Soda Cracker Pie

The Memphis trip happened Wednesday through Sunday. Brayden is seventy-two weeks old. The five days at the Honeysuckle Drive house with the Bryants were the first immersive stretch we have had as a family at the Bryant-side ancestral home. The trip was full and warm and the kind of small intentional family-building that 2023 had been planned around.

Carol’s soda cracker pie is the Bryant-side oddball — a recipe that sounds wrong on paper (a meringue-style pie made with crushed soda crackers folded into a stiff meringue, baked in a pie plate, topped with whipped cream and chopped pecans) but is actually the kind of vintage Southern-American recipe that earns its place in the family-cookbook through sheer reliable deliciousness. The pie’s texture is a meringue-shell at the edge and a chewy nut-and-cracker base on the bottom.

Carol made the pie Thursday afternoon at the Honeysuckle Drive house. I had asked her in advance via text whether she would teach me the recipe in person. She had taken me through the steps standing at the kitchen counter while Dustin’s dad held Brayden in the back yard. The pie is now the thirty-fourth recipe in the Bryant cookbook.

I am writing up the pie this Sunday from notes I took at Carol’s kitchen counter. The recipe is the soda-crackers-and-meringue body, with the powdered sugar replaced partly by brown sugar for depth, and the topping is fresh whipped cream stabilized with a small amount of vanilla pudding mix so it holds for a day in the refrigerator.

Soda Cracker Pie

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 3 egg whites, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 24 soda crackers (saltines), coarsely crushed
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• Fresh fruit or maraschino cherries, for topping (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat & prep. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Grease a 9-inch pie plate well, making sure to coat the sides.
2. Beat the egg whites. In a large, clean bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar using a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add sugar gradually. With the mixer running, slowly add the granulated sugar one tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks form and the sugar is fully dissolved, about 4 to 5 minutes more.
4. Fold in flavorings & crackers. Add vanilla extract and baking powder, then gently fold in the crushed soda crackers and chopped nuts using a rubber spatula. Take care not to deflate the meringue — fold just until combined.
5. Bake. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pie plate, building up the edges slightly to form a shell. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, until the top is lightly golden and set. The center will look slightly soft — that’s correct. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack, at least 1 hour. The top will crack a little as it cools.
6. Make the whipped cream. When the pie is fully cool, beat heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar together until soft peaks form. Spread evenly over the top of the pie.
7. Top & serve. Garnish with fresh fruit, cherries, or an extra handful of nuts. Slice and serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 24 hours before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 290 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Carbs: 37g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 180mg