a recipe that I received many, many years ago from a close friend who had received it from her mother. Wonderful flavor and very simple. A cool night in the winter is even pleasant than a hot day. You could also prepare it in a slow cooker. The only thing left to do is grill or broil them when you get home from work to brown them before serving. Serve alongside potato salad, egg noodles, or mashed potatoes.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Additional Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 14 |
| Yield: | 14 servings |
Ingredients
- 6 egg whites
- ¾ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 cups white sugar
- 2 cups coarsely broken soda crackers
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
- 1 (6 ounce) package strawberry flavored Jell-O® mix
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- In a large bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and sugar and beat on medium speed until stiff. Fold in cracker pieces, walnuts and vanilla. Spread into the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan. Bake in preheated of for 25 minutes, remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar. Fold in whipped topping and spread atop cooled crust.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the boiling water into the gelatin to dissolve. Mix in strawberries and let stand for 15 minutes. Pour over the cream cheese layer, cover and chill until serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 445 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 66 g |
| Cholesterol | 18 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Sodium | 236 mg |
| Sugars | 56 g |
| Fat | 19 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I made this recipe exactly as written…and it was amazing! I admit that I was a little dubious about the crust as I was making it, but it turned out to be the best part of the dessert…so soft and marshmallow-y. And the strawberries made it taste so fresh…Yum! I will definitely make this recipe again
I made a half recipe & put it in a pie plate. Delicious! Next time will be better. Didn’t have a full carton of cool whip this time.
Nope.
Addictive! The only change I made was to use fresh strawberries sliced thinly. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly and it was amazing! It’s definitely better after it sits for a day. I think the crust would be just as good (maybe better) without the nuts. I will be making this again 🙂
This unique meringue base is one to try! It’s like one of those Italian meringue cookies, only an entire layer in the bottom of the pan. I used coarsely chopped club crackers and pecans incorporated into the whipped egg whites. Be gentle when adding the cream cheese layer as the base is very delicate and could collapse easily. We absolutely loved this version of a strawberry cream salad. It’s so much better the next day, and the day after! Definitely a keeper. Will be great to take to potlucks.
Very good! I used an 8 oz. container of cool whip instead of the recommended 16 oz. size. The 16 oz. size would have been too much for my 13/9 pan. Using the 8 oz. size the jello topping came right to the top of the pan.
This was very good. However, the family did not especially like the meringue/cracker/nut layer – though I thought it was delicious. They much preferred the traditional pretzel layer from similar dishes. I did substitute Strawberry- Flavored Cool Whip for regular which gave a nice flavor & color to the middle layer.
The crust was extremely sweet. Next time I’ll use Splenda in place of the sugar and cut the amount back some. Otherwise it was tasty. I think I prefer the pretzel crust though.
This is very very rich in sugar… But still very good … when I make it again I am going to try exchanging the sugar for equal and see if it will be a little bit better… otherwise we loved it!!!
PEOPLE! Can I tell you This???!! We ALL loved this salad dessert! It is the BEST!! Nothing was left..and I doubled the recipe! Only change I did was use half the amount of topping! I am in hog heaven!!Oink ! Oink! Oink! God bless you Cheryl for sharing this recipe with us.
You’re so right, Cheryl! The crust on this was much better than the pretzel salad. The ladies at my luncheon raved about it. Very tasty. Thanks for sharing.
This was wonderful-I brought it to a summer party and it was a huge hit with everyone.
Although the recipe calls for walnuts, we left them out and enjoyed a wonderfully creamy smooth texture. This recipe is absolutely wonderful!
This tastes wonderful but the directions need to be rewritten. The walnuts and vanilla were left out. I knew where to put them in but some others may not.