Be The Best Guest Ever! Bring Pretzel Salad
The holiday party hustle and bustle is now officially on! You can be the best guest ever by bringing pretzel salad to the next gathering. I first had pretzel salad 20 years ago; funny enough around this same time of year. One of my co-workers prepared it for the baby shower she hosted to celebrate the birth of my daughter. Can you believe it took me 20 years to enjoy it again?! Especially when I loved it so much the first time! I have to say it was worth the wait. Between my now 20 year old daughter and myself, I think we were responsible for eating three quarters of the dish I made! And although it's called pretzel "salad", it's not a salad at all. It's a chilled dessert. A really good, unforgettable dessert! It's always a hit at parties and gatherings.
This time I'm sharing the recipe with you, in hopes that you'll share it with your family this holiday season (and make it more often than I have ;-). This is one of a few whimsical recipes that I'll be sharing with you to hopefully make your meal planning a little lighter during the holiday hustle and bustle.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
3⁄4 cup melted butter
4 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
(2) 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened (I prefer the whipped cream cheese)
1 cup white sugar
(1) 8 oz. carton of frozen whipped topping, thawed
(2) 3 oz. packages of strawberry Jell-O
2 cups of boiling water
(1) 16 oz. packages of frozen strawberries
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Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F
In a zipper seal bag, crush the 2 1/2 cups of pretzels
(I used my spoon rest HERE to crush them; a rolling pin also works well)
Reserve approx 1/4 a cup of the crushed pretzels to sprinkle on top of the finished dish
Stir together crushed pretzels, melted butter and 4 1/2 tablespoons white sugar in a bowl
Mix well and then press mixture into bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish
Bake 8-10 minutes until lightly toasted
Set toasted pretzels aside to completely cool
In a large mixing bowl mix together the cream cheese and 1 cup of white sugar until smooth
Once mixed, fold in the thawed whipped topping
Spread the mixture onto the cooled pretzel crust
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes
Pour the 2 cups of boiling water into a mixing bowl
Add the Jell-O to the boiling water and stir in until dissolved
Stir in frozen strawberries and allow to set until the strawberries are thawed
Add the strawberry topping on top of the chilled cream cheese layer
Refrigerate for 1 hour
Sprinkle the pretzel reserve on top of the chilled strawberry layer
Eat within 48 hours, as the pretzel crust will begin to soften
Enjoy! ;-)
