Perfection in baking

By following instructions given here you will be surprised at the excellent results. Never soak any pie fruit over night. To one quart of boiling water add one-half pound of berries, apples or apricots, one-half teaspoonful salt, cook ten minutes until swelled up well, add three-quarters of a pound of granulated sugar, and one teaspoonful butter; cook five minutes longer, then stir into this two ounces or five tablespoonfuls of corn starch, dissolved in a little cold water ; stir quickly a few moments and set away to cool. This I guarantee to make the most delicate pies from any dried fruits. If fruit is very tart, like apricots, add a little more sugar ; with apricots you can always cook some apples, as apricots are almost too rich; some of the ready pie seasoning can be used to advantage in almost all pies. This mixture can be made in larger quantities and put away in cans or jars, as it keeps well. Custard Pies. FOR THREE PIES. Line deep pie plates very thin with plain paste, fill with custard and bake about twenty minutes. For the custard, beat up six eggs with four ounces of powdered sugar, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one-half teaspoonful salt, add two ounces of flour, one teaspoonful of any extract you wish, and three pints of fresh milk; strain all together and bake twenty minutes. This mixture is also fine for cup custard. Bake about twenty minutes. To make sure that any kind of custard pie is done, stick a knife through the pie, and if you can remove it without any custard or milky p.aste sticking to it the pie is done. L,emon Pie. Boil one quart of water with one cup of canned, fresh or dried apples, three-quarters of a pound of granulated sugar, until apples are soft, then stir into it three ounces (or five tablespoonfuls) of dissolved corn starch; remove from the stove and when cool add five to six eggs, one-half teaspoonful salt, the juice of three lemons, two grated lemon peels, and one tablespoonful butter; strain all through a colander and fill into pie dishes lined with plain pie crust. If you want French lemon pie, line flat pie dish with American puff paste, scallop the edge with your fingers or a knife, fill in the cream and lay four bars of the same paste over the top and four more crosswise over them. This is the finest lemon pie found in twenty years' practice. Pumplcin or Squash Pies. FOR THREE PIES. Cut up and boil soft one-half of a small pumpkin, strain off water well and press the dry meat through a colander. Beat up six eggs with six ounces of powdered sugar, one-half teaspoonful salt, one tablespoonful ginger, one-half nutmeg; then add the pumpkin, one quart of milk, and one tablespoonful of melted butter, strain all through colander again, fill in deep pie dishes lined with plain pie paste, and bake like custard pie — twenty to thirty minutes. This is enough for three large pies. Generally, as soon as pie is up above the rim of the plate it is done; if bottom is not quite baked, then set on top of hot stove a few seconds to finish bottom. The same rule applies to custard pies. — 9 — Cream Pics. FOR TWO PIES.