I’m starting to think my great grandma and I would have been really, really good friends if I had been born in 1908.
First, there were those rolls….oh my. The softest, fluffiest, flakiest, butterist rolls I ever put a rolling pin to. Then came the ginger cremes—as in, the softest and most delicious molasses cookie ever created. I could eat like four dozen of those puppies. If you’re looking for a great holiday ginger cookie, look no further! Those take the cake. I’ll admit, she lost me for a little bit on the brownies with the prunes………but then she totally redeemed herself with this little number.
Grams knew a thing or two about mixing salty with sweet, that’s for sure. The star of this dessert? Saltines.
You just crush ’em up and mix them into a meringue base with chopped walnuts. The end result is a light and airy torte (isn’t torte a fun word to say?) that’s best devoured with an ample amount of freshly whipped cream. The combination of the salty cracker crumbs and the sweet meringue is positively addicting and reminds me of another dessert I know and love…
If you liked the graham cracker torte a few weeks ago, you’ll most likely go crazy for this one as well. Personally, I like this one better because it reminds me of sprinkling sea salt on my kettle corn (another favorite pastime of mine).
Let me know if you try this one….it definitely didn’t last long at my house, that’s for sure!
Soda Cracker Torte
serves about 6-8
Ingredients:
10-20 Saltine crackers, crushed
3 egg whites
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
Whipped cream for serving
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat egg whites until frothy then gradually add the sugar while the mixer is going. Continue to beat until egg whites are shiny and firm (like making meringue). Fold in the cracker crumbs and walnuts and scoop batter out into a greased 8″ pan.
Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown. Let cool and serve with whipped cream
Time:
1.25 hours
** the recipe also calls for 8 maraschino cherries to be sliced and folded into the torte batter. I did not do this!
Nellie Knox
December 7, 2011 at 3:57 amLovn the salty sweet combo! I feel like I could impress parents with this when I come home for the holidays. Is that cocoa on the top?
Katrina
December 7, 2011 at 4:18 amMmmm simple and delicious.
alyssa - fashion fitness foodie
December 7, 2011 at 4:31 amI’m starting to think that in 1908 they were geniuses!
Alice
December 7, 2011 at 4:50 amI need to find that molasses cookie recipe you mentioned. I love molasses spread on warm bread, and I think cookies would be lovely.
katie @KatieDid
December 7, 2011 at 5:00 amawesome combo of flavors! I love how her recipes are quite simple. Its so good to get back to the basics with baking and cooking.
kathleen @ the daily crumb
December 7, 2011 at 5:13 amfor some reason, the first thing this post reminded me of was college when we used to have competitions to see who could eat the most saltines in one minute!
BUT… then i got my head on straight and read the recipe and this looks delicious! i’m loving your great grandma 🙂 thank you for letting us reap the benefits of her baking expertise.
Wendy
December 7, 2011 at 5:14 amI made those rolls for Thanksgiving and they were fantastic. I think I will make them every year.
Jennifer
December 7, 2011 at 5:17 amso funny – the minute i saw the name of the recipe I knew it was going to be another one from your grandmother! my old family recipes always use ritz crackers. perfect to add butter, crispiness, and saltiness .nom nom!
Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat
December 7, 2011 at 5:28 amWow, I haven’t had saltines in ages – mainly because they were what my mum used to serve me with chicken noodle soup when I was sick as a kid – but I love this salty and sweet mix!
Julia
December 7, 2011 at 5:36 amOh wow, this looks totally amazing….I loooove saltines……
jenna
December 7, 2011 at 5:37 amwhat different dessert! I love saltines and who doesn’t love sugar and whipped cream! sounds dreamy.
Sally @ Spontaneous Hausfrau
December 7, 2011 at 5:39 amHoly Moses, does this sound good! I love the billowy clouds of whipped cream all over this. I’m thinking these recipes are deserving of a cookbook of their own.
Amanda
December 7, 2011 at 5:43 amThis sounds pretty awesome. I love how light and fluffy it looks, and I bet the combination of sweet and salty is very addictive.
Saltines always remind me of college…and gingerale too. I don’t miss those moments. 😉
Lauren @ What Lauren Likes
December 7, 2011 at 5:43 amHow cool! I seriously have never heard of anything like this before! Yum 😀
Joelle (on a pink typewriter)
December 7, 2011 at 5:55 amThis is so different haha reminds me of meringue on a saltine!
Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga
December 7, 2011 at 5:57 amThere is a dessert my mother makes that involves saltine crackers and heated brown sugar/karo syrup and then it’s topped with chocolate…like a saltine wafer fudgy thing. This takes that to new levels w/ the whipped cream. WOW. Delish!
Hilliary @Happily Ever Healthy
December 7, 2011 at 6:07 amSalty and sweet is one of the best combinations! Love it!
Kristen @ Popcorn on the Stove
December 7, 2011 at 6:19 amThe idea of using saltines in a sweet dessert is genius! I could eat an entire bag (er… more like box) of saltines so I am totally on board with this.
Urban Wife
December 7, 2011 at 6:20 amSaltine crackers in a dessert?! Awesome. Genius. Tasty.
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen
December 7, 2011 at 6:35 amI love how simple this is but still gives you an awesome sweet + salty combo. It’s gorgeous too, you’d never realize it was saltines underneath all that yummy meringue + whipped cream!
amy walters, aDESIGNdock
December 7, 2011 at 6:45 amThis looks awesome Jenna…it photographed so well too. So pretty! I just can’t get enough of your Great Grandma’s retro recipes. Thinking of you and your Grandma and Grandpa. Hope your Gramps is doing a bit better. xo
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma)
December 7, 2011 at 8:12 amLove sweet and salty! My boyfriend LOVES saltines. He eats them like they’re going out of style. He’d love this.
Casey @ Pocket Full of Sunshine
December 7, 2011 at 8:20 amI always love the salty/sweet combo—this looks fantastic!!
Meghan @ Struggle Muffins
December 7, 2011 at 8:27 amYou had me at Saltines 🙂
Laura (Blogging Over Thyme)
December 7, 2011 at 8:35 amGood call about the maraschino cherries! Not a big fan of those 🙂
This looks so creative! Love this whole series of yours. My grandmother ran successful bed and breakfasts for years and has tons of binders of recipes, you are really inspiring me to try to tackle some of them. Too bad they are across the pond in England with her! 🙁
Heather Michelle @ A Sweet Simple Life
December 7, 2011 at 9:16 amBrilliant. Love tortes! Love this!
natalie (the sweets life)
December 7, 2011 at 9:28 ami love saltines WAY MORE than the average person so i have got to try this! i may even try the cherries in there! 🙂
Shari @ The Daily Dish
December 7, 2011 at 9:42 amThis looks great. So different than the typical recipes I see out there. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Maria
December 7, 2011 at 10:01 amGreat use of crackers!
Molly @RDExposed
December 7, 2011 at 10:45 amHow…interesting! This grandmother recipe brigade might be the start of book number 2!
Jessica
December 7, 2011 at 12:03 pmIs that cocoa powder sprinkled on top?? Recipe looks SO delish & easy!!
Ashley @ Practical Cooking For One
December 7, 2011 at 12:48 pmThere are only 5 ingredients in this recipe?! Amazing. I love your comment about the brownies with prunes, not every recipe’s going to be a winner!
I love that this looks so scrumptious yet uses so few ingredients. Looks absolutely lovely in your photos.
nicole {sweet peony}
December 7, 2011 at 1:49 pmooooh yum! i love saltines so a dessert made with them sounds amazing! thanks so much for sharing all of these fun & awesome recipes from your great grandmother!
Moni'sMeals
December 7, 2011 at 2:55 pmnever heard of such a thing! YUM! Anything with saltines and dessert I am in. 🙂
That whipped cream makes it even more, I am sure.
Sabrina @ Radioactive Runner
December 7, 2011 at 4:17 pmlove the sweet and salty mixture… this look so simple but so good!
esmemerrie
December 7, 2011 at 8:10 pmyum! savoury and sweet! It must be such an awesome feeling to have such a connection to your great grandma!
Hannah
December 8, 2011 at 1:44 amOooh, how lovely! I’ve got a dark chocolate, almond, and date torte on my blog but I do find it excessively sweet. I’ll definitely be trying this soon! But I might keep the chocolate in… 😀
Liz @ Southern Charm
December 8, 2011 at 7:48 amlove that it’s both sweet and salty.
Sarah
December 8, 2011 at 9:34 amThe Bongo Room is great for brunch. They have a sweet potato and black bean burrito that is awesome. If you are in the mood for something sweet, the chocolate tower french toast is the way to go!
Sarah
December 8, 2011 at 9:35 amoops…meant to put this on your next post.
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Rose ( Magpie's Recipes)
February 3, 2012 at 12:41 amI am loving your great grand mom’s treasure trove! So lucky you are! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Allyson Mcbreen
May 22, 2012 at 2:28 amI want to take this to a memorial day potluck. How would this do made ahead of time? Should it be refrigerated? Oh yeah, I should mention I live in Texas and will be down at the coast so have the added challenges of hot and humid.
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