Shortened pie-crust is made by using for one pie ⅔ of a cup of flour, with ⅓ of a teaspoon of baking powder and ¼ of a teaspoon of salt in it. Sift this onto ½ a cup of cocoanut butter or ½ a cup of butter, or these two in equal proportions, dampen with ice-water, and roll out five or six times. Keep ice-cold until used.

Use a chopping bowl for mixing the paste, and into it put 4 cups of flour (sifted), 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt, adding it a spoonful at a time. Use 2 cups of butter, chopping it into the flour until it is as fine as possible. Beat 2 eggs for five minutes and add to them the juice of one lemon and ½ cup of very cold water, and stir this gradually into the paste. When mixed lift the paste to a well-floured pastry board, roll it into a rectangular shape, fold it over onto itself from the four sides, then roll again, and repeat this process four times. Now fold into a thin piece of linen, and place on a plate near the ice in the refrigerator, and let it stand half an hour or more. Roll out again and use for patties, or pie-crust.

Make a batter of ¾ of a cup of flour, ½ cup of milk in which 1 egg has been beaten, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 saltspoon of salt, and at the very last add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Dip the timbale iron in the batter, then in hot vegetable fat, taking care it does not touch the bottom of the pan. When a golden brown remove and place on paper to drain, and proceed thus until a sufficient number has been made. Fill with chestnuts, mushrooms, etc., in sauce, and reheat in the oven after filling.

Make as for timbale cases and dip the vegetables or fruit to be fried in it, and fry until golden brown in hot fat.

Instead of frying-batter for timbale cases a paste can be made with 1½ cups of flour, 1 egg-yolk, and 3 tablespoons of butter well-mixed and dampened to the proper consistency by using perhaps ½ cup of cold water. Roll out very thin, about 1⁄1​6 of an inch, and press into the small pans or moulds after buttering them. Trim neatly, and press a little cup of buttered tissue paper in each, fill this with rice to protect the inside from too much heat and to keep flat on the bottom, and bake in a rather slow oven. Do not turn out until cooled, and do not fill until wanted.

Ordinary pastry may be used also to line moulds for patty cases, timbales, etc.

Boil good-sized potatoes with the skins on, peel while hot, and press through a ricer or sieve, mix with an equal quantity of white flour or whole wheat flour and a little salt, and dampen with cream. Press together and roll out for top crust of vegetable pies.

Mix equal parts of mashed potato and flour pastry, and use baked in small squares as a garnish, or as a covering for deep vegetable pie.

Sift 2 cups of flour, add to it 1 heaping teaspoon of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt, and sift again. Stir into this 1 scant cup of milk, or just enough to make a dough that can scarcely be handled without sticking to the fingers. Drop in boiling vegetable stock or into a stew and let boil rapidly ten minutes, taking great care not to uncover the kettle until just as the dumplings are removed. Serve at once in the stew or with brown sauce.

Cut slices ¼ of an inch thick of stale bread, and with a knife cut across both ways to make tiny squares. Dry a few moments, then toss in a little hot butter to brown and serve warm.

A jar of bread crumbs should always be kept on hand. Use stale bread, break it into bits, and brown it slightly in the oven. Then with a roller, or in a mortar, crumble it and crush it to powdered crumbs. If a jar of light crumbs and one of golden brown crumbs are kept ready, they will be found most convenient.