The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) written by Mrs. F.L. Gillette

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CRISP COOKIES. (Very Nice.)

One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three eggs well beaten, a
teaspoonful of soda and two of cream of tartar, spoonful of milk, one
teaspoonful of nutmeg and one of cinnamon. Flour enough to make a soft
dough just stiff enough to roll out. Try a pint of sifted flour to
begin with, working it in gradually. Spread a little sweet milk over
each and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a quick oven a light brown.

LEMON COOKIES.

Four cups of sifted flour, or enough for a stiff dough, one teacupful
of butter, two cups of sugar, the juice of one lemon and the grated
peel from the outside, three eggs whipped very light. Beat thoroughly
each ingredient, adding, after all is in, a half teaspoonful of soda
dissolved in a tablespoonful of milk. Roll out as any cookies and bake
a light brown. Use no other wetting.

COCOANUT COOKIES.

One cup grated cocoanut, one and one-half cups sugar, three-fourths
cup butter, one-half cup milk, two eggs, one large teaspoonful baking
powder, one-half teaspoonful extract of vanilla and flour enough to
roll out.

DOUGHNUTS OR FRIED CAKES.

Success in making good fried cakes depends as much on the _cooking_ as
the mixing. In the first place, there should be boiling lard enough to
free them from the bottom of the kettle, so that they swim on the top,
and the lard should never be so hot as to smoke or so cool as not to
be at the boiling point; if it is, they soak grease and are spoiled.
If it is at the right heat, the doughnuts will in about ten minutes be
of a delicate brown outside and nicely cooked inside. Five or six
minutes will cook a cruller. Try the fat by dropping a bit of the
dough in first; if it is right, the fat will boil up when it is
dropped in. They should be turned over almost constantly, which causes
them to rise and brown evenly. When they are sufficiently cooked,
raise them from the hot fat and drain them until every drop ceases
dripping.

CRULLERS OR FRIED CAKES.

One and a half cupfuls of sugar, one cupful of sour milk, two eggs,
two scant tablespoonfuls of melted butter, half a nutmeg grated, a
large teaspoonful of cinnamon, a teaspoonful of salt and one of soda;
make a little stiffer than biscuit dough, roll out a quarter of an
inch thick, and cut with a fried-cake cutter, with a hole in the
centre. Fry in hot lard.

These can be made with sweet milk and baking powder, using two heaping
teaspoonfuls of the baking powder in place of soda.

RAISED DOUGHNUTS.

Old-fashioned "raised doughnuts" are seldom seen nowadays, but are
easily made. Make a sponge as for bread, using a pint of warm water or
milk, and a large half cupful of yeast; when the sponge is very light,
add half a cupful of butter or sweet lard, a coffeecupful of sugar, a
teaspoonful of salt and one small teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a
little water, one tablespoonful of cinnamon, a little grated nutmeg;
stir in now two well-beaten eggs, add sifted flour until it is the
consistency of biscuit dough, knead it well, cover and let rise; then
roll the dough out into a sheet half an inch thick, cut out with a
very small biscuit-cutter, or in strips half an inch wide and three
inches long, place them on greased tins, cover them well and let them
rise before frying them. Drop them in very hot lard. Raised cakes
require longer time than cakes made with baking powder. Sift powdered
sugar over them as fast as they are fried, while warm. Our
grandmothers put allspice into these cakes; that, however, is a matter
of taste.

BAKERS' RAISED DOUGHNUTS.

Warm a teacupful of lard in a pint of milk; when nearly cool add
enough flour to make a thick batter and add a small cupful of yeast;
beat it well and set it to rise; when light work in gradually and
carefully three cupfuls of sugar, the whipped whites of six eggs, half
a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a spoonful of milk, one teaspoonful
of salt, a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon and half of a nutmeg grated;
then work in gradually enough flour to make it stiff enough to roll
out; let it rise again and when very light roll it out in a sheet an
inch thick; cut into rounds; put into the centre of each round a large
Sultana raisin, seeded, and mold into perfectly round balls; flatten a
little; let them stand a few minutes before boiling them; have plenty
of lard in the pot and when it boils drop in the cakes; when they are
a light, brown take them out with a perforated skimmer; drain on soft
white paper and roll, while warm, in fine powdered sugar.

_Purcell's Bakery, New York City._

CRULLERS OR WONDERS.

Three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of melted lard or butter, three
tablespoonfuls of sugar; mix very hard with sifted flour, as hard as
can be rolled, and to be rolled very thin like pie crust; cut in
squares three inches long and two wide, then cut several slits or
lines lengthwise to within a quarter of an inch of the edges of the
ends; run your two forefingers through every other slit; lay them down
on the board edgewise and dent them. These are very dainty when fried.
Fry in hot lard a light brown.

GERMAN DOUGHNUTS.

One pint of milk; four eggs, one small tablespoonful of melted butter,
flavoring, salt to taste; first boil the milk and pour it, while hot,
over a pint of flour; beat it very smooth and when it is cool have
ready the yolks of the eggs well beaten; add them to the milk and
flour, beaten well into it, then add the well-beaten whites; then,
lastly, add the salt and as much more flour as will make the whole
into a soft dough; flour your board, turn your dough upon it, roll it
in pieces as thick as your finger and turn them in the form of a ring;
cook in plenty of boiling lard. A nice breakfast cake with coffee.

[Illustration: CUTTING PUMPKIN FOR PIES.]

NUT CAKES. (Fried.)

Beat two eggs well, add to them one ounce of sifted sugar, two ounces
of warmed butter, two tablespoonfuls of yeast, a teacupful of
luke-warm milk and a little salt. Whip all well together, then stir in
by degrees one pound of flour, and, if requisite, more milk, making
thin dough. Beat it until it falls from the spoon, then set it to
rise. When it has risen make butter or lard hot in a frying pan, cut
from the light dough little pieces the size of a walnut, and, without
molding or kneading, fry them pale brown. As they are done lay them on
a napkin to absorb any of the fat.

TRIFLES.

Work one egg and a tablespoonful of sugar to as much flour as will
make a stiff paste; roll it as thin as a dollar piece and cut it into
small round or square cakes; drop two or three at a time into the
boiling lard; when they rise to the surface and turn over they are
done; take them out with a skimmer and lay them on an inverted sieve
to drain. When served for dessert or supper put a spoonful of jelly on
each.

PUFF-BALL DOUGHNUTS.

These doughnuts, eaten fresh and warm, are a delicious breakfast dish
and are quickly made. Three eggs, one cupful of sugar, a pint of sweet
milk, salt, nutmeg and flour enough to permit the spoon to stand
upright in the mixture; add two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder
to the flour; beat all until very light. Drop by the dessertspoonful
into boiling lard. These will not absorb a bit of fat and are not at
all rich and consequently are the least injurious of this kind of
cakes.

PASTRY, PIES AND TARTS.

GENERAL REMARKS.

Use the very best materials in making pastry; the shortening should be
fresh, sweet and hard; the water cold (ice-water is best), the paste
rolled on a cold board and all handled as little as possible. When the
crust is made, it makes it much more flaky and puff much more to put
it in a dish covered with a cloth and set in a very cold place for
half an hour, or even an hour; in summer, it could be placed in the
ice box.

A great improvement is made in pie crust by the addition of about a
heaping teaspoonful of baking powder to a quart of flour, also
brushing the paste as often as rolled out, and the pieces of butter
placed thereon, with the white of an egg, assists it to rise in
_leaves_ or _flakes_. As this is the great beauty of puff paste, it is
as well to try this method.

If currants are to be used in pies, they should be carefully picked
over and washed in several waters, dried in a towel and dredged with
flour before they are suitable for use.

Raisins, and all dried fruits for pies and cakes, should be seeded
stoned and dredged with flour before using.

Almonds should be blanched by pouring boiling water upon them and then
slipping the skin off with the fingers. In pounding them, always add a
little rose or orange-water, with fine sugar, to prevent their
becoming oily.

Great care is requisite in heating an oven for baking pastry. If you
can hold your hand in the heated oven while you count twenty, the oven
has just the proper temperature and it should be kept at this
temperature as long as the pastry is in; this heat will bake to a
light brown and will give the pastry a fresh and flaky appearance. If
you suffer the heat to abate, the under crust will become heavy and
clammy and the upper crust will fall in.

Another good way to ascertain when the oven is heated to the proper
degree for puff paste: put a small piece of the paste in previous to
baking the whole, and then the heat can thus be judged of.

Pie crust can be kept a week, and the last be better than the if put
in a tightly covered dish and set in the ice chest in summer and in a
cool place in winter, and thus you can make a fresh pie every day with
little trouble.

In baking custard, pumpkin or squash pies, it is well, in order that
the mixture may not be absorbed by the paste, to first partly bake the
paste before adding it, and when stewed fruit is used the filling
should be perfectly cool when put in, or it will make the bottom crust
sodden.

HOW TO MAKE A PIE.

After making the crust, take a portion of it, roll it out and fit it
to a buttered pie-plate by cutting it off evenly around the edge;
gather up the scraps left from cutting and make into another sheet for
the top crust; roll it a little thinner than the under crust; lap
one-half over the other and cut three or four slits about a quarter of
an inch from the folded edge (this prevents the steam from escaping
through the rim of the pie, and causing the juices to run out from the
edges). Now fill your pie-plate with your prepared filling, wet the
top edge of the rim, lay the upper crust across the centre of the pie,
turn back the half that is lapped over, seal the two edges together by
slightly pressing down with your thumb, then notch evenly and
regularly with a three-tined fork, dipping occasionally in flour to
prevent sticking. Bake in a rather quick oven a light brown, and until
the filling boils up through the slits in the upper crust.

To prevent the juice soaking through into the crust, making it soggy
wet the under crust with the white of an egg, just before you put in
the pie mixture. If the top of the pie is brushed over with the egg,
it gives it a beautiful glaze.

FOR ICING PASTRY.

To ice pastry, which is the usual method adopted for fruit tarts 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 pounded
sugar; put it back into the oven to set the 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 is very liable to do after the icing
is laid on.

Or make a meringue by adding a tablespoonful of white sugar to the
beaten white of one egg. Spread over the top and slightly brown in the
oven.

FINE PUFF PASTE.

Into one quart of sifted flour mix two teaspoonfuls of baking powder
and a teaspoonful of salt; _then sift again_. Measure out one
teacupful of butter and one of lard, hard and cold. Take the lard and
rub into the flour until a very fine smooth paste. Then put in just
enough _ice-water_, say half a cupful, containing a beaten white of
egg, to mix a very stiff dough. Boll it out into a thin sheet, spread
with one-fourth of the butter, sprinkle over with a little flour, then
roll up closely in a long roll, like a scroll, double the ends towards
the centre, flatten and re-roll, then spread again with another
quarter of the butter. Repeat this operation until the butter is used
up. Put it on an earthen dish, cover it with a cloth and set it in a
cold place, in the ice box in summer; let it remain until _cold_; an
hour or more before making out the crust. Tarts made with this paste
cannot be cut with a knife when fresh; they go into flakes at the
touch.

You may roll this pastry in any direction, from you, toward you,
sideways, any way, it matters not, but you must have nice flour,
_ice-water_ and very _little_ of it, and strength to roll it, if you
would succeed.

This recipe I purchased from a colored cook on one of the Lake
Michigan steamers many years ago, and it is, without exception, the
finest puff paste I have ever seen.

PUFF PASTE FOR PIES.

One quart of pastry flour, one pint of butter, one tablespoonful of
salt, one of sugar, one and a quarter cupfuls of ice-water. Wash the
hands with soap and water and dip them first in very hot and then in
cold water. Rinse a large bowl or pan with boiling water and then with
cold. Half fill it with cold water. Wash the butter in this, working
it with the hands until it is light and waxy. This frees it from the
salt and buttermilk and lightens it, so that the pastry is more
delicate. Shape the butter into two thin cakes and put in a pan of
ice-water to harden. Mix the salt and sugar with the flour. With the
hands, rub one-third of the butter into the flour. Add the water,
stirring with a knife. Stir quickly and vigorously until the paste is
a smooth ball. Sprinkle the board _lightly_ with flour. Turn the paste
on this and pound quickly and lightly with the rolling-pin. Do not
break the paste. Roll from you and to one side; or if easier to roll
from you all the time, turn the paste around. When it is about
one-fourth of an inch thick, wipe the remaining butter, break it in
bits and spread these on the paste. Sprinkle lightly with flour. Fold
the paste, one-third from each side, so that the edges meet. Now fold
from the ends, but do not have these meet. Double the paste, pound
lightly and roll down to about one-third of an inch in thickness. Fold
as before and roll down again. Repeat this three times if for pies and
six times if for _vol-au-vents_, patties, tarts, etc. Place on the ice
to harden, when it has been rolled the last time. It should be in the
ice chest at least an hour before being used. In hot weather, if the
paste sticks when being rolled down, put it on a tin sheet and place
on ice. As soon as it is chilled, it will roll easily. The less flour
you use in rolling out the paste, the tenderer it will be. No matter
how carefully every part of the work may be done, the paste will not
be good if much flour is used.

_Maria Parloa_.

SOYER'S RECIPE FOR PUFF PASTE.

To every pound of flour allow the yolk of one egg, the juice of one
lemon, half a saltspoonful of salt, cold water, one pound of fresh
butter.

Put the flour onto the paste-board; make a hole in the centre, into
which put the yolk of the egg, the lemon juice and salt; mix the whole
with cold water (this should be iced in summer if convenient) into a
soft, flexible paste with the right hand, and handle it as little as
possible; then squeeze all the buttermilk from the butter, wring it in
a cloth and roll out the paste; place the butter on this and fold the
edges of the paste over, so as to hide it; roll it out again to the
thickness of a quarter of an inch; fold over one-third, over which
again pass the rolling-pin; then fold over the other third, thus
forming a square; place it with the ends, top and bottom before you,
shaking a little flour both under and over, and repeat the rolls and
turns twice again as before. Flour a baking-sheet, put the paste on
this and let it remain on ice or in some cool place for half an hour;
then roll twice more, turning it as before; place it again upon the
ice for a quarter of an hour, give it two more rolls, making seven in
all, and it is ready for use when required.

RULE FOR UNDER CRUST.

A good rule for pie crust for a pie requiring only an under crust, as
a custard or pumpkin pie, is: Three _large_ tablespoonfuls of flour
sifted, rubbing into it a _large_ tablespoonful of cold butter, or
part butter and part lard, and a pinch of salt, mixing with _cold_
water enough to form a smooth, stiff paste, and rolled quite thin.

PLAIN PIE CRUST.

Two and a half cupfuls of sifted flour, one cupful of shortening, half
butter and half lard cold, a pinch of salt, a heaping teaspoonful of
baking powder sifted through the flour. Rub thoroughly the shortening
into the flour. Mix together with half a teacupful of _cold_ water, or
enough to form a rather stiff dough; mix as little as possible, just
enough to get it into shape to roll out; it must be handled very
lightly. This rule is for two pies.

When you have a little pie crust left do not throw it away; roll it
thin, cut in small squares and bake. Just before tea put a spoonful of
raspberry jelly on each square.

PUFF PASTE OF SUET.

Two cupfuls of flour, one-half teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of
baking powder, one cup of chopped suet, freed of skin, and chopped
very fine, one cupful of water. Place the flour, sifted with the
powder in a bowl, add suet and water; mix into smooth, rather firm
dough.

This paste is excellent for fruit puddings and dumplings that are
boiled; if it is well made, it will be light and flaky and the suet
impreceptible. It is also excellent for meat pies, baked or boiled.
All the ingredients should be very cold when mixing, and the suet
dredged with flour after it is chopped, to prevent the particles from
adhering to each other.

POTATO CRUST.

Boil and mash a dozen medium-sized potatoes, add one good teaspoonful
of salt, two tablespoonfuls of cold butter and half a cupful of milk
or cream. Stiffen with flour sufficient to roll out. Nice for the tops
of meat pies.

TO MAKE PIE CRUST FLAKY.

In making a pie, after you have rolled out your top crust, cut it
about the right size, spread it over with butter, then shake sifted
flour over the butter, enough to cover it well. Cut a slit in the
middle place it over the top of your pie, and fasten the edges as any
pie. Now take the pie on your left hand and a dipper of cold water in
your right hand; tip the pie slanting a little, pour over the water
sufficiently to rinse off the flour. Enough flour will stick to the
butter to fry into the crust, to give it a fine, blistered, flaky
look, which many cooks think is much better than rolling the butter
into the crust.

TARTLETS. No. 1.

Tarts of strawberry or any other kind of preserves are generally made
of the trimmings of puff paste rolled a little thicker than the
ordinary pies; then cut out with a round cutter, first dipped in hot
water, to make the edges smooth, and placed in small tart-pans, first
pricking a few holes at the bottom with a fork before placing them in
the oven. Bake from ten to fifteen minutes. Let the paste cool a
little; then fill it with preserve. By this manner, both the flavor
and color of the jam are preserved, which would be lost were it baked
in the oven on the paste; and, besides, so much jam is not required.

TARTLETS. No. 2.

Tartlets are nice made in this manner: Roll some good puff paste out
thin, and cut it into two and a half inch squares; brush each square
over with the white of an egg, then fold down the corners, so that
they all meet in the middle of each piece of paste; slightly press the
two pieces together, brush them over with the egg, sift over sugar and
bake in a nice quick oven for about a quarter of an hour. When they
are done, make a little hole in the middle of the paste and fill it up
with apricot jam, marmalade, or red currant jelly. Pile them high in
the centre of a dish on a napkin and garnish with the same preserves
the tartlets are filled with.

PATTIES, OR SHELLS FOR TARTS.

Roll out a nice puff paste thin; cut out with a glass or cookie-cutter
and with a wine-glass or smaller cutter, cut out the centre of two out
of three; lay the rings thus made on the third, and bake at once. May
be used for veal or oyster patties, or filled with jelly, jam or
preserves, as tarts. Or shells may be made by lining patty-pans with
paste. If the paste is light, the shells will be fine. Filled with
jelly and covered with meringue (tablespoonful of sugar to the white
of one egg) and browned in oven, they are very nice to serve for tea.

If the cutters are dipped in _hot water_, the edges of the tartlets
will rise much higher and smoother when baking.

TARTS.

Larger pans are required for tarts proper, the size of small, shallow
pie-tins; then after the paste is baked and cooled and filled with the
jam or preserve, a few stars or leaves are placed on the top, or
strips of paste, criss-crossed on the top, all of which have been
previously baked on a tin by themselves.

Dried fruit, stewed until thick, makes fine tart pies, also
cranberries stewed and well sweetened.

GREEN APPLE PIE.

Peel, core and slice tart apples enough for a pie; sprinkle over about
three tablespoonfuls of sugar, a teaspoonful of cinnamon, a small
level tablespoonful of sifted flour, two tablespoonfuls of water, a
few bits of butter, stir all together with a spoon; put it into a
pie-tin lined with pie paste; cover with a top crust and bake about
forty minutes.

The result will be a delicious, juicy pie.

APPLE CUSTARD PIE. No. 1.

Three cupfuls of milk, four eggs and one cupful of sugar, two cupfuls
of thick stewed apples, strained through a colander. Beat the whites
and yolks of the eggs lightly and mix the yolks well with the apples,
flavoring with nutmeg. Then beat into this the milk and, lastly, the
whites. Let the crust partly bake before turning in this filling. To
be baked with only the one crust, like all custard pies.

APPLE CUSTARD PIE. No. 2.

Select fair sweet apples, pare and grate them, and to every teacupful
of the apple add two eggs well beaten, two tablespoonfuls of fine
sugar, one of melted butter, the grated rind and half the juice of one
lemon, half a wine-glass of brandy and one teacupful of milk; mix all
well and pour into a deep plate lined with paste; put a strip of the
paste around the edge of the dish and bake thirty minutes.

APPLE CUSTARD PIE. No. 3.

Lay a crust in your plates; slice apples thin and half fill your
plates; pour over them a custard made of four eggs and one quart of
milk, sweetened and seasoned to your taste.

APPLE CUSTARD PIE. No. 4.

Peel sour apples and stew until soft, and not much water left in them;
then rub through a colander; beat three eggs for each pie to be baked
and put in at the rate of one cupful of butter and one of sugar for
three pies; season with nutmeg.

IRISH APPLE PIE.

Pare and take out the cores of the apples, cutting each apple into
four or eight pieces, according to their size. Lay them neatly in a
baking dish, seasoning them with brown sugar and any spice, such as
pounded cloves and cinnamon, or grated lemon peel. A little quince
marmalade gives a fine flavor to the pie. Add a little water and cover
with puff paste. Bake for an hour.

MOCK APPLE PIE.

Crush finely with a rolling pin, one large Boston cracker; put it into
a bowl and pour upon it one teacupful of cold water; add one teacupful
of fine white sugar, the juice and pulp of one lemon, half a lemon
rind grated and a little nutmeg; line the pie-plate with half puff
paste, pour in the mixture, cover with the paste and bake half an
hour.

These are proportions for one pie.

APPLE AND PEACH MERINGUE PIE.

Stew the apples or peaches and sweeten to taste. Mash smooth and
season with nutmeg. Fill the crusts and bake until just done. Put on
no top crust. Take the whites of three eggs for each pie and whip to a
stiff froth, and sweeten with three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar.
Flavor with rose-water or vanilla; beat until it will stand alone;
then spread it on the pie one-half to one inch thick; set it back into
the oven until the meringue is well "set." Eat cold.

COCOANUT PIE. No. 1.

One-half cup desiccated cocoanut soaked in one cupful of milk, two
eggs, one small cupful of sugar, butter the size of an egg. This is
for one small-sized pie. Nice with a meringue on top.

COCOANUT PIE. No. 2.

Cut off the brown part of the cocoanut, grate the white part, mix it
with milk and set it on the fire and let it boil slowly eight or ten
minutes. To a pound of the grated cocoanut, allow a quart of milk,
eight eggs, four tablespoonfuls of sifted white sugar, a glass of
wine, a small cracker, pounded fine, two spoonfuls of melted butter
and half a nutmeg. The eggs and sugar should be beaten together to a
froth, then the wine stirred in. Put them into the milk and cocoanut,
which should be first allowed to get quite cool; add the cracker and
nutmeg, turn the whole into deep pie plates, with a lining and rim of
puff paste. Bake them as soon as turned into the plates.