For a good common pie-crust allow half a pound of shortening to a pound of flour. If liked quite short, allow three-quarters of a pound of shortening to a pound of the flour. Pie crust looks the nicest made entirely of lard, but it does not taste so good as it does to have some butter used in making it. In winter, beef shortening, mixed with butter, makes good plain pie crust. Rub half of the shortening with two-thirds of the flour—to each pound of flour put a tea-spoonful of salt. When the shortening is thoroughly mixed with the flour, add just sufficient cold water to render it moist enough to roll out easily. Divide the crust into two equal portions—lay one of them one side for the upper crust, take the other, roll it out quite thin, flouring your rolling-board and pin, so that the crust will not stick to them, and line your pie plates, which should be previously buttered—fill your plates with your fruit, then roll out the upper crust as thin as possible, spread on the reserved shortening, sprinkle over the flour, roll it up, and cut it into as many pieces as you have pies to cover. Roll each one out about half an inch thick, and cover the pies—trim the edges off neatly with a knife, and press the crust down, round the edge of the plate, with a jagging iron, so that the juices of the fruit may not run out while baking. Pastry, to be nice, should be baked in a quick oven. In cold weather it is necessary to warm the shortening before using it for pie crust, but it must not be melted, or the crust will not be flaky.
238. Puff Paste, or Confectioner’s Pastry.
Weigh out a pound and a quarter of sifted flour, and a pound of butter. Rub about one-third of the butter with two-thirds of the flour, a tea-spoonful of salt. When the butter is thoroughly mixed with the flour, add one beaten egg, and cold water to moisten it sufficiently to roll out. Sprinkle part of the reserved flour on a board, cut the butter into small pieces, and roll them out as thin as possible. In order to do so, it will be necessary to rub a great deal of the flour on the moulding-board and rolling-pin. Lay the butter, as fast as rolled out, on to a floured plate, each piece by itself—roll out the pastry as thin as it can be rolled, cover it with the rolled butter, sprinkle on part of the reserved flour, and roll the crust up. Continue to roll out the crust, and put on the reserved butter and flour, till the whole is used. Roll it out lightly, about half an inch thick, for the upper crust, or rim to your pies—plain pie crust should be used for the under crust to the pies. Puff pastry, to be nice, should be baked in a quick oven till of a light brown color. If it browns before the fruit in the pie is sufficiently baked, cover it with thick paper.
When apples are very small and green, they are nice stewed whole, with the skins on, and strained when soft, and sweetened. Pare, quarter, and take out the cores of the apples, when of a large size. If they are not ripe, stew them with just water enough to prevent their burning. When soft, sweeten and season them to the taste. When apples are ripe, they make better pies not to be stewed before baking. Fill your pie plates, cover them with a thick crust, and bake them from half to three-quarters of an hour. When baked sufficiently, cut the upper crust through the centre, remove it carefully with a broad knife, put a piece of butter, of the size of a walnut, into a pie, sweeten it to your taste, and if the apples are not tart enough, squeeze in the juice of part of a lemon—flavor the pie with either nutmeg, rosewater, or grated lemon peel. Apples cut into quarters, without paring, and stewed soft in new cider and molasses, make good plain pies. The apples should be strained after stewing, and seasoned with cinnamon or nutmeg. If made quite sweet, it will keep good several months. Dried apples should have boiling water turned on to cover them, and stewed till very soft. If they are not tart enough, turn in sour cider, when they are partly stewed. A little orange peel stewed with the apples, gives them a fine flavor. Season them, when soft, with sugar and nutmeg, and strain them if you like.
The best kind of meat for mince pies is neat’s tongue and feet—the shank of beef makes very good pies. Boil the meat till perfectly tender—then take it up, clear it from the bones and gristle, chop it fine enough to strain through a sieve, mix it with an equal weight of tart apples, chopped very fine. If the meat is not fat, put in a little suet, or melted butter. Moisten the whole with cider—sweeten it to the taste with sugar, and very little molasses—add mace, cinnamon, cloves, and salt, to the taste. If you wish to make your pies rich, put in wine or brandy to the taste, and raisins, citron, and Zante currants. The grated rind and juice of lemons improve the pie. Make the pies on shallow plates, with apertures in the upper crust, and bake them from half to three-quarters of an hour, according to the heat of the oven. Meat prepared for pies in the following manner, will keep good several months, if kept in a cool dry place: To a pound of finely chopped meat, a quarter of a pound of suet, put half an ounce of mace, one ounce of cinnamon, a quarter of an ounce of cloves, two tea-spoonsful of salt. Add if you like the following fruits: half a pound of seeded raisins, half a pound of Zante currants, a quarter of a pound of citron. Put in half a pint of French brandy or wine, three table-spoonsful of molasses, and sugar sufficient to make it quite sweet. Put the whole in a stone pot—cover it with a paper wet in brandy. When you wish to use any of it for pies, put to what meat you use an equal weight of apples, pared and chopped fine. If not seasoned high enough, add more spice and sugar. If the apples are not tart, put in lemon-juice or sour cider.
To a quart of boiling water, put a small tea-cup of rice. Boil it till very soft, then take it from the fire, and add a quart of cold milk. Put in a tea-spoonful of salt, a grated nutmeg, five eggs beaten to a froth—add sugar to the taste, and strain it through a sieve. Bake it in deep pie plates, with an under crust and rim of pastry—add if you like a few raisins.