Pies
“To keep in health this rule is wise,Eat only when you need and relish food,Chew thoroughly, that it may do you good,Have it well cooked, unspiced, and undisguised.”Food for repentance—mince pie eaten late at night.He who eats till he is sick must fast till he is well.—Selected.How many homes are cursed by discomfort and ill health, and thoughts and bitter words, simply because the wife does not know how to cook.—The Young Woman.
“To keep in health this rule is wise,Eat only when you need and relish food,Chew thoroughly, that it may do you good,Have it well cooked, unspiced, and undisguised.”
“To keep in health this rule is wise,Eat only when you need and relish food,Chew thoroughly, that it may do you good,Have it well cooked, unspiced, and undisguised.”
“To keep in health this rule is wise,Eat only when you need and relish food,Chew thoroughly, that it may do you good,Have it well cooked, unspiced, and undisguised.”
“To keep in health this rule is wise,
Eat only when you need and relish food,
Chew thoroughly, that it may do you good,
Have it well cooked, unspiced, and undisguised.”
Food for repentance—mince pie eaten late at night.
He who eats till he is sick must fast till he is well.—Selected.
How many homes are cursed by discomfort and ill health, and thoughts and bitter words, simply because the wife does not know how to cook.—The Young Woman.
Leaf separator
Oneof the greatest objections to pies is that they are generally made too rich. When a large amount of grease is employed in making the crust, and the filling is seasoned heavily with spices and various condiments, they can hardly fail to be unwholesome.
But pies need not be made in this way. If proper ingredients are used, and simplicity is studied in making them, there is no reason why they should be seriously objectionable.
Pie Dish
Pie Dish
There are two styles of pie in general use,—one, the English style, baked in a deep dish, frequently with only a top crust; the other, the American, baked in a shallow dish, usually with two crusts, an upper and an under. Custard, cream, lemon, and pumpkin pies, however, have only an under crust. Most of the recipes here given are for the shallow pies with two crusts.
Custard, pumpkin, and other pies in which milk and eggs are used, should be baked in a slow oven. They willalso be improved if the milk used be hot. To stir beaten eggs into the hot milk, add a few spoonfuls of cold milk to the eggs, then pour into the hot milk, a little at a time, stirring well.
The filling for pies should always be prepared before making the crust, unless the crust is to be baked first. All the material should be cold, except for custard and pumpkin pies, and should be put together quickly, handling as little as possible, and without kneading the dough.
Rolling-pin
Rolling-pin
When the paste is ready, take sufficient for one crust, and roll out on a floured board quickly and lightly until about an eighth of an inch in thickness, and a little larger than the pie dish, as it will shrink when lifted from the board. When rolled thin, flour or oil the pie dish, cover smoothly with the crust, and fill, adding sugar as required. Sprinkle a little flour over the sugar; this thickens the juice slightly, and prevents the upper crust from becoming soggy. For custard or fruit pies with wet fillings, brush the bottom crust with the white of an egg before putting in the filling. The crust will then remain dry and tender.
Pie
Pie
If there is to be a top crust, roll it out in the same manner, and make a few ornamental cuts in the center to allow the steam to escape. Wet the edge of the lower crust, and lift on the upper crust, pressing the edges together so that the juice may not escape. Trim away the overhanging portions, and with the thumb and fingers press the edge into a scalloped or ornamental wall, as shown in the accompanying cut. Especially should this be done when only an under crust is used, that the pie maybe handled with greater ease. It also adds to the appearance of the pie. Pies are generally better eaten the same day they are baked.
Leaf separator
For each pie with two crusts take two small cups of sifted flour, and work thoroughly into it three tablespoonfuls of butter, adding a little salt; wet with just sufficient cold water to make a rather stiff dough; mix quickly, roll out thin, and bake as soon as the pie can be made. A good crust may be made with olive-oil, or fresh cocoanut or vegetable oil, instead of butter, using about the same quantity.
Take two scant cups of fine, sifted flour, or equal parts of fine flour and Graham flour, add a little salt, and moisten with enough cold, thin sweet cream to make a rather stiff dough; roll out thin, place in the pie dish, fill, and bake quickly.
Pare, core, and slice thin, tart ripe apples; line the pie dish with a crust, and fill with the apples; sprinkle with sugar, and add two or three tablespoonfuls of cold water. Cover with an upper crust, according to general directions, and bake until a light brown. Apples that do not cook quickly may be stewed until about half done before making into pies. Apple pie when cold is very nice served with sweet cream.
Pare, remove stones, and make the same as apple pie.
Remove the stems and blossom ends, wash, and fill a pie dish lined with a crust. Add a half cup of sugar, and sprinkle with flour. Prepare the upper crust, cover, and bake. To prevent the juice from running out while baking, make a paste of a teaspoonful of flour and a little water, and brush over the edge of the under crust before putting on the top crust. If desired, beat together the white of an egg and a tablespoonful of fine sugar, and meringue the top of the pie when done; return to the oven, and brown slightly.
Wash, strip off the skin, and cut the stalks into thin slices. Line a pie dish with crust, and fill with the rhubarb. Add ahalf cup of sugar, two or three tablespoonfuls of water, and sprinkle over a tablespoonful of flour. Wet the edges of the lower crust, place on a prepared top crust, press the edges together, trim, and bake. Equal portions of rhubarb and apples may be used in the place of all rhubarb.
Look over the raspberries, line a pie dish with a crust and fill with berries; add two tablespoonfuls of sugar, a little water, sprinkle with flour, and proceed as with gooseberry pie.
Look over about one pint of blackberries, and proceed the same as for raspberry pie. Blueberry pie may be made in the same way.
Take nice ripe cherries, remove the stones if preferred, and make the same as raspberry pie, adding sugar according to the acidity of the fruit.
Wash the currants in two or three waters through a colander to remove sand and grit, and stew; when cool, line a pie dish with crust, and fill with the currants, pouring in a small quantity of the juice; add a little sugar, then sprinkle over with two tablespoonfuls of flour, cover with a crust, and bake in a hot oven till done. It should not be made too dry.
Wash the prunes well in warm water, rinse, soak, and put to cook without draining, cover, and stew slowly from one to two hours. When done, put through a colander to remove stones and skins. Bake with two crusts. Very little sugar will be needed. If the pulp is quite juicy, a tablespoonful of flour may be sprinkled over.
To one cupful of boiling water, add one heaping tablespoonful of cornstarch blended with a little cold water. Boil up, remove from the fire, and stir in two-thirds cup of sugar; let cool, then add the beaten yolks of two eggs, and the juice and grated rind of a lemon. Bake with under crust only; when done, meringue the top with a tablespoonful of sugar and the whites of the eggs beaten stiff; return to a slow oven to brown slightly.
Take good dried apples, wash, and soak for several hours, or overnight, in sufficient cold water to cover them. Stew, without draining, until soft; mash fine, adding lemon flavoring and sugar to sweeten; bake with two crusts, or ornament with strips or lattice-work crust on top. A few stewed blackberries or raspberries may be added to the apples.
Stew until soft, mash to a pulp, add sugar to sweeten, and make the same as dried apple pie. If desired, one-third apricots may be used.
For three pies, stew one pound of raisins for nearly an hour in enough water to cover them; add the juice of a lemon, and a small cup of white sugar. Line the pie dishes with crust, fill with raisins and a little of the juice, and sprinkle two tablespoonfuls of flour over each pie. Bake with two crusts. For lemon raisin pie add the juice and grated rind of one lemon.
Put one cup of milk to scald in a double boiler. Beat together two eggs, leaving out the white of one, two even teaspoonfuls of sifted flour stirred smooth in a little cold milk, and two heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar. When the milk is scalding hot, add this mixture, and stir for a minute or two until it thickens. It is better not to cook after it is thick, and the less it is stirred, except to keep it from forming into lumps, the better; add vanilla or lemon to flavor. Line the pie dish with a crust, pricking well with a fork to prevent blistering, and bake in a quick oven; then put the cream, which is already sufficiently cooked, into the baked crust. Beat the white of the egg to a stiff froth with a tablespoonful of sugar, and spread on top of the pie. Place in the oven to brown slightly.
Line a pie dish with a crust, and fill with the following: Three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one teaspoonful of flour; beat thoroughly together, and add milk enough to fill the dish. Bake slowly until set, but do not allow to boil. As soon as it puffs, and a knife can be cut into the custard and come out clean, it is done. To be eaten cold, and on the same day as baked.
Cut the pumpkin in halves, remove the seeds, cut in slices, and stew until dry and soft. Mash smooth, and for each pie take one cup of stewed pumpkin, one-third cup of sugar, two eggs, and about a pint of milk. Beat the eggs and sugar together, stir in the pumpkin, and, lastly, add the milk; mix well, and bake with an under crust only, until the custard is set. Squash may be used instead of pumpkin. If more convenient,two tablespoonfuls of flour may be used in place of the eggs. A tablespoonful or two of molasses may also be added if desired.
What moistens the lip, andWhat brightens the eye,What brings back the past,Like a good pumpkin pie?—Whittier.
What moistens the lip, andWhat brightens the eye,What brings back the past,Like a good pumpkin pie?—Whittier.
What moistens the lip, andWhat brightens the eye,What brings back the past,Like a good pumpkin pie?—Whittier.
What moistens the lip, and
What brightens the eye,
What brings back the past,
Like a good pumpkin pie?—Whittier.
Take a deep pie dish, place a small cup upside down in the middle of it, and fill the dish with fruit, adding sugar as desired. Place a border of crust around the edge of the dish, put on the top crust, ornament the edges, and bake.
Line shallow pie dishes or patty-pans with good crusts, fill with the fruit, and bake. When done, remove from the oven, and sprinkle with fine sugar.
Small tarts may be made by rolling crust out thin, and cutting in shapes with a cake cutter, using half of them for the under crust, and the other half for tops; ornament the tops by cutting small holes in the center with a thimble or small fancy mold. Bake quickly, and when done put together with fruit jelly.
Boil for a short time several potatoes and onions, after which slice them into a deep, buttered pie dish in layers; add to each layer a little sage and well-steeped tapioca, and season with salt. Cover with a crust and bake. A very economical and wholesome pie.
Soak one-half cup of tapioca in one cup of cold water for one hour. Moisten enough stale bread in cold water to make three cupfuls; put into a dish, and rub in two tablespoonfuls of butter and one of flour. Then mix in one-half cup of stewed fresh or canned tomatoes, two beaten eggs, one small onion chopped fine, one tablespoonful of powdered sage, and salt to taste. Put into a buttered pudding dish and pour over the tapioca. Boil two eggs until hard, remove shells, cut into slices, and place on top of the tapioca; add a few bits of butter, cover with a crust, and bake in a moderate oven for twenty or thirty minutes. Serve hot.
To each stiffly beaten white of an egg, add a tablespoonful of sugar, and spread on the pie after it is baked and allowed to cool slightly; place in the oven for a few minutes. Care should be taken that the oven is not too hot, or the covering will be tough and leathery.