Great care is requisite in heating an oven for pastry. If you can hold your hand in the oven while you count twenty, the heat is just right, and should be kept that way while the pastry is in. This heat will bake to a light brown, and will give the pastry a fresh flaky appearance. If the heat abates, the lower crust will become heavy, and the upper crust will fall in. Pie crust can be kept in a tightly covered dish in the ice chest for some days, and thus a fresh pie every day can be made without much trouble.

In baking custard, pumpkin or lemon pies, partly bake the crust first so that it will not absorb the filling.

Stewed fruits should be cold when put in the pie, or the crust will become sodden.

PLAIN PIE CRUST

2 -1/2 cups sifted flour, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup lard.

1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 large teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 cup cold water.

Rub the shortening into the flour, sifted with baking powder and salt, and mix with water. Mix as little as possible and handle very lightly.

FINE PUFF PASTE

1 quart sifted flour

2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt.

white 1 egg

1 cup butter, 1 cup lard, 1/2 cup ice water.

Mix baking powder and salt with sifted flour and then sift again. Have ready butter and lard, hard and cold; rub the lard smoothly into the flour, and add ice water with which the white of an egg has been mixed, and make a very stiff dough. Roll into a thin sheet and spread on it one fourth the butter, dusting it with flour; roll up like a scroll, double the ends over to meet, flatten and roll again. Repeat this until all the butter is used. Put in an earthern dish and set in a cold place for an hour or more before making the pies.

PATTIES

Roll out puff paste thin and cut with a biscuit cutter. Cut center out of two of every three, put the two rings on the third and bake at once. If the cutters are dipped in hot water, it will make the patties rise higher in baking.This recipe may be used for either patties or tarts.

APPLE PIE

1 can apples.

2 tablespoons sugar.

cinnamon butter.

One can of apples for two pies. Slice into lower crust, sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over each, a little cinnamon and some slices of butter, a very little juice. Cover with upper crust and bake.

APPLE CUSTARD PIE - No. 1

3 cups milk.

4 eggs.

1 cup sugar.

2 cups thick stewed apple nutmeg or cinnamon.

Strain thick stewed apples through a colander, add sugar. Beat yolks lightly and mix with apple; flavor with nutmeg or cinnamon. Beat into this the milk, and lastly the well beaten whites. Bake with one crust and let that bake before putting in the filling.

APPLE CUSTARD PIE - No. 2

4 eggs, 1 quart milk apples.

sugar to taste seasoning to taste.

Lay a crust on your pie plates, slice apples thin, and half fill plates; pour over them a custard made from eggs and milk, sweetened and seasoned to taste.

APRICOT MERINGUE PIE

White House Cook Book.

1 can apricots, 1/2 cup sugar.

1 egg.

1 tablespoon sugar.

A canned apricot meringue pie is made by cutting the apricots fine and mixing them with half a cup of sugar and the beaten yolk of an egg; fill the crust and bake. Take from the oven; let stand a few minutes, cover with meringue made from white of egg and one tablespoon of sugar; bake in a slow oven until golden brown. Can be made into a tart by omitting meringue and adding crisscross strips of pastry when the pie is first put into the oven.

BANANA PIE

Mrs. W. J. Scott.

3 eggs.

1 cup sugar.

1 tablespoon butter.

2 bananas.

3 tablespoons flour, 1 pint milk.

vanilla 3 tablespoons sugar.

Put milk into vessel to boil. Mix egg yolks, cup of sugar, butter and flour; beat mixture well and add to boiling milk. Cook until real thick. Set off to cool and flavor with vanilla. Make a rich crust and bake. Then slice bananas in the crust and pour custard over them. Beat the egg whites until stiff with three tablespoons sugar. Spread on the pie and brown.

CHOCOLATE PIE - No. 1

Mrs. Charles E. Gordon.

1 pint milk, 1 cup sugar, 1 heaping teaspoon cornstarch.

2 eggs, 1/4 cup chocolate, melted

Mix sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks and chocolate and stir into boiling milk. Beat white for meringue. Bake in half set pie crust.

CHOCOLATE PIE - No. 2

1 egg sugar.

chocolate custard pie.

Put some grated chocolate into basin and place on back of stove, let it melt but do not add any water. Beat egg with some sugar in it; when melted spread this over custard pie. Lovers of chocolate will like this.

COCOANUT PIE

1 pint milk, 1 greated cocoanut, 3 eggs yolks, 1 cup sugar.

meringue.

3 tablespoons sugar.

white 3 eggs.

Mix cocoanut with well beaten yolks and cup of sugar; stir in the milk, filling the pan even full and bake. Put over top meringue made of whites of eggs and three tablespoons sugar. Brown quickly.

MOCK CREAM PIE

3 eggs.

1 pint milk.

1 cup sugar.

3 tablespoons flour.

pinch salt.

small piece butter.

nutmeg.

Beat sugar, flour and egg yolks together. After the milk has come to a boil add the mixture, salt and butter. After it has cooled, place in baked crust and sprinkle over it a little nutmeg. Place meringue over top and brown in oven.

CUSTARD PIE

White House Cook Book.

4 eggs.

4 tablespoons sugar, pinch salt.

nutmeg or vanilla, 1 quart milk.

Beat together until very light egg yolks and sugar; flavor with nutmeg or vanilla; then add beaten whites, salt and, lastly, a quart of milk; mix well and pour into tins lined with paste. Bake until firm.

LEMON PIE

Mrs. Peterson.

1 small cup sugar.

2 tablespoons flour.

1 small tablespoon butter, 1 cup hot water.

1 lemon.

4 eggs.

pinch of salt.

4 tablespoons sugar.

Mix together sugar, butter, flour, juice and one half grated yellow rind of lemon, egg yolks, salt and hot water; cook until thick. Put in baked crust; cover with whites of eggs beaten stiff with four tablespoons sugar. Brown quickly and serve cold.

MANGO PIE - No. 1

Mrs. J. S. Day.

3 mangoes, rather green.

4 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons flour.

1 teaspoon vinegar, 1 teaspoon spices, 1 teaspoon butter.

Pare and slice fine mangoes, add sugar, flour, vinegar, spices and butter. Bake with two crusts.

MANGO PIE - No. 2

8 green mangoes.

1-1/2 cups sugar (or more).

spice.

Peel and boil mangoes until tender; pour off water; slice mango from seed. Mix with plenty of sugar, at least a cup and a half; add spice and fill into crust; cover and bake.

MINCE PIE

Mrs. W. S. Harris.

1 can Heinz mince meat, 1/2 can S & W apples.

1/4, box raisins, 1/8 pound citron.

MINCE PIE A LA MODE

Serve mince pie with vanilla ice cream on top of each piece.

PINEAPPLE PIE

1 cup sugar.

1/2 cup butter.

1 cup cream.

5 eggs.

1 pineapple.

Beat butter and sugar to a cream; add beaten yolks, then grated pineapple and cream, and lastly the beaten whites whipped in lightly. Bake with under crust only.

PRUNE MERINGUE PIE

1/2 pound prunes, 1/2 cup sugar.

1 tablespoon lemon juice, white 2 eggs cinnamon.

Soak, stew and stone prunes. Sweeten and flavor with lemon juice; add a little cinnamon. Line the pan with good paste, fill with prunes and bake until done. Draw the pie to the mouth of the oven and spread with a meringue made with well beaten white of eggs and one spoon of sugar. Brown.

PUMPKIN PIE - No. 1

Mrs. Momer Stuntz.

1 egg.

1/2 cup sugar.

2 tablespoons stewed pumpkin.

1/2 pint rich milk, salt, cinnamon or nutmeg.

Stew pumpkin, cut into small pieces, in half pint of water, and when soft mash fine with potato masher; let the water dry away, watching closely to prevent scorching or burning. For each pie take one well beaten egg, half cup sugar, two tablespoons pumpkin, half pint rich milk, little salt; stir well together, and season with nutmeg or cinnamon; bake with under crust in hot oven. Some steam pumpkin instead of stewing.

PUMPKIN PIE - No. 2

Mrs. Charles H. Smith.

1 cup pumpkin or squash, 1/2 cup sugar.

1 tablespoon molasses.

2 cups milk.

2 eggs.

1 large teaspoon flour.

pinch salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Mix well pumpkin or squash with sugar, molasses, beaten eggs, flour, salt, cinnamon and about two cups of milk; place in crust and bake.

RAISINS PIE

1 cup seeded raisins.

1 cup sugar.

1 tablespoon cornstarch.

1 cup water juice, 1/2 lemon pinch salt.

Boil all together five minutes; put in crust and bake.

VINEGAR PIE

1 egg.

1 heaping tablespoon flour.

1 teacup sugar.

1 tablespoon sharp vinegar, 1 teacup cold water nutmeg.

Beat well together egg, flour and sugar; add vinegar and water; flavor with nutmeg and bake with two crusts.