Strawberry Pretzel Salad
If you don't want to make individual servings, this recipe also works well in a 9x13-inch pan. You can make pretzel crumbs as fine or coarse as you like. I prefer them to be a little on the finer side. I have not tried this recipe using freshly whipped cream, so I cannot attest to the outcome.
If you don't want to make individual servings, this recipe also works well in a 9x13-inch pan. You can make pretzel crumbs as fine or coarse as you like. I prefer them to be a little on the finer side. I have not tried this recipe using freshly whipped cream, so I cannot attest to the outcome.
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups crushed salted pretzels
- 4 tablespoons white sugar
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 packages cream cheese 8 ounces, room temperature
- 1 container frozen whipped topping (cool whip) thawed
- 1 package strawberry gelatin 6 ouncce
- 1 package frozen sliced strawberries 16 ounce
- Carbohydrate 21.501303 g
- Cholesterol 35.261 mg
- Fat 13.339872 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0.456977 g
- Saturated Fat 8.429852 g
- Serving Size 1 1 (66g)
- Sodium 17.96933555 mg
- Sugar 21.501303 g
- Trans Fat 1.0344547 g
- Calories 204 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, combine the pretzel crumbs, 4 tablespoons sugar and melted butter. Stir with a fork until the butter is fully incorporated into the pretzel crumbs.
- Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of pretzel crust into the bottom of each of your jars. Press the crumbs gently into the bottom of the jars. Be sure not to pack them in too tightly or the crust will be difficult to eat.
- Place the jars onto a baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for about 6 minutes. Allow the jars and crust to cool completely before layering in the filling.
- In a medium bowl, beat the sugar, cream cheese and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon filling into a piping bag with a round tip or simply snip the tip of the bag. Evening divide the filling between each jar. Place the jars into the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the gelatin mix and boiling water. Stir in frozen strawberries. Place the bowl into the refrigerator for about five minutes. This will allow the gelatin to firm up a bit. Evenly spoon the gelatin between each the jars. Place jars back into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Serve chilled.
Salted pretzels perform the structural heavy lifting in this dish, providing the essential saline counterweight to a heavy load of granulated sugar, cream cheese, and fruit. Achieving textural integrity relies entirely on pressing the crushed pretzel crumbs gently into the bottom of the baking vessel rather than compacting them into a dense block. When the melted butter and four tablespoons of sugar bind with the gluten and starches, baking the mixture at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for precisely six minutes sets the crust without burning the exposed butter solids.
Cream cheese whipped with vanilla extract and frozen whipped topping creates a rich, stable intermediate layer that requires a full one-hour refrigeration window to firm up before the liquid phase is introduced. Gelatin dissolved in boiling water must be partially chilled in the refrigerator for five minutes before pouring over the dairy layer; failing to let the gelatin cool adequately will melt the whipped topping and ruin the distinct strata. The contrasting chemistry of salt, dairy fat, and fruit acid requires continuous refrigeration to maintain structural suspension.
Adapting the method for a standard nine-by-thirteen-inch pan requires an identical baking time, though serving individual jars offers better portion control and cleaner visual layering.
