Cookery for every household

Choose very good preserved figs that are not dry. Wipe them, split them, and cut them in strips about \ inch in width, removing the stalks and any discoloured parts. Prepare some almond paste or marzipan, roll it into small cork -shaped pieces, and put one of these between two slices of fig. Press together and make the pieces tidy. Then coat them with caramel in the same way as caramel walnuts. 2944. Cocoanut Balls 6 oz. ground almonds. 6 oz. castor sugar. 1 tca-sp. essence of almonds. White of egg. Carmine. Desiccated cocoanut. Put the ground almonds and sugar into a basin, add the essence of almonds, and form into a paste with white of egg. Divide this paste, and colour one half pink with a few drops of carmine. Form all into small balls, and roll them in desiccated cocoanut. Press the cocoanut well on, and place the balls on a papered tray to dry. 2945. Marzipan Kisses Take some well-flavoured marzipan and roll into small balls, using a little icing sugar or com starch. Place these on a papered tray, and allow them to dry a short time. Then dip the balls in coating syrup (Recipe 2856) or in thin glace icing, and roll them in coloured sugar. Dry again and serve in small paper cases. 2946. Marzipan Potatoes Almond paste. I Orange-flower water. Crystallised cherries. | Grated chocolate. Prepare some almond paste the same as for caramel walnuts or for fruit marzipan, and flavour it with orange-flower water, or any other flavouring preferred. Remove any hard sugar from the cherries by placing them in hot water for a minute ; then form the paste into shapes resembling very small new potatoes, and place a cherry in the centre of each. They must not be too large. Roll them in finely powdered chocolate, and mark a few eyes in each. Small pieces of other preserved fruits may be used instead of the cherries, but there must, of course, be no stone in the fruit, and it must not be hard nor too much crystallised. 2947. Apricot Marzipan 1 lb. granulated sugar. \ gill water. | lb. apricot puree. | lb. ground almonds. J tea-sp. cream of tartar. Glace icing. Chopped pistachio nuts. Make the apricot pulp by rubbing some tinned apricots through a hair sieve ; it must be of a thick consistency, and very little of the syrup should be used. Put the sugar, water, and cream of tartar into a saucepan and boil them to 250°. If necessary, wash the edges of the saucepan with a brush and cold water to prevent the sugar graining on the sides. When ready, add the almonds and apricot pulp, and stir carefully over a slow fire until the mixture thickens and begins to draw away from the sides of the saucepan. Now pour it out on a marble slab, and, when cool, sprinkle with icing sugar, and roll out to J inch in thickness. Coat the surface with some thin glace icing — with whatever flavouring preferred, — sprinkle with finely-chopped pistachio nuts, and cut into fancy shapes with a sharp knife. Note. — If liked, the marzipan may be coloured, or a coloured icing may be used. MISCELLANEOUS SWEETS, &c. 2948. Apricotines Equal quantities of apricot pulp and castor sugar ; and some crystallised sugar.