Six little cooks

After Edith had grated the peel of the oranges and lemons, and squeezed out the juice very thoroughly, she threw in the cinnamon, and then poured on them a pint of boiling water. The whole was then closely covered, that the flavor might be completely diffused. Then, as it was to remain so for half an hour, Edith left it and made the cocoanut drops; after which the jelly-water was strained and the sugar stirred in. It was then put over the fire until it boiled, when the soaked gelatine was stirred in, and as soon as this was dissolved, the whole was poured into a flannel bag and run into moulds. The cocoanut drops, being made after the following simple recipe, did not take a very long time. No. 164 — COCOANUT WAFERS. Half a pint powdered sugar, the same of desiccated cocoanut, three even tablespoonfuls of flour, half a teaspoon - ful vanilla, two eggs. Beat the eggs and add successively the sugar, vanilla, flour and cocoanut. Bake on buttered paper. When the birth-day cake came out, after being inspected by many admiring eyes, it was set away in the pan to cool. " We must ice it over the top," said Aunt Jane, " so as to keep this beautiful rounded side uppermost. A loaf that is to be cut in the pantry and not appear on the table except in slices, should be iced on the bottom, and then it is handsome all round. If you have ever noticed little pound cakes or anything of that sort, they are always iced in that way, and so look as if they had two tops, one white and one brown." What do you suppose Grace and Aunt Jane found when they went home to tea that evening? That those rogues of little girls had persuaded their mother to let them go into the kitchen and make things all by themselves! Rhoda was out, and they had full liberty to do as they pleased, under the single condition of leaving everything in good order after them. There was a good fire, which one of the other servants attended to, and they had followed the devices of their own minds in what they did, each one selecting some easy-looking dish that did not require expensive materials. Mabel took a pint of milk and two eggs, which she beat up together with a great deal of fine sugar and vanilla, and made very good little custards of it, only rather strong and sweet. She also forgot to grate nutmeg over the top, which was not an important omission, however. Jessie made some No. 63 cup-cake, using the after-dinner coffee-cups for it, BO as to make a small quantity, and two eggs instead of four. She found some difficulty in estimating half the quantity named of soda and cream tartar, but after much solemn consultation among the three, it was measured out, and the cake proved excellent, though a little broken on the under side, owing to the difficulty of getting it out, the tins not having been buttered. Amy had moused about till she found an old receipt-book of her aunt's, in which there were directions for " sugar drops," a confection not named in her mother's list ; so she copied it into her book and made half the quantity, for fear they should not turn out well. No. 165 — SUGAR DROPS.