We meet again! Welcome if you are new to the blog, and if you aren’t, well still welcome, and thank you for joining me in a not so typical recipe compared to the rest. Today instead of Europe or Asia, we are staying in America (that is, if you already live in America, but if you aren’t, whoops you get to travel today). This recipe is more of a dessert side dish you can serve for really anytime you desire. My family usually enjoys this during patriotic holidays, such as Fourth of July, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. If anyone is familiar with American cuisine during patriotic holidays, it includes lots of grilled foods (burgers, hot dogs, veggies), and many kinds of sides (ranges from store-bought chips to homemade potato salads). Something common in Pennsylvania, but varies depending on your location in the States, is that the summertime becomes extremely uncomfortable, so despite the delicious grilled foods, it makes the house really hot inside. This dish is served cold, for an obvious reason I’ll later get into, so it’s the perfect side dish to cut the grease of the grill and the waves of heat.

Strawberry-Pretzel salad isn’t quite in a form you’d think. Basically, it’s not a salad. It’s more of a layered casserole, with a pretzel crust, a cream filling, and strawberries in jello. I already know what you’re thinking – jello!?! Isn’t that like, really artificial? Well, then go find something else to make. Just kidding : ) . Unfortunately, I don’t have an alternative to jello, but I guess you could just leave it off entirely and only put strawberries on top, but that’s not as fun as the original. 

Anyway, first you’ll want to make the pretzel crust, and it’s stated below but I’ll first say it here: DO NOT PULVERIZE THE PRETZELS! This is not your typical graham cracker crust. Instead, take some of your frustration out on the pretzels by smashing them in a tightly sealed ziploc bag. Interacted with someone you don’t like? Had a bad day at work? The world just seemed to be against you? Go and smash some pretzels for a delicious treat. Next, you’ll want to bake the crust. While it’s baking, go ahead and mix together the cream layer, which has both cream cheese and cool whip! Yes, unhealthy, but it’s worth it. Then when the pretzel crust is cool enough to not melt the cream, pour that layer on and set it in the fridge to firm up. Finally, you’ll want to make the jello, and it’s going to become a small guessing game. You want the liquid to be somewhat set, but not set enough that it actually becomes jello. You still need it to be a pourable liquid over the first 2 layers. But you also don’t want it piping hot so it melts the cream. Once the layers have all set, you can serve it for whatever occasion is going on, or if you just wanted a cool, summer dessert for yourself! 

Now, go ahead and make some delicious strawberry-pretzel salad, the recipe is listed down below 🙂

~ Strawberry-Pretzel Salad ~

Ingredients:

• 2 cups crushed pretzels
• ¾ cup melted butter
• 3 ½ tbsp sugar

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• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 8 oz container cool whip

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• 3 small boxes (or 1 small and 1 large) strawberry jello
• 3 cups boiling water
• 3 small packages (or 1 small and 1 large) of strawberries

Directions:

1. Mix together the first set of ingredients and pat it into a 9×12 baking dish. Bake at 400℉ degrees for 8 minutes.
2. Mix the second set of ingredients and spread over the cooled pretzel mix.
3. Mix the third set of ingredients, and chill until slightly set (not all the way). Then, pour over the cream cheese/cool whip layer. and let it sit until firm. Enjoy!

Notes: 

• When you serve it, make sure it hasn’t been sitting out for a while because the cream filling will start to melt, so your pieces won’t be as intact
• Best made during the summer as strawberries are a summer fruit
• DO NOT PULVERIZE YOUR PRETZELS! This is not like a graham cracker crust; it’s supposed to be a bit crunchier

This yields a large amount if you hadn’t already figured it out (9×12 inch baking dish!). Therefore, please don’t eat it all in one sitting. Not only is that extremely unhealthy, but you probably would get sick from all the sugar. This is intended for a larger gathering where many people can share it. Inevitably from all the other delicious food, you will have leftovers. Be warned that this can stay in the fridge for a bit, but I would warn against leaving it in there for more than 2 weeks. Just because you don’t see something growing doesn’t mean it’s not there. Anyway, that may have just grossed you out, but I hope you try this recipe someday as it truly is delicious yet simple. Until next time, keep on exploring what makes you uniquely you!