Strawberry Jello Dessert with Pretzel Crust
What better way to celebrate summer, National Library week and one of the most awesome fruits, the strawberry?! It's the Strawberry Jell-O Dessert. Some people even call it a "Strawberry Jell-O Salad".
Sweet.
Salty.
Creamy.
Jell-O. (Yes, I think this is a food and a texture).
This a homey dessert to enjoy during strawberry season...or after! I saw several recipes using frozen strawberries but I think fresh strawberries would be best.
Next time, I would crust the pretzels a bit more so the crust will be tighter. I've seen some recipes that have you process the pretzels in a food processor.
You can find a zillion variations of this recipe... Baked, Kraft Foods, ... and lots of Church cookbooks.
Don't forget to visit your local library's book sale for a chance to pick up "vintage" cookbooks. It is a lot of fun to read about food culture in the past. When butter was expensive, you'll see lots of shortening recipes (nobody knew about the dangers of partially hydrogenated oils at the time!) Or you may see the introduction of "ethnic" foods into the American diet...like when they need to put a header note explaining the "taco"! Book Sales usually raise funds for the Friends of the Library group which in turn helps fund programs, programs and other needs of the library.
Happy Library Week! I'm celebrating with a few giveaways: Baked Cookbook (new, not vintage ;) and some cute Biscuit Cutters. - mary the food librarian
Recipe:
Strawberry Jello Dessert with Pretzel Crust
Crust:
3 cups pretzels, crushed with a rolling pin
3/4 cup butter, melted
3 Tablespoons sugar
Mix together and press into greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Allow to cool completely.
Filling:
1 - 8 ounce container Cool Whip
1 - 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
Cream the cream cheese and sugar together in a mixer. Add in the Cool Whip until combined. Spread over cooled pretzel crust. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before topping with Jell-O.
Topping:
1 large box (6 ounce) strawberry Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, sliced
Mix together the boiling water and Jell-O. If using frozen strawberries, add strawberries and allow mixture to set slightly before pouring over the filling - it shouldn't take very long. If using fresh strawberries, place the strawberries in the Jell-O and allow to sit in the refrigerator to set up before pouring over the filling.
Refrigerate the dessert a few hours until completely set before serving.
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13 comments:
My mom used to make this often when I was little. Haven't had it in a long time. I may have to make one soon. Thanks.
Jennifer
I love these bars and their cool whip and jello-y goodness. The only improvement that could be made upon it's greatness is to find a way to make it in bundt form.
Library book sales are the best . . .
I never seem to make it to the first day of our library book sales and everything is so picked over, plus we don't live in a horribly large city.
I love the idea of getting old cookbooks. A friend scored an incredible Indian (Asia) cookbook at a garage sale.
Que delicias haces tan originales. Un saludo
@Mrsblocko@MrsBlocko...you could! Just get a tube pan that has a removable bottom. Will be shaped more like an angel food cake, but same concept! That would be pretty...
Yes, this dessert is probably in a million church potluck cookbooks. I have one from my grandmother's church in small-town Kentucky. I made it once a few years ago and took it to work, and everyone freaked out over it. Nobody had ever seen nor heard of it. I love the variety and upscale choices of big city food, but you cannot go wrong with the comfort of church cookbooks, especially coming out of the South!
This recipe looks good.
I like the jello cheesecake I get at the hawaiian restaurant I frequent.
The boys might even like this recipe. Pretzels are their go to food of the week. And I have a ton of fruit in the freezer.
I love sweet + salty combos! The pretzel crust sounds like the perfect addition.
My precious Mom made this and I love it. Mine has never been as yummy as hers, and never will be. I do use my food processor for the pretzels. Be careful or you will suddenly have "dust" but the rolling pen just doesn't get them fine enough. Great summer dish to take to parties or cookouts. I hve never seen one spoon of this wasted, and everyone comes back for seconds.
I make this but backwards, Jello on the bottom, after it sets up I add the cool whip, cream cheese, with half the sugar, and sprinkle the pretzel on top...
Does anyone know if this could be made the night before?
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