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From the stories we heard growing up to the recipes that we are still using today, the Great Depression has left its mark on the generations that followed. Just from the recipes alone we begin to understand just how much they scrimped and saved wherever they could. And it wasn’t just shortcuts in existing recipes, either. The need for filling meals and snacks led to the invention of many a new recipe.

Icebox Cake

There are a few incarnations of this treat we’ve seen, such as grape icebox cake, cappuccino icebox cake, and this modern caramel icebox recipe. The basis of this cold treat is cream and saltines, with more ingredients added as you have them, though many of us know this treat as a way to use vanilla wafers or graham crackers.

Via/ Library of Congress

Mock Apple Pie

The saltines in this recipe stand in for the apples. The softened texture doesn’t completely give way, giving them a mushy consistency like stewed apple slices might have. What an ingenious way to use crackers!

Via/ Library of Congress
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