Fine Puff Pastry

1 lb. of flour, a little more for rolling-pin and board, and half a pound of butter and half a pound of lard. Cut the butter and lard through the flour (which should be sifted) into small thin shells and mix with sufficient ice-water to roll easily. Avoid kneading it, and use the hands as little as possible in mixing.

Plainer Pastry

1 cup of butter, 1 cup of lard, a little salt, cut through the flour and mix lightly together. Some cooks mix the lard through the flour first, and then mix with water and roll out. Cut the batter into thin sheets, fold over and lay aside, cutting off from the roll what is used for the bottom or top crust as wanted.

Lemon Pie

The juice and grated rind of 1 lemon, 1 cup of water, 1 table-spoonful corn starch, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, and a piece of butter the size of a small egg; boil the water, wet the corn starch with a little cold water and stir it in; when it boils up, pour it on the sugar and butter; after it cools add the egg and lemon. Bake with upper and under crust.

Pumpkin Pie

1 qt. of strained pumpkins, 2 qts. rich milk, 1 tea-spoonful of salt, and 2 of ginger, cooked with the pumpkins; 6 well-beaten eggs, and 11/2 tea-cups of sugar.

Mince Pie

3 cups chopped cooked meat, 6 cups of apples chopped fine; make moist with boiled cider and sweeten with molasses or dark sugar; spice to your taste-using cloves, cinnamon, allspice, and a very little black pepper; put currents and raisins into the pies when ready to bake.

Another: - 3 lbs. of raisins, stone and chop them a little; 3 lbs. of currants, 3 lbs. of sugar, 3 lbs. of suet chopped very fine, 2 oz. candied lemon peel, 2 oz. of candied orange peel, 6 large apples grated, 1 oz. of cinnamon, 2 nutmegs, the juice and grated rinds of three lemons, and one-half pt. of brandy. Excellent.

Rhubarb Pie

1 cup of stewed pie-plant, 1 cup of sugar, 1 table-spoonful of flour, yolk of 1 egg; flavor with lemon; beat all together thoroughly. Do n't use pie-plant too hot for fear it will cook the egg. Bake with just an under crust, and use the white of an egg for frosting.

Cocoanut Pit

One-half lb. of grated cocoanut, three-quarters of a pound of white sugar, 6 ounces of butter, 5 eggs (the whites only), 2 table-spoonfuls rose-water, 1 tea-spoonful nutmeg. Cream the butter and sugar, beat till very light, and add the rose-water; then add the cocoanut with as little and light beating as possible; finally whip in the stiffened whites of the eggs with a few skillful strokes and bake at once in open shells. Eat cold with powdered sugar sifted over them. These are very pretty and delicious pies.

Cream Pie

Boil nearly 1 pint of new milk; take 2 small table-spoonfuls of corn starch beaten with a little milk to this add 2 eggs; when the milk has boiled, stir this in slowly with 1 scant tea-cup of sugar, one-half cup of butter, and 2 tea-spoonfuls of lemon. Cakes: 3 eggs, 1 cup of white sugar, 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 tea-spoonful of baking powder, mix it in flour; 3 table-spoonfuls of cold water; bake in two pie pans in a quick oven; split the cake while hot, and spread in the cream.

Cranberry Tart

Take cranberries, pick and wash them in several waters, and put them into a dish with the juice of half a lemon, one-quarter of a pound of moist sugar or pounded loaf sugar to 1 qt. of cranberries; cover it with puff paste or short crust, and bake it three-quarters of an hour. If .short crust is used, draw it from the oven 5 minutes before it is done, and ice it; return it to the oven, and send it to the table cold.

Custard Pie

Make a custard of the yolks of 3 eggs with milk, season to taste; bake it in an ordinary crust; put it in a brick oven, that the crust may not be heavy, and as soon as that is heated remove it to a place in an oven of a more moderate heat, that the custard may bake slowly and not curdle; when done, beat the whites to a froth; add sugar and spread over the top, and return to tin-oven to brown slightly; a small pinch of salt added to a custard heightens the flavor; a little soda in the crust prevents it from being heavy. Very nice.