Wednesday, May 14, 2014

All the right attributes


Everyone loves this strawberry pretzel Jell-O. It works as a dessert, or it could be a side dish for a holiday cook-out. It has all the best attributes -- creamy, salty, sweet, crunchy. Note that this dish requires several hours of refrigeration time.

THE RECIPE:

2 c. chopped/crushed pretzels
1/4 c. sugar
2/3 c. butter, melted

8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip

6 oz. package strawberry Jell-O
1 c. boiling water
1 c. cold water
1 lb. fresh strawberries, sliced

Chop pretzels in food processor. You'll get a nice mix of chunks and powder. I found about 4 cups whole pretzel sticks reduced to 2 cups chopped. Mix with sugar and butter, then press into 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Let cool completely.

Place cream cheese and sugar in dish and microwave until soft so sugar can easily be stirred in. Let stand to room temperature. Stir in Cool Whip. Spread over pretzel crust, ensuring that cream mixture reaches edges of baking dish and seals off access to pretzels. Refrigerate several hours.

Stir Jell-O into boiling water until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water, then sliced strawberries. Pour over cream layer, which should be firm enough by now to handle liquid. Arrange strawberries evenly. Refrigerate about 3 hours, or until Jell-O is set.

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