the top of your pie, and fasten the edges as any pie. Now take the pie on your left hand, and a dipper of The Complete Cook Book. 211 cold water in your right hand ; tip the pie slanting a little, pour over the water sufficiently to rinse off the flour. Enough flour will stick to the butter to fry into the crust to give it a fine, blistered, flaky look, which many cooks think is much better than rolling the butter into the crust. PUFF PIE CRUST. If you wish to use puff paste for pies, there are a few things to remember. To begin with, it shrinks, and should therefore be cut a trifle larger than the pie plate, which should never be greased. If an upper crust is to be used, roll it larger than the pie pan and cut several holes in the top to let the steam escape. Roll your paste out one-quarter inch thick; then roll it up, like a jelly roll, and cut from the end of the roll. Pat it out flat, and roll it to loosely fit the pan. Put in your filling, wet the rim, place your top crust on and pinch it closely, but lightly together. Bake until brown, and when done slide it into a china plate. APPLE PIE. Quarter tart apples, remove the core and peel. Make a syrup of white sugar in a porcelain saucepan, flavor with lemon juice strained and nutmeg, and one or two whole cloves. Scald your apples in this until they are slightly tender, then set aside until cold. Line a deep pie dish with puff paste and cover with the apples. Dust with flour and bits of butter, wash with a small wineglassful of brandy and bake without a cover. Or you may stew the apples tender; rub them through a sieve, sweeten and flavor them to taste, and to each pint of apple add one-half pint of whipped cream and whites of three eggs beaten dry. Mix well and spread on a pie crust which has been baked separately. SOUTHERN SLICED SWEET POTATO PIE. Boil one pint of sweet potatoes, peel, slice and lay them in a syrup of sugar, flavor with cloves and nutmeg. Scald and cover a pie crust which has been baked separately with the slices, strew with bits of butter and wash with one-fourth cup of brandy. 212 The Complete Cook Book. PUMPKIN PIE. Peel and remove the soft parts and seeds from a pumpkin. Cut it into pieces and put it in a saucepan of cold water, and stew or steam until tender and soft. Drain well, then strain through a colander. To one quart of strained pulp, add one teaspoonful of melted butter while hot, one quart of rich milk, six beaten eggs, twelve tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, onethird cup of molasses, one heaping tablespoonful of ginger, a pinch of salt, cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. If not sweet enough, add more sugar. A wineglassful of brandy is an improvement. Fill a deep pie plate with this mixture and bake in a moderate oven thirty minutes. MOTHER R.'S LEMON PIE. One cup of white sugar, one cup of hot water, two small or one large lemon, two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch, three tablespoonfuls of melted butter and two eggs. Grate the yellow lemon rind and put in water. Set on the range and allow it to boil two minutes, then beat the yolks of eggs, sugar and butter together ; dissolve the cornstarch in a little cold water; put this in with the egg mixture, etc. ; then let it boil until it thickens Have ready a baked crust and fill it with this rich jelly. Cover with meringue. Meringue : Whites of two eggs, beaten with a little salt light, but not dry; add two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar through a sieve. Now beat as long as you please. Cover your pie with this, dust thickly with powdered sugar and set in a slow oven until fawn color, or about ten minutes. OEANGE PIE.