Mix dough quickly and lightly, handling as little as possible.  Drop large spoonfuls of the batter in muffin pans and bake in a quick oven for tea biscuits; or, sift flour thickly over the bread board, turn out the dough, roll several times in the flour, give one quick turn with the rolling-pin to flatten out dough, and cut out with small cake cutter, (I prefer using a small, empty tin, 1/2 pound baking powder can, to cut out cakes.) Place close together in an agate pan and bake, or bake in one cake in a pie tin and for shortcake; or place spoonfuls of the dough over veal or beef stew and potatoes or stewed chicken, and cook, closely covered, about fifteen minutes.  Of course, you will have sufficient water in the stew pan to prevent its boiling away before the pot-pie dumplings are cooked, and, of course, you know, Mary, the meat and potatoes must be almost ready to serve when this dough is added.  Then I frequently add one teaspoonful of sugar to the batter and place spoonfuls over either freshly stewed or canned sour cherries, plums, rhubarb or apples.  In fact, any tart fruit may be used, and steam, closely covered, or place large tablespoonful of any fruit, either canned or stewed, in small custard cups, place tablespoonfuls of batter on top and steam or bake, and serve with either some of the stewed fruit and fruit juice, sugar and cream, or any sauce preferred.”

“The varieties of puddings which may be evolved from this one formula,” continued the Professor’s wife, “are endless, and, Mary, I should advise you to make a note of it.  This quantity of flour will make enough to serve two at a meal, and the proportions may be easily doubled if you wish to serve a large family.”

“Then, Mary, I have a recipe taken from the ‘Farmers’ Bulletin’ for dumplings, which I think fine.  You must try it some time.  Your Aunt Sarah thinks them ‘dreadfully extravagant.’  They call for four teaspoonfuls of baking powder to two cups of flour, but they are perfect puff balls, and this is such a fast age, why not use more baking powder if an advantage?  I am always ready to try anything new I hear about.”

“Yes,” replied Mary, “I just love to try new recipes, I will experiment with the dumplings one of these days.  Aunt Sarah says I will never use half the recipes I have; but so many of them have been given me by excellent and reliable old Bucks County cooks, I intend to copy them all in a book, and keep for reference after I leave the farm.”

CHAPTER XX.

OLD POTTERIES AND DECORATED DISHES.

One day, looking through the old corner cupboard, Mary exclaimed, “Aunt Sarah, you certainly possess the finest collection of quaint old china dishes I have ever seen.  I just love those small saucers and cups without handles; yes, and you have plates to match decorated with pinkish, lavender peacock feathers, and those dear little cups and saucers, decorated inside with pink and outside with green flowers, are certainly odd; and this queerly-shaped cream jug, sugar bowl and teapot, with pale green figures, and those homely plates, with dabs of bright red and green, they surely must be very old!”