Puff Paste

One quart of Albers flour, one pint of butter, or butter and lard half and half, a pinch of salt, one and one-quarter cupfuls of cold water. Sprinkle the salt in the flour and with the hands mix in quickly the shortening until all is smooth. Mix the cold water quickly as possible and roll out and fit to a pie plate. The flour on the crust is all that is needed to prevent the crust from sticking; cut off evenly around the edge of plate - gather up the scraps and make another sheet for the top of the pie and roll out the upper sheet a little thinner than the under crust, lap one half over the other and cut four or five small slits at the center. Fill the pie with prepared filling, wet the edge of the rim to prevent the juices from running out, lay the upper crust across the center of the pie, turn back the half that is lapped, slightly press the edges down with your thumb, dipping occasionally into flour to prevent sticking. Bake to a light brown.

Paste

Three cups of Albers flour (sifted), one Large cup butter, one-half teaspoon baking powder, two tablespoons sugar, one-half cup milk. Sift flour with powder and sugar, rub in butter, add milk; mix into a smooth dough of medium stiffness.

German Paste

Take three-quarters of a pound of Albers flour, put into it half a pound of butter, the same of powdered sugar, and the peel of a lemon grated; make a hole in the middle of the flour, break in the yolk of two eggs, reserving the whites, which are to be well beaten ; then mix all well together. If the eggs do not sufficiently moisten the paste, add half an eggshell of water. Mix all thoroughly, but do not handle too much. Roll out thin, and it may be used for all sorts of pastry. Before putting it into the oven, wash over the pastry with the white of the beaten eggs, and shake over a little powdered sugar.

Rich Short Crust

Break ten ounces of butter into a pound of Albers flour dried and sifted, add a pinch of salt and two ounces of loaf sugar rolled fine. Make it into a very smooth paste as light as possible, with two well-beaten eggs and sufficient milk to moisten the paste.

To Ice Pastry

To ice pastry, which is the usual method adopted for fruit and sweet dishes of pastry, put the white of an egg on a plate, and with the blade of a knife beat it to a stiff froth. When the pastry is nearly baked, brush it over with this, and sift over some powdered sugar; put it back into the oven to set a glaze, and in a few minutes it will be done. Great care should be taken that the paste does not catch or burn in the oven, which it is very liable to do after the icing is laid on.

Lemon Pie

One small teacup of boiling water, put in juice and rind of one lemon, one teaspoonful of corn starch to thicken; then add four egg yolks, one cup of sugar, mixed together; beat the whites of two eggs stiff and put in with egg yolks and sugar. After custard is done put on top the whites of the other two eggs, put in oven and brown. Bake pie crust first.

Apple Pie

Stew green or ripe apples, when you have pared and cored them. Mash to a smooth compote, sweeten to taste, and while hot, stir in a teaspoon butter for each pie. Season with nutmeg. When cool, fill your crust, and either cross-bar the top with strips of paste, or make without cover. Eat cold, with powdered sugar strewed over it.

Pumpkin Pie

The following measure will make three good sized pies: Put into your mixing dish one quart and a pint of stewed and strained pumpkin, about one-quarter pound sugar, half cup molasses, half a tablespoon each ginger, nutmeg, a scant teaspoonful each of cinnamon and salt, one-quarter cup melted butter and one quart of milk. Beat six eggs and add to the mixture, and stir until the ingredients are well blended. Bake in a good, deep crust.

Rhubarb Pie

Select the red stalks, cut off where the leaves commence, strip off the outside skin, then cut in pieces one-half inch long; line a pie dish with paste, put a layer of the rhubarb nearly an inch deep, a large teacup of sugar, sprinkle with salt, shake over a little Albers flour, cover with a crust, slit in the center, trim off the edge and bake in a quick oven until done. Rhubarb pies made in this way are superior to those made of the fruit stewed.