PLAIN PIE CRUST

Cut together with a knife one quart of sifted flour, half a cupful each of lard and b.u.t.ter, a teaspoonful of salt, and a tablespoonful of sugar. Add gradually three-fourths cupful of ice-water, turn out on a floured board, roll, chill, and use as desired.

APPLE PIE

Make a rich crust of half a pound of b.u.t.ter, a pound of flour, and a pinch of salt. Work with the fingers until it is like meal, and add ice-water to mix. Roll out, pat into shape, and line a pie-tin with the crust. Peel, core, and cut up good cooking apples, fill the pie, dot with b.u.t.ter, sprinkle with sugar and spice, cover with the other crust and bake. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

APRICOT PIE

Cut fine a can of apricots and mix with half a cupful of sugar and the beaten yolk of an egg. Bake with one crust, cover with meringue, and return to the oven until puffed and brown.

CHOCOLATE PIE

Line a deep pie-tin with pastry and bake. Heat a cupful of milk with half a cupful of sugar and a teaspoonful of b.u.t.ter. Add two tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate, the beaten yolks of two eggs, and thicken with one and one-half small spoonfuls of cornstarch rubbed smooth with a little cold milk. Cook until smooth and thick, stirring constantly, add half a teaspoonful of vanilla, fill the pastry sh.e.l.l, and cool. Serve with whipped cream.

COCOANUT CUSTARD PIE

Soak half a cupful of shredded cocoanut in a cupful of milk, add two tablespoonfuls of melted b.u.t.ter, one cupful of sugar, and two eggs well-beaten. Bake with one crust, and after the pie is done, cover with meringue and return to the oven until puffed and brown.

CRANBERRY PIE

Stew cranberries in just enough water to cover until they burst. Mash, smooth, sweeten well, turn into a pie-plate lined with pastry, lay strips of pastry across the pie, and bake in a moderate oven.

CREAM PIE

Beat together two cupfuls of milk, half a cupful of sugar, two teaspoonfuls of flour, and the yolks of three eggs. Flavor with grated nutmeg, vanilla, or lemon, and boil, while stirring, for twenty minutes. Turn into a pie-tin lined with pastry which has been baked, and bake until done. Make a meringue of the whites of the eggs and three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Spread on the pie and bake until puffed and brown.

CURRANT PIE

Line a b.u.t.tered pie-tin with pastry, fill with stemmed currants, dredge with sugar, sprinkle with flour, cover with crossbars of pastry, and bake.

GOOSEBERRY PIE

Line a deep pie-tin with pastry and fill with stewed gooseberries sweetened to taste and flavored with grated nutmeg. Cover with crust, bake, and sprinkle with powdered sugar in serving.

LEMON CREAM PIE--I

Line a pie-tin with pastry and bake. Make a syrup of one cupful of sugar and two-thirds cupful of water. Thicken with a teaspoonful of flour beaten with the yolks of two eggs and add the grated rind and juice of a lemon. Cook until smooth and thick, stirring constantly, fill the crust, bake for five minutes, then cover with meringue and bake until puffed and brown.

LEMON CREAM PIE--II

Mix the juice of two lemons with the grated rind of one, a cupful each of water and sugar and bring to the boil in a double-boiler. Thicken while stirring with one tablespoonful of cornstarch rubbed smooth in a little cold water, take from the fire, add a teaspoonful of b.u.t.ter, and three eggs well-beaten. Turn into pie-tins lined with pastry and bake. Cover with meringue and return to the oven until puffed and brown.

PEACH PIE

Line a deep pie-tin with rich pastry and fill with peeled and split peaches. Sprinkle with two tablespoonfuls of cracker crumbs, and one cupful of sugar, fill with cream and bake for thirty minutes.

PRUNE CREAM PIE

Stew, stone, and rub through a sieve enough prunes to make a cupful of pulp. Add one cupful of milk or thin cream, cooked with a teaspoonful of cornstarch rubbed smooth in a little cold milk, the yolks of two eggs well-beaten, and one-third cupful of sugar. Line a pie-tin with pastry, fill with the mixture, and bake quickly. Cover with meringue and brown. Serve either hot or cold.

PUMPKIN PIE

Mix a pint of stewed and strained pumpkin with a pint of milk, two eggs well-beaten, one cupful of sugar, one teaspoonful of cinnamon, one-half teaspoonful each of ginger and nutmeg, and the grated peel of half a lemon. Bake for half an hour with an undercrust only.

RHUBARB PIE

Line a deep pie-tin with pastry and fill with chopped rhubarb stewed soft in a little water, sweetened to taste and mixed with a well-beaten egg. Sprinkle with flour, cover with crust, and bake.

STRAWBERRY PIE

Line a pie-tin with pastry, fill with fresh strawberries, dot with b.u.t.ter, sprinkle with powdered sugar, cover with crossbars of pastry, and bake.

APPLE PUDDING

Peel and grate six sour apples. Add the juice and grated rind of a lemon, the well-beaten yolks of four eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter creamed with half a cupful of sugar. Season with spice, fold in the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs and bake in a b.u.t.tered baking-dish. Serve cold with cream.

APPLE SAGO PUDDING

Soak four tablespoonfuls of sago over night in a pint of water and cook slowly in a double boiler until transparent, adding more water if necessary, and sugar to taste. Fill a baking-dish with peeled and cored apples, pour the sago over them, cover and bake until the apples are tender. Cool, and serve with sugar and cream.

APRICOT PUDDING

Sweeten hot boiled rice and arrange in a border on a serving-dish.

Fill the centre with stewed apricots or canned apricots drained, and sprinkle with grated lemon-peel. Cover with whipped cream and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Almost any other fruit may be used instead of apricots.

BALTIMORE PUDDING