For mince-meat, see the following receipts. They are baked with both an under and an upper crust. A pretty way to make one for Christmas is with letters for the word "Christmas" cut out of the paste and laid on the top crust before the pie goes in the oven.

As mince pies are usually heated before serving and as that always freshens pie-crust, it is a good plan for busy housekeepers to bake several at a time. It is convenient to have them in the house in case of unexpected company, besides being less trouble than to bake them constantly.

Mock Mince Meat

12 butter crackers or 5 soda crackers. 1 pint boiling water. 1 cupful butter.

1 cupful sugar.

1 cupful molasses.

1 cupful vinegar.

1/2 pound raisins.

1/2 pound currants.

2 nutmegs, grated.

1 tablespoonful cinnamon.

1 teaspoonful allspice.

1/2 tablespoonful cloves.

Roll the crackers (not very fine). Then mix all the ingredients together, and make into pies at once, as it is not meant to keep. Beef suet, chopped fine, may be used instead of butter.

Sweet Potato Pie

1 pound sweet potatoes. 2 eggs. 1/2 cup sugar.

1 teaspoonful cinnamon.

A little nutmeg.

1 cupful milk or cream.

Boil or bake the potatoes. Mash while hot, or grate when cold. Add the eggs beaten with the sugar, and mix in the spice. Thin the mixture with milk or cream, to the consistency of thin custard.

Line the pie-plates with pie crust. Pour in the mixture. Bake, without a top crust, in a quick oven.

Makes two deep pies.

This is nice baked as a pudding in a deep, buttered pudding-dish.

Cranberry Pie

Stew cranberries, and sweeten. Put into a bottom crust, and bake in a hot oven about fifteen minutes. Put bars of paste over the top if you like.