Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Strawberry Pretzel Salad is a dessert I hope to see at every picnic I go to.  When it went missing, I figured I needed to learn how to make it.  Last summer, I prepared it for almost every get-together.  Everyone loved it...except my husband.  He seemed to think that sometimes the jell-o topping had a plastic-like quality; he gave a long explanation about how growing up sometimes the jell-o had a skin on it, and he couldn't eat it.  John spent time searching for jell-o making techniques to avoid the plastic film while I slammed pots around refusing to make it again.  After he went to bed, I copied the information he found and noted it in this draft.    After a year break, I made my strawberry pretzel salad; it is almost August, and I haven't  had it all summer. John ate it and asked for a second serving.

This delicious summer picnic staple can be tricky to get right.  Make sure you give your self enough time for cooling and setting up.  Also, make sure you create a smooth cream cheese layer; it will seal the pretzels from the jell-o.  No one wants a soggy crust.

INGREDIENTS:

Crust

• 2 cups pretzels, crushed
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 3 T sugar

Filling

• 1 cream cheese (8 oz), softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 frozen whipped topping (8 oz), thawed

Topping

• 2 strawberry flavored gelatin (3 oz)
• 2 cups water, boiling
• 2 packages frozen strawberries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Mix 3 T sugar, crushed pretzels, and melted butter together in a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Press mixture into bottom of dish.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Allow to cool.
2. Mix cream cheese and 1 cup sugar well. Fold in the whipped topping.  Spread over the pretzel crust-make sure to cover all the way to the edges to prevent soggy crust.  Chill well.  
3. Put gelatin into large mixing bowl, add boiling water.  Whisk until all powder is dissolved.  Stir in strawberries.  Pour over cream cheese layer.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate to set. (I found mixing well and covering in the refrigerator kept the jell-o skin away)

Difficulty: Medium

Time: I make this in parts over the course of a day to allow for proper cooling and setting.

Source:  Almost every recipe I found online was the same