The Myrtle Reed Cook Book

by Myrtle Reed

FRENCH PANCAKES

Beat together four eggs beaten separately, one cupful of milk, half a cupful of flour, one tablespoonful of sugar, a pinch of salt, the grated rind of a lemon, and a teaspoonful of butter melted. Fry in small pancakes, turning once, spread with jelly, jam, or marmalade, roll up, sprinkle with powdered sugar which may be seasoned with spice, and serve immediately.

FRUIT ICING

Mix confectioner’s sugar with enough cream to make it the consistency of thick paste. Flavor as desired adding chopped nuts, bananas, shredded pineapple, or other fruits.

FRUIT PUFFS

Beat three eggs separately, then add one cupful of milk, a pinch of salt, and enough flour sifted with a heaping teaspoonful of baking-powder to make a thin batter. Fill buttered custard cups, alternating with finely cut apples or other fruit sprinkled with sugar, and steam for an hour. Jam or preserves may be used in the same way. Serve hot with any preferred sauce or with cream and sugar.

FRUIT ROLL

Sift together two cupfuls of flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, a teaspoonful of sugar, and half a teaspoonful of salt. Rub into it two tablespoonfuls of butter and add enough milk to make a dough that will roll. Roll into an oblong, keeping the dough thin, spread with softened butter, then with chopped fresh or preserved fruit or berries, sweetened to taste. Roll up, pinch the ends together, and steam for two hours, or bake until the dough is brown and crisp. Serve hot with any preferred sauce. Apples, apricots, blackberries, chestnuts, currants, figs, preserved ginger, plums, blueberries, oranges, peaches, pineapples, quinces, raspberries, and cherries may all be used in this way.

FRUIT TAPIOCA

Soak a cupful of tapioca over night in four cupfuls of cold water. Add a pinch of salt, and three-fourths cupful of sugar, and cook slowly in a double boiler until transparent, adding more water if necessary. Put into a buttered baking-dish in layers, alternating with fresh or canned fruit sweetened to taste. Have tapioca on top. Sprinkle with sugar, dot with butter, and bake for an hour. Serve either hot or cold with cream or any preferred sauce. Apples, apricots, blackberries, cherries, currants, figs, gooseberries, plums, blueberries, oranges, peaches, pears, pineapples, quinces, raspberries, and strawberries are all used in the same way. The less tart fruits require a little lemon-juice sprinkled on them. In making apple tapioca sprinkle each layer of apples with sugar and spice. A delicious pudding is made of strawberries and bananas sliced and combined with the tapioca.

GOOSEBERRY TRIFLE

Cook a quart of gooseberries to a pulp in water to cover, sweetening to taste. Put into a serving-dish, cool, cover with boiled custard, then with whipped cream. Other fruits may be used in the same way.

JELLIED APPLES

Peel, core, and quarter enough apples to make four cupfuls. Cook slowly until soft in syrup to cover, flavoring with a little lemon or spice. Add a package of gelatine which has been soaked and dissolved, mould, chill, and serve with boiled custard or whipped cream.

JELLIED PEACHES

Peel and split a dozen peaches and cook until soft in thin syrup to cover. Add half a package of soaked and dissolved gelatine and a tablespoonful of claret or maraschino. Mould, chill, and serve with whipped cream or custard. Other fruits may be used in the same way.

JUNKET

Warm a quart of milk, add a tablespoonful of rennet, cool, and serve with powdered sugar, grated nutmeg, and cream.

LEMON SPONGE

Boil the chopped peel of one and juice of six lemons in two cupfuls of water, strain and mix with two cupfuls of hot water in which a package of soaked gelatine has been dissolved. Sweeten to taste, and beat until it begins to set, then fold in the stiffly beaten whites of twelve eggs. Mould and chill. Half this recipe is sufficient for a small family.

MOONSHINE

Beat the whites of six eggs to a stiff froth and add gradually twelve tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Beat for twenty minutes, then add three large peaches peeled and cut into bits. Fill dessert glasses three-fourths full, chill, and fill with whipped cream sweetened to taste and flavored with vanilla. Other fruits may be used in the same way.

ORANGE SNOW

Make a pint of Orange Jelly, adding the juice of a lemon and a little grated peel. When cool but not set, fold in the stiffly beaten whites of four eggs. Mould, chill and serve with Boiled Custard. Lemon snow may be made in the same way.

PEACH TRIFLE

Make a boiled custard with the yolks of four eggs, one pint of milk, and two tablespoonfuls of sugar, cool, and flavor with a few drops each of almond and vanilla. Arrange slices of stale sponge cake in a serving-dish, moisten with custard, cover with crushed and sweetened peaches, pour over the custard, and cover with meringue flavored with almond, or with whipped cream.

PEACH DELIGHT

Peel and split ripe peaches and fill a baking-dish, sprinkling each layer with sugar. Dot with butter, add a cupful of water, and sprinkle with flour. Make a crust of one and one-half cupfuls of flour sifted with a pinch of salt and a teaspoonful of baking-powder, rubbing into it half a cupful of lard, and adding ice-water to mix. Cover the peaches, prick the crust, bake, and serve either hot or cold with cream.

PEACH SNOW-BALLS

Peel ripe peaches, roll in powdered sugar, then dip in boiled frosting, let dry for two minutes, and sprinkle with shredded cocoanut.

PINEAPPLE FLUFF

Mix canned grated pineapple with chopped nuts and quartered marshmallows, and fill dessert glasses half full. Cover with whipped cream sweetened and flavored to taste, and garnish with candied cherries or chopped nuts.

PINEAPPLE DESSERT

Select a large pineapple, cut off the top and scrape out the pulp with a large spoon. Mix with finely cut strawberries, cherries, and bananas. Sweeten to taste, fill the pineapple shell, put on the cover, and serve.

PINEAPPLE SPONGE

Grate a fresh pineapple, add a cupful of sugar, and simmer slowly for ten minutes. Add half a package of gelatine which has been soaked and dissolved in as little water as possible, and when cool but not set, fold in the stiffly beaten whites of four eggs. Serve with a custard made of a pint of milk sweetened to taste, flavored with vanilla, and thickened with the beaten yolks of four eggs. A can of grated pineapple may be used instead of the fresh fruit.

PLUM ROLL

Sift a quart of flour with a teaspoonful of salt, and three teaspoonfuls of baking-powder, rub in two tablespoonfuls of butter, and add enough milk to make a soft dough. Roll out, spread with one cupful of chopped raisins and half a cupful of chopped citron. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, roll up, and steam for half an hour or more. Serve hot with [Hard Sauce].

PRUNE SPONGE

Beat three eggs separately and mix. Add half a cupful of sugar, half a teaspoonful of vanilla, and three-fourths cupful of flour sifted with a teaspoonful of baking-powder. Soak and pit fifteen prunes, drain, chop fine, add half a cupful of sugar and the juice of half a lemon. Put the prunes in a buttered baking-dish, cover with the batter, and bake for twenty or twenty-five minutes.

QUINCE FLUFF

Cut up four or five quinces and boil until soft in water to cover, then peel, and rub through a sieve. Sweeten to taste, add the unbeaten whites of four eggs, and beat to a froth with an egg-beater. Serve immediately in dessert dishes.

QUINCE TRIFLE

Stew four quinces until soft, rub through a colander, and sweeten to taste. Turn into a glass dish and cover with a boiled custard made of one pint of milk, the yolks of three eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Cover with a meringue and serve.

RICE BALLS WITH CUSTARD

Wash a cupful of rice and soak for an hour in cold water to cover. Drain and cook until soft in two and one-half cupfuls of milk, adding a teaspoonful of salt when the rice is nearly soft. Add sugar to taste and any preferred flavoring. Wet custard cups in cold water, fill with rice and chill. At serving time turn out on a platter, put a bit of red jelly on each ball of rice and surround with boiled custard.

RASPBERRY SPONGE

Bring to a boil two and one-half cupfuls of raspberry juice, sweetening to taste. Add half a package of soaked gelatine, and stir until dissolved. When cool but not set, fold in the stiffly beaten whites of three eggs, and beat until stiff. Mould, chill, and serve with whipped cream. Strawberry or currant juice may be used in the same way.

STRAWBERRY MERINGUE

Beat the whites of seven eggs to a stiff froth and add gradually a pinch of salt and seven tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Put into a buttered baking-dish in layers, spreading each layer thinly with melted strawberry jam. Bake in a moderate oven for twenty-five minutes and serve very cold with whipped cream. Other jams may be used in the same way.

STRAWBERRY SPONGE

Rub a quart of strawberries through a sieve, sweeten heavily, and add the juice of a lemon. Add half a package of gelatine which has been soaked and dissolved, and when cool but not set, fold in the stiffly beaten whites of four eggs. Mould, chill, and serve with sugar and cream or with whipped cream. Other fruits may be used in the same way.

STRAWBERRY TRIFLE

Fill dessert glasses half full of sponge cake and strawberry preserves. Cover with a meringue flavored with strawberry juice or with boiled custard or with whipped cream, and serve with a few preserved strawberries on top. Other fruits may be served in the same way.

SNOW-BALLS

Wet small square cloths in cold water and spread thinly with boiled rice. Put an apricot in the centre of each, having removed the stone. Draw the cloths together, tie securely, and steam for ten or fifteen minutes. Remove the cloths and serve with a sauce made from fruit syrup. Almost any other fruit may be used instead of apricots.

SWEET PANCAKES

Mix two tablespoonfuls of flour with a few drops of orange-flower water and a few grains of salt. Add the yolks of four eggs, well-beaten, and the whites of two. Fry by tablespoonfuls in butter, turning once, and sprinkling with sugar. Or, spread with jelly, roll up, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

STEWED PEARS WITH RICE

Peel, split, and core four large pears and cook until tender with two cupfuls of claret and one cupful of sugar. Boil half a cupful of rice until soft in milk to cover, sweetening and flavoring to taste. Spread the rice in a serving-dish, arrange the pears upon it, reduce the syrup by rapid boiling, pour over, and serve ice cold. Other fruits may be used in the same way.

VANITIES

Beat two eggs very light, add a pinch of salt, and flour to roll. Roll as thin as possible, cut into fancy shapes and fry brown in deep fat. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

VIRGINIA PUFFS

Cream half a cupful of butter with a cupful of sugar, add the beaten yolks of four eggs, a teaspoonful of vanilla, and sift in a cupful of cornstarch and two teaspoonfuls of baking-powder, alternating with the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs. Bake in buttered gem-pans, hissing hot, in a quick oven. Serve with any preferred sauce.