The progress meatless cook book

When a pie is ready to bake, pour cold water over it, drain quickly and place immediately in hot oven.

If a lower crust is wet with the beaten white of an egg before filling with soft mixtures, it will prevent filling from soaking in.

Do not take hot pies suddenly to a cold room, as the sudden change makes them “heavy.” And do not leave them on a hot stove after being baked.

Grease pie plates with butter. It helps make a flaky crust.

A strip of clean muslin about two inches wide, wrung from cold water and pinned around the edge of juicy pies, will keep juice in and keep edge from burning.

Another plan is to insert a small funnel of white paper, small end down, in the center of the upper crust, for the escape of steam.

Sprinkle a little flour over a lower crust before filling in juicy pies.

A very good way to prevent juice running out, is to put the sugar in the lower crust before filling in the fruit.

See that under crusts around outer edge are loose from pie plates before baking.

Under crusts to be baked a day before using, are made even by baking one crust between two pie plates of the same size.

Whenever pie crust dough is left, cut in narrow strips, spread with softened butter, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, roll and bake like a jelly roll.

SHORTCAKE

Use directions for Baking Powder Biscuit. Cut open the biscuits, butter well, and spread with whatever fruit is in season. Place the upper half of the biscuit over the under piece with its crust down, that is, on the fruit, spreading another layer of the sugared fruit on the top, with whipped cream above this top layer, if desired.

Berries, pineapple, oranges, etc., etc., are all nice in shortcakes.

PIE CRUST No. 1

Sift the flour and baking powder together, add the salt and the softened (not warm) butter, then the water. Turn onto a floured moulding board, sift a little flour over and turn over till right to roll out. This makes just two pie crusts, or a lower crust for one pie, and four small biscuits.

PIE CRUST No. 2

Mix salt in flour and add one-half softened (not warm) butter and enough very cold water to form a stiff dough. Turn this on the floured moulding board, sprinkle with flour, spread with some of the butter, fold over, roll out, spread on more butter, fold over, roll out, spread for the third time, fold and roll and fit on pie plates. Will make four pies.

SOUR MILK PIE CRUST

Mix the softened butter with part of flour, add milk with soda dissolved in it, salt, and remainder of flour. Turn on the floured moulding board in a soft dough, roll, and fit on the pie plate.

APPLE PIE

Have ready, apples peeled and cut in thin slices, or apples that have been cooked like Apple Sauce. Line a pie plate with crust.

A little chopped fresh lemon peel sprinkled over the fruit is a tasty addition. Or powdered lemon peel flavoring is fine.

A teaspoonful of strong cold tea added to the apple sauce filling is nice.

FRIED APPLE PIE

Roll out Baking Powder Biscuit dough to about one-quarter inch in thickness, and cut in circles about five inches in diameter. A tin can cover that size is a good cutter. Fill the center of half this round piece with about one tablespoonful Apple Sauce. Moisten the edge of dough with cold water, folding the empty half over the sauce, pressing the two edges tightly together making a pie shaped like a half circle. Fry like doughnuts in hot cooking oil. Drain them on clean brown paper. Eaten hot or cold, with cheese if desired.

APRICOT PIE

Soak apricots in cold water over night, or scald. Cook till tender. To the beaten yolks, add sugar and flour. Mix thoroughly. Pour into a crust already baked and bake. Add cream of tartar to whites, beat stiffly, add two extra tablespoonfuls sugar, spread over pie, and return to oven to brown slightly.

CUSTARD PIE

Spread crust on the plate the day before filling, and keep in cold place. This applies only when no baking powder is used, as baking powder works as soon as it is dampened.

CUSTARD PIE FILLING

Stir in the well beaten eggs to sugar, milk and salt, add butter, pour into pie crust, grate a little nutmeg over it, and bake in a moderate oven.

Heat the milk before mixing Custard Pie Filling.

COCOANUT PIE FILLING

Add to recipe for Custard Pie Filling one-half cupful shredded cocoanut, and sprinkle more over the top in place of nutmeg. A little vanilla flavoring may be added.

CRUSTLESS PIE

To the well beaten eggs, add the other ingredients, pour into a buttered pie plate and bake.

DATE PIE FILLING

Soak the dates (2 cupfuls weighing 1 lb.) over night in cold water, and stew until soft enough to put through colander. Mix well and add all the other ingredients. Mix thoroughly and bake brown in one crust. Cover with the following meringue and return to oven to brown.

MERINGUE

To the stiffly beaten whites of two eggs, add three tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar (not powdered). Flavor with a few drops of flavoring, if desired.

In making Meringue one tablespoonful very cold water may be substituted for one egg. Beat the water in with the white of egg.

LEMON PIE No. 1

Make crust as per directions given, and bake.

Beat yolks, smooth in flour, add water, sugar, salt and lemon, cook in double boiler till the mixture thickens, pour in baked crust. Beat the whites very stiffly, add 1 tablespoonful sugar, spread over pie and put in oven to brown slightly.

LEMON PIE No. 2

Beat sugar and yolks together, add flour and milk and continue beating. Beat the whites stiffly and stir lightly into the mixture.

Make crust as per directions previously given. This filling may be poured into a baked crust as per Lemon Pie No. 1, or filling and crust baked together.

Beat yolks, add sugar, water and lemon and cook till thickened, in double boiler. Remove from stove and beat in stiffly beaten whites. Pour into crust and bake.

Add one crushed banana put through a colander to a lemon pie filling, if desired.

MINCE PIE

Mix all together very thoroughly, adding more sugar or vinegar to suit taste. Bake in two crusts. Makes one pie.

PUMPKINS AND PIES

Pumpkin may be grated raw and used as when cooked, making less work to prepare.

Grating, now-a-days, usually means running through the food chopper.

A pumpkin may be baked by cutting it in two, removing seeds, scooping it from the shell with a mixing spoon and crushing through a colander.

In selecting a pumpkin, choose a glossy one that is flat on both ends.

Chopped pecan and English walnuts sprinkled over a pumpkin pie just before putting it in the oven, give an agreeable flavor.

Shredded cocoanut sprinkled over a pumpkin pie just as it goes in the oven, is nice.

PUMPKIN PIE No. 1

Prepare the pumpkin by washing, cutting in pieces, paring and steaming till soft. Rub through a colander or sieve. To the required amount add the beaten egg and other ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Pour into a crust with a high rim.

This recipe may be varied by using squash instead of pumpkin, and the required amount of sweetening used being half sugar and half molasses.

PUMPKIN PIE No. 2

Prepare the filling as per Pumpkin Pie No. 1. Butter the pie tins, just cover the bottom with corn meal. Pour in the filling, and bake.

PRUNE PIE

May be made by substituting prunes for apricots in Apricot Pie recipe.

RHUBARB PIE No. 1

Peel and cut rhubarb into half inch lengths, add other ingredients and stew until tender. Bake between two crusts. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

RHUBARB PIE No. 2

Peel and cut rhubarb into half inch lengths and place on lower crust. Mix one cupful sugar very thoroughly with one tablespoonful corn starch and put over rhubarb. Moisten the edge of lower crust with cold water, put on the upper crust and press edges firmly together. Bake about thirty minutes.

SQUASH PIE

Beat eggs and mix thoroughly with other ingredients, the butter being first softened and squash run through colander. Pour in crust and bake.

If crust is spread on the plate a day before and kept in a cool place, it will be nicer than when freshly made. But dough will not keep fresh when mixed with baking powder.

SWEET POTATO PIE

Mix the beaten egg with the other ingredients and bake about thirty minutes in one crust, adding Meringue.