PASTRY

A small amount of Dr. Price's Baking Powder will make pastry lighter, more tender and more digestible.

Pastry should rise in baking to double its thickness, and be in light, flaky, tender layers. The novice must learn to handle it lightly and as little as possible in rolling and turning. All materials should be cold and pastry is improved if put into the icebox as soon as made and allowed to stand several hours before using.

Pastry flour is better than bread flour for pie crust.

PLAIN PASTRY

This recipe is for one large pie with top and bottom crust.

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons Dr. Price's Baking Powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup shortening

Cold water

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; add shortening and rub in very lightly with tips of fingers. Add cold water very slowly, enough to hold dough together (do not work or knead dough). Divide in halves; roll out one part very thin on floured board, and use for bottom crust. After pie is filled roll out other part for top. Place loosely over pie, bringing pastry well over edge of pie plate. Trim off extra paste. Press edges of pastry with fork. Prick or cut two or three slashes in top of pie crust and bake in hot oven.

RICH PASTRY

2 cups pastry flour

½ teaspoon Dr. Price's Baking Powder

½ teaspoon salt

⅔ cup shortening

Cold water

Sift flour, baking powder and salt; add half the shortening and rub in lightly with fingers; add water slowly until of right consistency to roll out. Divide in halves; roll out one half very thin; put on in small pieces half remaining shortening; fold upper and lower edges in to center; fold sides in to center; fold sides to center again; roll out thin and put on pie plate. Repeat with other half for top crust.

APPLE PIE

1½ cups flour

1½ teaspoons Dr. Price's Baking Powder

½ teaspoon salt

⅓ cup shortening

Cold water

4 apples or 1 quart sliced apples

4 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon butter

Sift flour, baking powder and salt; add shortening and rub in very lightly; add just enough cold water to hold dough together. Roll half out on floured board, line bottom of pie plate; fill in apples, which have been washed, pared and cut into thin slices; sprinkle with sugar and dot with small pieces of butter; flavor with cinnamon or nutmeg; wet edges of crust with cold water; roll out remainder of pastry; cover pie, pressing edges tightly together. Trim off extra paste. Prick top of crust with fork or knife and bake in moderate oven 30 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve hot.

PUMPKIN PIE

2 cups stewed and strained pumpkin

2 cups rich milk or cream

¾ cup brown or granulated sugar

2 eggs

¼ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix pumpkin with milk, sugar, beaten eggs, ginger, salt, cinnamon, and beat 2 minutes. Pour into pie tin which has been lined with pastry. Place in hot oven for fifteen minutes, then reduce heat and bake 45 minutes in moderate oven.

LEMON MERINGUE PIE

2 cups water

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

4 tablespoons lemon Juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 teaspoon salt

Line pie plate loosely with pastry and bake about 10 minutes or until very light brown. Put water on to boil; mix cornstarch, flour and sugar with ½ cup cold water until smooth; separate eggs; add egg yolks; mix well and add slowly to boiling water. Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly; add lemon juice, rind and salt. Pour into baked crust. Beat egg whites; add 3 tablespoons sugar and spread thickly over top of pie. Dust with sugar and brown slightly in slow oven.

STRAWBERRY PIE

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons Dr. Price's Baking Powder

¼ cup cold water

4 tablespoons shortening

1 quart strawberries

Sift dry ingredients together; rub in shortening very lightly with finger tips; add water slowly, just enough to make a stiff dough. Roll out on floured board and use for bottom crust of pie, being careful to fold the paste well over the edge of pie plate. Bake in hot oven 12 to 15 minutes.

If glazed crust is desired, brush edges after baking with boiling hot syrup (2 tablespoons syrup and one tablespoon water) and return to oven for one or two minutes until syrup hardens. Fill the baked crust with fresh selected hulled strawberries and cover with syrup made as follows:

Add ½ cup sugar and ½ cup strawberries to 2 cups boiling water; bring to a boil and strain; add one tablespoon cornstarch which has been mixed with little cold water. Cook over hot fire for a minute or two, stirring constantly; remove from fire and beat hard; return to slow fire, cook very gently until thick. Pour while hot over strawberries. Serve either hot or cold.

CUSTARD PIE

3 eggs

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups scalded milk

Beat eggs; add sugar, salt and milk slowly; add vanilla. Line pie plate with pastry page 26, pour in custard. Bake in moderate oven 25 to 30 minutes or until custard is baked. Cocoanut pie is made the same way, adding one cup fresh grated cocoanut and using only two eggs. Bake as above.

MINCE PIE

Mince Pie should always be made with two crusts. Line pie plate with pastry page 26, fill with mince meat, cover with pastry and bake in hot oven 25 minutes.

MINCE MEAT

2 lbs. fresh lean beef, boiled and chopped fine when cold

1 lb. suet, chopped very fine

5 lbs. chopped apples

1 lb. seeded raisins

2 lbs. currants

¾ lb. sliced citron

1½ teaspoons cinnamon

1 grated nutmeg

2 tablespoons ground mace

1 tablespoon ground cloves

1 tablespoon allspice

1 tablespoon fine salt

2½ lbs. brown sugar

1 qt. sherry or boiled cider

1 pt. brandy or grape juice

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Pack in jars. Store in cold, dry place. Allow to stand 24 hours before using.

RHUBARB PIE

2 cups cut rhubarb

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

Cut off root, stem ends and peel; cut into small pieces; put into deep pie plate which has been lined with pastry; sprinkle with cornstarch, salt and sugar which have been mixed together. Cover with pastry; prick top of crust and bake about one-half hour in moderate oven.

BERRY PIES

3 cups blueberries, huckleberries, or blackberries

1 teaspoon flour

¼ teaspoon salt

⅔ cup sugar

1 teaspoon butter

Line pie plate with plain pastry; fill heaping with berries; sprinkle with flour, salt and sugar mixed together; dot with small pieces of butter; cover with crust or strips of pastry across top. Bake about 45 minutes in moderate oven. Other fruit pies can be made in same way.

CHERRY TARTS

1½ cups flour

3 teaspoons Dr. Price's Baking Powder

½ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons shortening

⅓ cup cold water

1 quart pitted cherries

Sift dry ingredients together; rub in shortening very lightly with fingertips; add water slowly, just enough to make stiff dough; roll out very thin on floured board; line patty pans with pastry; being very careful to have pastry come well over the edges of pans. Bake in hot oven about 12 or 15 minutes; fill with cherries which have been washed and picked over. Cover with syrup made as for strawberry pie above, using ½ cup cherries instead of strawberries. Other fruit can be used in place of cherries.

FROZEN DESSERTS

HOW TO FREEZE

Scald ice cream can, cover and dasher, adjust can in freezer; put in dasher; pour in mixture to be frozen and fasten cover (the can should never be more than ¾ full); adjust crank and turn once or twice. Fill space around can to within an inch of top with ice and salt (three parts crushed ice to one part salt), packing hard. Turn slowly at first, increasing speed when mixture begins to stiffen. Add more ice and salt as required. When mixture is very firm, wipe off cover, open can and remove dasher; scrape frozen mixture from dasher and sides of can, and pack down solidly; cover with paper and replace cover. Put cork in opening in cover. Pour off salt water if there is danger of its getting into the can. Fill up over top of can with ice and salt (four parts ice to one part salt). Cover freezer with heavy blanket and keep in cool place until ready to serve.

PHILADELPHIA ICE CREAM

1 quart cream

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Scald 1 cup of cream; add sugar and stir until dissolved. Cool and add remainder of cream and vanilla. Freeze as above.

STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM

Add to Philadelphia Ice Cream before freezing one quart of berries which have been washed, hulled, crushed and slightly sweetened.

CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

Melt 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate with half pint cream and proceed as for Philadelphia Ice Cream.

FRENCH ICE CREAM

1 cup milk

yolks of 4 eggs

1 cup sugar

⅛ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 quart cream

Scald milk and add slowly to beaten egg yolks; add sugar, salt, vanilla and cream which has been whipped. Freeze as above.

COFFEE ICE CREAM

Add one cup coffee to either French or Philadelphia Ice Cream.

FROZEN PUDDING

3 cups milk

1 tablespoon cornstarch

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

⅛ teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped mixed fruit

Scald milk in double boiler. Mix cornstarch with little cold milk; add beaten eggs, sugar and salt; mix well and add slowly to scalded milk, stirring until it thickens. Cool and add fruit, which has been put through food chopper. The fruit is a matter of taste. It may be 2 tablespoons raisins, 1 tablespoon citron, 1 tablespoon cherries, 1 tablespoon blanched almonds, 1 tablespoon candied pineapple and a few currants. Freeze, but not too stiff; put into mold and pack in ice and salt.

GRAPE SHERBET

1 pint grape juice

1 cup sugar

1 quart milk

Warm grape juice, and in it dissolve sugar; mix thoroughly with ice cold milk; freeze at once. This makes a lilac colored sherbet.

LEMON SHERBET

juice of 3 lemons

1½ cups sugar

1 quart milk

Mix juice and sugar, stirring constantly while slowly adding very cold milk. If added too rapidly, mixture will curdle. However, this does not affect quality. Freeze and serve.

ORANGE WATER ICE

juice of 6 oranges

2 teaspoons orange extract

1 quart water

juice of 1 lemon

2 cups powdered sugar

½ cup cream

Mix all ingredients together; strain and freeze.

STRAWBERRY MOUSSE

1 quart strawberries

1 cup sugar

¼ box or 1 tablespoon granulated gelatine

2 tablespoons cold water

3 tablespoons boiling water

1 quart cream

Wash and hull berries, sprinkle with sugar and let stand one hour; mash and rub through fine sieve; add gelatine which has been soaked in cold water and dissolved in boiling water. Set in pan of ice water and stir until it begins to thicken; fold in whipped cream. Put into mold, cover, pack in salt and ice, 1 part salt to 3 parts ice; let stand 4 hours. Raspberries, peaches, shredded pineapple, or other fruit can be substituted for strawberries.