1 teaspoonful of salt.

Mix all the dry ingredients together and rub through a sieve into a bowl. Add the butter and lard, and cut and mix with a knife until the shortening is in fine bits. Now add the cold water, still stirring with a knife. Sprinkle the board lightly with flour, and turn the paste out upon it. Roll down into a square sheet about one fourth of an inch thick. Fold up and roll down again. Do this four times; then put away to chill. This paste is suitable for meat and fruit pies, baked dumplings, tarts, etc.

Plain Paste.

Make this the same as delicate paste, except that it is to be rolled but twice. This paste answers for meat and fruit pies when one does not wish to use pastry as rich as the delicate paste.

Put the beef in a small stewpan and just cover with boiling water. Cook for three hours, having the water only bubble at one side of the stewpan. Take from the fire and let the meat cool in the water, with the cover off the stewpan. When cold, remove all fat and gristle, and chop the meat rather fine. Put it in a large bowl with all the other ingredients except the cider, and mix thoroughly. Now add the cider, and let the mixture stand in a cold place over night. In the morning turn the mince meat into a porcelain kettle and heat slowly to the boiling point; then simmer gently for one hour. Put the mixture into stone jars and set away in a cold place; or it may be put in glass jars and sealed. It will keep for years in this way. If one wish to add brandy or wine, it may be done now or at the time that the pies are made. If economy be necessary, half the amount of currants and raisins given will answer. On the other hand, if one can afford it, when the pies are being made, one tumbler of jelly or marmalade to three or four pies will be found a great improvement.

Apple Pie, Sliced.

Pare the apples and cut into thick slices. Line a large plate with paste and then fill with the apples, being careful not to break the paste. Sprinkle with the sugar and nutmeg, and then with the water. Roll the remainder of the paste a little larger than the pie plate. Make a slight opening in the centre. Cover the pie with this, tucking the edges under the lower crust. Bake in a moderately hot oven for one hour. Reduce the heat after the first half-hour.

Stewed Apple Pie.

Cover with a thin crust a pie plate of medium size. Roll a piece of the paste into a narrow strip about one fourth of an inch thick, and long enough to go around the edge of the plate. Wet the edge of the undercrust with cold water and lay the narrow strip of paste over it. Now fill the plate with the seasoned apple. Roll the remainder of the paste a little larger than the pie plate. Place a larger plate on this, upside down, and cut around it. Remove the plate, cut a slit in the centre of the paste, and cover the pie, fulling the crust on a little. Bake in a moderately hot oven for forty-five minutes. Less sugar may be used, and any flavor may be substituted for the nutmeg. It must be remembered, however, that nutmeg, cinnamon, and lemon are the best flavors for apple.

Mince Pies.

Make mince pies in the same way as directed for stewed apple, but bake them for one hour.

Peach Pie.

Make this in the same way as sliced apple, but use only half as much sugar.

Make this in the same way as sliced apple pie, and bake in a moderate oven for fifty minutes.

Sour and juicy berries will require more sugar and no water.

Lemon Pie.

Mix the corn starch with one third of the water, and put the remainder on to boil. Stir the sugar, salt, and corn starch into the boiling water, and cook for one minute, stirring all the time. Take from the fire, and add the juice and the grated yellow rind of the lemon. When cool, add the yolks of the eggs, well beaten. Line a deep plate with the paste and fill with the mixture. Bake in a moderate oven for half an hour. Take from the oven and cool for fifteen minutes.

Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff dry froth, and then beat the powdered sugar into them. Spread this meringue over the pie, and place in the oven. Cook for twelve minutes with the oven door open; then put away to get icy cold.

Squash Pie.

Put the milk and cinnamon on the fire in the double-boiler, and cook for twenty minutes. Rub the squash through a fine strainer, and add the salt, sugar, butter, and nutmeg to it. Pour the boiling milk on this mixture. Remove the cinnamon, and beat well; then set away to cool. When cool, add the eggs, which should have been thoroughly beaten with a spoon. Line a deep plate with pastry and pour the squash mixture into it. Bake for forty-five minutes in a moderate oven.

Sweet Potato Pie.

Make these the same as squash pies; using, however, a scant measure of sugar.

Cream Pie.

Make this the same as cup cake and bake in a deep tin plate, in a moderate oven, for about twenty minutes. When the cake is cool, split it with a sharp knife, and fill with a mixture made as follows:—

Filling.

Put the milk in the double-boiler and set on the fire. Mix the flour and sugar together and add the unbeaten egg to these ingredients. Beat with a spoon until light; then stir into the boiling milk and cook for fifteen minutes, stirring often. Now add the salt, and take from the fire. When cool, add the flavor, which may be anything you choose. If orange, lemon, or vanilla extract, use half a teaspoonful. Use the same flavor for the cake.

Washington Pie.

Make the cake the same as for cream pie, but bake it in two deep tin plates for about twelve minutes. Spread one sheet with any kind of jelly or marmalade. Lay the second sheet on top of this and dredge with powdered sugar.

Chocolate Pie.

Make the same as cream pie, but add to the cream one tablespoonful of chocolate dissolved with one tablespoonful of sugar in half a tablespoonful of boiling water. Cover the cake with a chocolate icing.

Berry Tart.

Put the berries in an oval vegetable dish that has a broad rim. Mix the sugar and flour together and sprinkle over the berries. Pour the water over the mixture. Roll the paste to the shape of the top of the dish, but a little larger. Prick with a fork, and cover the top of the dish, turning in the edges. Bake in a moderate oven for about fifty minutes. When cold, sprinkle powdered sugar over the crust, and serve.

The sugar is for blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and cherries. Currants and gooseberries will require twice as much sweetening.

The dish may be filled with apples or peaches, cut in quarters, instead of the berries. In that case use twice as much water, and flavor with a little nutmeg.

These tarts are much more healthful than pies, the undercrust of which is apt to be soggy.

Apple Turnovers.

Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Rub this mixture through a sieve and then rub into it the butter. Now beat the egg till light, and add to it the milk. Stir this liquid into the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the moulding board with flour, and roll down the dough to the thickness of about one fourth of an inch. Cut this dough into cakes the size of a saucer. It is a good way to lay a saucer upside down on the dough and cut around it with a jagging-iron or knife.

Put two tablespoonfuls of stewed, sweetened, and seasoned apples on each piece of dough; fold over, and roll up, pinching the edges together. Have on the fire a kettle containing hot fat about five or six inches deep. When the fat begins to smoke, put in a few turnovers and cook for eight minutes. Drain on brown paper. They are good hot or cold.

The apple used in turnovers may be flavored with either cinnamon or nutmeg.