Woman's Institute Library of Cookery. Volume 4: Salads and Sandwiches; Cold and Frozen Desserts; Cakes, Cookies and Puddings; Pastries and Pies

by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

26. Another attractive way in which to make tarts is to cut rounds of the paste, as shown in Fig. 12, cover small pans with these rounds, and then bake them. Upon taking them from the oven, remove them from the pans and fill them with any desired filling in the form of stewed fruit, jam, custards, etc. If canned or stewed fruit is used, cook it down until it is somewhat thick. These little tarts are delicious when they have had a spoonful of meringue baked on the fruit or are served with a spoonful of whipped cream.

27. Still another variety of tart may be made with very little trouble. Cut the rolled paste into pieces about 4 inches square, and, on a triangular half of the square, place several spoonfuls of fruit with additional sugar, if necessary, and add a little flour to thicken the juice that forms. Fold the other triangular half over the fruit to cover it, turn the edges of the bottom half over the edges of the top, and press them down to keep the fruit from running out. Set in the oven and bake until the paste is brown and the filling of the tart is cooked.

28. SMALL PIES.--Sometimes there may be enough paste remaining to make one crust for a small pie. In such an event, cover the pan with the paste, add a fruit filling of some kind, such as cranberries, apple sauce, marmalade, or fruit butter, and then, out of the scraps that remain, cut several narrow strips and place them over the filling. Such an arrangement makes an agreeable change in the appearance of this dessert.

29. CHEESE STRAWS.--Small pieces of pastry that are left over may also be used to make cheese straws, which are one of the accompaniments often served with salads. To make them, roll grated cheese into the mixture until it is well blended. Then roll out the paste until it is about 1/4 inch thick, cut into narrow strips of the desired length, and bake in a hot oven.

RECIPES FOR PASTRY AND PIES

PASTRY

30. Several recipes for pastry that may be used in pie making are here given. These recipes differ as regards the ingredients used and will serve to offer variety in the making of pie crust. With the exception of the recipe for easy pastry, the principles of pastry making already set forth apply to all these recipes alike.

31. PLAIN PASTRY.--Pastry made according to the accompanying directions is the kind that is most frequently used. It requires only a medium amount of shortening, and wheat flour is used in its preparation. It is very satisfactory for any kind of pie desired.