A little cook book for a little girl

by Caroline French Benton

In putting the pie in the pan, cut the bottom piece a little larger than you want it, as it will shrink. Sprinkle the tin with flour, lay on the crust, and after it has been fitted evenly, and is not too tight, cut off the edge. Put a narrow strip of paste all around the edge, and press it together; if you wet it with a little water it will stick. If you wish to be sure the filling of the pie will not soak into the under crust, brush that over with beaten white of egg. After you put in the filling, fold your top crust together and cut some little shutters to let out the steam. Put on the cover, wet the edges so they will stick together, and pinch evenly.

Deep Apple Pie, or Apple Tart

Fill a baking-dish with apples, peeled and cut in slices. Sprinkle with flour, cinnamon, and plenty of sugar, about half a cup. Put in the oven and bake till the apples are soft, and then cool, put on the crust, and bake till brown. Serve powdered sugar and rich cream with this. All pies cooked in a baking-dish, with no crust on the bottom or sides of the dish, are called tarts by the English. They are the best kind of pie.

Peach Pie

Line a pie-plate with crust, lay in the peaches, peeled and sliced, sprinkle with flour, and then cover with sugar; put on a top crust, cut some little slits in it to let out the steam, and cook till brown. Or, make a deep peach tart.

French Peach Pie

Put the crust in the pie-pan as before; boil a cup of sugar with two tablespoonfuls of water till it threads. Lay quarters of peaches in the paste, around and around, evenly, no one on top of the other. Break ten peach-stones and arrange evenly on top; the pour the syrup over, and put a few narrow strips of crust across the pie, four each way, and bake.

Pumpkin Pie

1 small pumpkin. 2 1/2 cups of pulp. 2 cups of milk. 1 tablespoonful molasses. 2 eggs. 1 teaspoonful each of salt, ginger, cinnamon, and butter. 2 heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar.

Cut the pumpkin in small pieces and take out the seeds and remove the peel. Put the good part over the kettle and steam it till it is tender, keeping it covered. Then you take off the cover, and stand the steamer you have cooked it in on the back of the stove, till the heat makes the pumpkin nice and dry. Then mash it and put it through the colander. While it is warm, mix in everything in the rule except the eggs; let it cool, and put these in last, beating them till light. Line the pie-tin with crust, and pour in the filling and bake. This rule is a very nice one; it makes two pies.