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Rout Biscuits

Three pounds of flour, six ounces of butter, one pound and a quarter of loaf sugar in powder, half a pint of milk, quarter of an ounce of volatile salts finely powdered, and a little essence of lemon. Put the sugar and volatile salts in the milk, and let them stand for an hour or two, stirring them occasionally.

Another method. One pound of sugar, a teacupful of milk or water, four ounces of butter, and half an ounce of volatile salts. Put the sugar and milk in a clean saucepan over the fire, let them boil up, and see if all the sugar is dissolved; if not, give it another boil or two, and set it aside to cool. It will be ready for use when cold. Rub the butter in with the flour, make a hollow, pour in the sugar, and make the whole into a dough of a moderate stiffness. In the last method, the volatile salts should be pounded and mixed with the sugar, and sufficient flour should be used to make them of a proper consistency, keeping the dough in a loose state until it is nearly of the size required; then work it together; take a part of the dough, mould it in a square piece, and lay it over the impressions or figures carved in a block of wood, and press it in; keep your hand firm on it, that it may retain its place; have a thin knife which is made for this purpose, called a toy knife, rub it over a damp cloth, or pass it through flour; lay it flat on the block, and cut off the superfluous dough; take the biscuits out and place them on tins slightly buttered, so as not to touch each other; wash them over lightly with milk, and bake them in a very hot oven. This mixture is the best for those who are not expert in pastry cutting. When made according to the first recipe, the dough is apt to get tough if worked or moulded too much--an error to which the inexperienced are very prone.