Fig Bars.—Boil to the soft thread 4 cupfuls of granulated sugar and 1 cupful of water to which 1 tea spoonful of cream of tartar has been added. Now stir in a pound of finely chopped figs, boil to the hard thread, take off the fire and sift in a half cupful of powdered sugar. Work the whole with a wooden spoon or paddle to a thick, smooth mass, using additional sugar, if necessary. Pour out on a smooth surface, lay over it a sheet of waxed paper and press down smooth with the bottom of a tin pan or any smooth, hard sur face. Melt with gentle heat 1 pound of fondant in an earthenware bowl, set on a hot soapstone or in a pan of boiling water. Flavor to taste. Re move the waxed paper from the fig paste, pour over it a layer of the fondant, let the whole harden, reverse if desired, and pour a layer of fon dant on the other side, and when hard cut it into bars and wrap in waxed tissue paper.
Ginger Candy.—Boil over a quick fire 1 pound of granulated sugar with 1 pint of spring water. When dissolved mix a spoonful of finely powdered Chinese ginger with 2 or 3 ounces of the sirup and stir it into the whole. Boil to the blow and at this stage stir In the rind of a large lemon, grated, and continue to stir until a spoonful dropped on a cold plate remains stiff without falling. Remove at once and drop from a pan having a lip or spout, on but tered tins in pieces the size of maca roons.
Fruit Rolls.—Mix seeded raisins, lemons, figs, dates, citron, or any de sired sweetmeats, and chop them to gether. Knead the whole with enough fondant to give consistency to the mass, which should be very rich and nearly all fruit. Roll this on a mold ing board dusted with flour or con fectioners' sugar into a roll / inch thick and 1 inch or more in width. Roll out plain white fondant 1 inch thick and 4 inches in width, and roll up the fruit roll in the plain fondant as a cover. Let stand over night to harden, cut into 4-inch lengths, cover with melted chocolate, and lay on waxed paper to cool.
Jelly Rolls. — Make crab - apple, currant, or any other jelly as stiff as possible, and pour out on a buttered tin pan to the depth of 1 inch. Roll out on a molding board dusted with Confectioners' XXX sugar, corn starch, or flour a layer of plain French cream or fondant 1 inch thick, turn over the pan so that the sheet of jelly will lie upon this, and roll up the two in the same fashion as jelly cake. Let stand to harden, cut into slices.
Fruit Tarts.—Lay ripe small fruit, as raspberries, cherries, plums, and the like, in glass fruit jars and cover each pound of fruit with 6 ounces of powdered loaf sugar. Seal the jar,
set it in boiling water up to the neck, and boil for 3 hours. The jars must be kept sealed until required for use.
Fruit Lozenges.—Place any small fruits, as currants, raspberries, cher ries, and plums, in glass or earthen ware jars set in boiling water. Scald and strain the fruit through a sieve. Add to each pint of juice an equal weight of finely sifted sugar and the white of an egg. Whip the whole to z. stiff froth, drop on buttered paper, and place in a slow oven. As soon as they will loosen from the paper turn them and let stand in the oven until quite dry. Cut to any desired shape, pack between waxed papers, and keep in a dry place.
Macaroons. — These popular con fections are usually made of sweet or bitter almonds with sugar and the white of eggs, but sometimes with other substances, as nuts, flavoring matter, and the like. To make maca roons blanch and pulverize a pound of almonds, adding a little rose wa ter to form a moist elastic mass. Beat to a stiff froth the whites of 7 eggs, stir in the almonds and a, pound of Confectioners' XXX sugar. Drop the macaroons in the desired size on buttered paper from a spoon, and brown on tin plates in a slow baking oven. Set them aside in the pan in which they were baked until cold.
Or pound 4 ounces of blanched sweet almonds with 4 tablespoonfuls of orange flower or rose water. Beat up the whites of 4 eggs to a stiff froth and stir all together with 1 pound of Confectioners' XXX sugar. Brown in a slow oven.
Or to 1 pound of sweet almonds, blanched and bruised with a little water, add 11 pounds of sugar, the whites of 6 eggs and 2 grated lemon peels. Brown in a slow oven.
Or, for pistachio macaroons, beat up with the whites of 2 eggs 4 ounces of pounded bitter almonds, 12 ounces of Confectioners' XXX sugar, 6 ounces of shelled pistachio kernels, 1 tablespoonful of orange or vanilla sugar. Brown in a slow oven.
Ratafias.—Scald 4 ounces of Jor dan almonds in a colander with boil ing water. Remove the skins, rinse with cold water, and dry on a nap kin. Prepare also 2 ounces of bitter almonds in the same manner. Place the whole in a sieve and dry thor oughly by moving backward and for ward over the fire. Pound the alm onds very fine with a little water and whip in the whites of 2 eggs to form a stiff froth. To this add pound of Confectioners' XXX su gar and work the whole to a firm paste. Drop these on buttered paper in a tin pan, moisten the surface slightly with water and brown lightly in a very slow oven.