My great-great-grandfather on my mother’s side, Constantine Shannon, brought the first strawberry plants from Shannon, Mississippi, to Plant City, Florida, in 1881. Today Plant City is known as the “World’s Winter Strawberry Capital.” Every year there is a big strawberry festival and parade held in Plant City. My family is proud of this connection, so we use strawberries in a lot of recipes.
1 box vanilla wafers, crushed
½ cup (1 stick) margarine, softened
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
2 eggs
1 (16-ounce) package frozen strawberries
½ pint whipping cream or whipped topping
1 cup chopped pecans
Spread a layer of half the vanilla wafer crumbs in the bottom of a 9 × 13-inch dish. In a medium-size bowl beat the margarine and sugar. Add the eggs and mix well. Spread this mixture over the vanilla wafer crumbs. Next spread the strawberries over the butter mixture. Spread the whipped cream or topping over the strawberries. Spread the remaining crumbs on top of the whipped cream. Sprinkle the pecans on top. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
Note: This recipe contains raw eggs which can make you sick. To be safe substitute a pasteurized egg product for the eggs.
YIELD: ABOUT 22 SERVINGS
Nancy Posner
Social Circle, Georgia