Take
large ripe pippin apples. Pare, core, and weigh them, and to each pound
allow a pound of fine loaf-sugar and two lemons. Parboil the apples, and
then set them out to cool. Pare off very nicely with a penknife the
yellow rind of the lemons, taking care not to break it; and then with
scissors trim the edges to an even width all along. Put the lemon-rind
to boil in a little sauce-pan by itself, till it Becomes tender, and
then set it to cool. Allow half a pint of water to each pound of sugar;
and when it is melted, set it on the fire in the preserving kettle, put
in the apples, and boil them slowly till they are clear and tender all
through, but not till they break; skimming the syrup carefully. After
you have taken out the apples, add the lemon-juice, put in the
lemon-peel, and boil it till quite transparent. When the whole is cold,
put the apples with the syrup into glass dishes, and dispose the wreaths
of lemon-peel fancifully about them.
Make rich
biscuit dough, the same as soda or baking powder biscuit, only adding a
little more shortening. Take a piece of dough out on the molding-board,
roll out almost as thin as pie crust; then cut into square pieces large
enough to cover an apple. Put into the middle of each piece two apple
halves that have been pared and cored; sprinkle on a spoonful of sugar
and a pinch of ground cinnamon, turn the ends of the dough over the
apple and lap them tight. Lay the dumplings in a dripping-pan buttered,
the smooth side upward. When the pans are filled, put a small piece of
butter on top of each, sprinkle over a large handful of sugar, turn in a
cupful of boiling water, then place in a moderate oven for
three-quarters of an hour. Baste with the liquor once while baking.
Serve with pudding-sauce or cream and sugar.
2 lbs. of apples
1/2 lb. of dates]
3/4 pint of milk
1/4 pint of cream
6 cloves tied in muslin
and a little sugar.
Pare,
core, and cut up the apples, stone the dates, and gently stew the fruit
with a teacupful of water and the cloves until quite tender; when
sufficiently cooked, remove the cloves, and rub the fruit through a
sieve; gradually mix in the milk, which should be boiling, then the
cream; serve cold with sponge-cake fingers.
