Soda Cracker Pie

                 
                                                                   Soda Cracker Pie

* This pie is most likely from the second half of the 19th Century,as that is when the use of baking soda and baking powder for leavening began. The new crackers made with baking soda were called soda crackers.* (Source: Journal of a Fur Trading Expedition on the Upper Missouri: 1812-1813).


Ingredients:

3 egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking powder

14-18 soda crackers; crumbled

1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

1 1/2 cups whipped cream, with a tsp. sugar

1 15 oz. can crushed pineapple, or 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced


Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff. Add vanilla.

Fold in baking powder, soda crackers and walnuts or pecans.

Pour into well-buttered 9-inch pie pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cool completely, then top with whipped cream into which you have folded the pineapple or strawberries, or other fruit of your choice.

Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. The meringue-like crust becomes chewy over time. Serves 8. Delicious!