Double it exactly half over and cut several gashes in the center. Lay this in the same position on the pie, turn over the upper half, giving room for it to fit, and trim the edge as before. Handle the pie crust as little as possible, as the heat of the hand will make it heavy. In rolling, roll from you and roll only one way. The baking is the most important. Heat the oven hot. Judge of the heat by trying a small piece of the dough. If the crust is baking too fast, set a pan of cold water in the upper oven to cool it at once. Turn the pie around two or three times that it may bake evenly. When done, and perfectly cold, sprinkle powdered sugar over the upper crust. The quantity directed will make one large pie.

Puff Paste

To make puff paste that is light and flaky requires, besides the knowledge how, an infinite amount of patience and a certain adroitness or, one might say, sleight of hand, which only comes with experience.

The secret lies in securing the greatest number of alternate layers of butter and dough. To accomplish this there must be sufficient butter to form these layers before it is ab sorbed into the dough. If too much butter is used it will not be absorbed; consequently the paste will be heavy, greasy, and unpalatable.

Many cooks allow equal weights of flour and butter for puff paste. Experience has proved that equally good results may be had by using threefourths of a pound of butter to one pound of flour. The butter, which must be fresh and sweet, should harden in ice water before it is used, and then be divided into four equal parts.

Sift the flour into a bowl which has been thoroughly chilled, cut up one of the lumps of butter in it, then wet with a little ice water. When a dough is throuformed, turn upon a marble slab, dust with flour and roll in a strip about twelve by six inches. Flour the remaining portions of butter and roll into strips eight by five inches. Mix half a teaspoon of cream of tartar with twice its bulk of flour. Sprinkle each strip of butter with the mixture, lay one on the strip of dough and roll up. Let stand fifteen minutes in a cold place to prevent the butter from oiling, then roll out, lay on another butter strip, roll up, set aside to chill, and so proceed until all the butter is incorporated with the dough; then roll into shape.

This variety of paste is especially suitable for tarts and pies having no top crust In summer, it should be made the day before baking, then put into a closely covered pail and stood in the icechest.

Preparing Fruits For Pie

Apples should be peeled, sliced thin and sugared to taste before being put in the piecrust. Peaches should also be peeled and sugared. But if the peaches are small they may be cooked in the pie with their pits, which give an added flavor. Raspberries, blackberries, cherries, currants should be dusted . with flour as well as sweetened before being put in the crust. Gooseberries and cranberries should be stewed and sweetened before being put in their piecrust.

To all these fruits a tablespoon or two of cold water should be added. In the fruit pies use fruit generously. That is, have plenty of the fruit filling, which wholesomely serves as an antidote to the rich pastry.