Try this Strawberry Pretzel Salad recipe, or contribute your own.
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 cups pretzels - crushed i used honey wheat pretzel twist sticks
- 3/4 cups butter melted
- 3/4 cup + 3 tbl. sugar
- 1 8 oz. package cream cheese
- 1 8 oz. container cool whip
- 2 3 oz. packages strawberry jello
- 2 10 oz. packages frozen strawberries - sliced (i have used one bag thaw in microwave
- extra cool whip optional
- Carbohydrate 0.00851250001084656 g
- Cholesterol 30.5031250388668 mg
- Fat 11.5074812646627 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0.12059375015366 g
- Saturated Fat 7.2878350092861 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (34g)
- Sodium 82.312529729127 mg
- Sugar 0.00851250001084656 g
- Trans Fat 0.805566251026446 g
- Calories 102 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- For the crust, mix the pretzels, butter, and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Press this mixture into a 9 by 13-inch pan and and spray with PAM. Then bake for 7 minutes. If crust seems too crumbly then add another minute or two. Set aside and allow to cool.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and 3/4 cup of sugar. Fold in the whipped topping with a spatula, and spread over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until well chilled.
- In a small bowl, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water, and allow to cool (about 40 minutes but not too long or the jello will be more like finger jello). Add the thawed strawberries and pour over the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until serving time.
- To serve, cut slices and serve with a dollop of whipped topping.
Pretzels provide the essential saline counterweight in this layered dish, anchoring a dessert famous across Midwestern potlucks and holiday spreads for its contrasting textures. Crushing the pretzels down to a uniform sand-like consistency ensures the melted butter coats every particle, which prevents the base from turning soggy under the dairy layer.
Baking the crust at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for seven minutes activates the sugar and binds the butter to the wheat starches. Cooling that baked layer completely before applying the cream cheese mixture stops the fats from melting and separating, preserving a clean line between the salty base and the sweet filling.
Dissolving the gelatin in boiling water requires careful temperature management before the fruit goes in. Allowing the liquid to cool for roughly forty minutes prevents the heat from melting the whipped topping emulsion while keeping the gelatin fluid enough to pour evenly over the cheese layer.
Frozen strawberries packed in their own juices supply dependable moisture when fresh berries lack peak sweetness or seasonal availability. Chilling the assembled pan until fully set creates clean slices when portioning with a sharp knife.
