Original White House Cookbook

A GOOD rule for pie crust for a pie requiring only an under crust, as a custard or pumpkin pie, is : Three large tablespoonfuls of flour sifted, rubbing into it a large tablespoonful of cold butter, or part butter and part lard, and a pinch of salt, mixing with cold water enough to form a smooth, stiff paste, and rolled quite thin. PLAIN PIE CRUST. Two AND a half cupfuls of sifted flour, one cupful of shortening, half butter and half lard cold, a pinch of salt, a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder sifted through the flour. Rub thoroughly the shortening into the flour. Mix together with half a teacupful of cold water, or enough to form a rather stiff dough ; mix as little as possible, just enough to get it into shape to roll out ; it must be handled very lightly. This rule is for two pies. When you have a little pie crust left do not throw it away; roll it thin, cut it in small squares and bake. Just before tea put a spoonful of raspberry jelly on each square. PUFF PASTE OF SUET. Two CUPFULS of flour, one-half teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of baking powder, one cup of chopped suet, freed of skin, and chopped very flne, one cupful of water. Place the flour, sifted with the powder, in a bowl, add suet and water ; mix into smooth, rather firm dough. This paste is excellent for fruit puddings and dumplings that are boiled ; if it is well made, it will be light and flaky and the suet imperceptible. It is also excellent for meat pies, baked or boiled. All the ingredients should be very cold when mixing, and the suet dredged with flour after it is chopped, to prevent the particles from adhering to each other. POTATO CRUST. Boil and mash a dozen medium-sized potatoes, add one good teaspoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of cold butter and half a cupful of milk or cream. Stiffen with flour sufficient to roll out. Nice for the tops of meat pies. TO MAKE PIE CRUST FLAKY. In making a pie, after you have rolled out your top crust, cut it about the right size, spread it over with butter, then shake sifted flour over the butter, enough to cover it well. Cut a slit in the middle, place it over the top of your pie, and fasten the edges as any pie. Now take the pie on your left hand and a dipper of cold water in your right hand ; tip the pie slanting a little, pour over the water sufficiently to rinse off the flour. Enough flour will stick to the butter to fry into the crust, to give it a fine, blistered, flaky look, which many cooks think is much better than rolling the butter into the crust. TARTLETS. No. 1. Tarts of strawberry or any other kind of preserves are generally made of the trimmings of puff paste rolled a little thicker than for ordinary pies ; then cut out with a round cutter, first dipped in hot water, to make the edges smooth, and placed in small tart-pans, first pricking a few holes at the bottom with a fork before placing them in the oven. Bake from ten to fifteen minutes. Let the paste cool a little ; then fill it with preserve. By this manner, both the flavor and color of the jam are preserved, which would be lost were it baked in the oven on the paste ; and, besides, so much jam is not required. TARTLETS. No. 2.