enough of it to make a thick layer over the top crust. Grate nutmeg over
apple pies, or strew on a little powdered cinnamon. A few blades of mace
baked with the fruit accent the apple flavor beautifully. Cherries take
kindly to brandy, but require less butter than either peaches or apples.
Give plums plenty of sugar with something over for the stones. Cook a
few stones with them for flavor, even if you take away the bulk. Do the
same with cherries, using, say, a dozen pits to the pie.

Serve cobbler hot or cold. If hot, serve with it hard brandy sauce, made
by creaming together a cup of sugar, a tablespoonful of butter, then
working in two tablespoonfuls of brandy or good whiskey. Right here is
perhaps the place to say once for all, good whiskey is far and away
better in anything than poor brandy. Thick sweet cream whipped or plain,
sets off cold cobbler wonderfully to the average palate.

_Fried Pies_: To be perfect these must be made of sun-dried peaches,
very bright and sweet, but any sort of sound dried fruit will serve at a
pinch. Soak overnight after washing in three waters, simmer five hours
in the soaking water, with a plate to hold the fruit under, mash and
sweeten while hot, adding spices to taste--cinnamon, nutmeg and grated
lemon peel for apples, cloves and ginger--a bare zest--for peaches or
apricots. Roll out short paste into rounds the size of a small plate,
cover one-half with the fruit, fold over the empty half, pinch well
together around the edges, and fry in deep fat, blazing hot, to a rich
quick brown on both sides. Drain on paper napkins, sprinkling lightly
with sugar. Serve hot or cold. Most excellent for impromptu luncheons or
very late suppers--withal wholesome. A famous doctor said often of them,
"You would be only the better for eating an acre of them."

_Green Apple Pie_: Take apples a little bigger than the thumb's end, cut
off stalks and nibs, and slice crosswise in three, dropping them in
water as sliced to save discoloration. Make a rich syrup--three cups
sugar, one cup water, to four cups sliced fruit. Boil and skim, throw in
the apples, with a blade or so of mace, and cook quickly until preserved
through. Either bake between crust in the common way, or bake crust
crisp after pricking well, and spread with the preserved fruit. Else
make into small turnovers, but bake instead of frying them--and be sure
the oven is hot enough to brown, but not to burn. Or you may make the
green apples i