Strawberry Pretzel Salad

posted by Jamie on March 6, 2012

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – one of the best things about food blogging has been meeting an incredible group of people along the way. And today a group of us has come together to celebrate one of our own with a virtual baby shower.

Aimée is the editor of Simple Bites, a wildly popular site that focuses on bringing your family together at meal time with real, wholesome food. Simple Bites provides its readers with healthy recipes, fantastic meal plans, and practical tips.

This month, Aimée and her husband are expecting a baby girl – turning their family of four into a party of five. Congratulations to Aimée and Danny on your new addition!

For Aimée’s virtual baby shower, I wanted to put a modern spin on the retro Strawberry Pretzel Salad. I’ve always wondered why this is called a salad as opposed to say – a pie? Any ideas? It’s a dessert that I fondly remember preparing with my Nana for all types of occasions – including baby showers. Although I couldn’t locate Nana’s exact recipe, I used one that I had tucked away in my recipe binder that used the same ingredients from her popular sweet and salty dessert. Only instead of serving it in a boring 9×13-inch pan, I decided to make it a little more girly and adorable by presenting them in Mini Mold Jars from Weck.

Whether you’re making these for a baby shower, or just because – I hope you enjoy this modern take on a classic dessert.

Be sure to check out the links below for more delicious recipes from some amazingly talented food blogger friends.

Strawberry & Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Jam Frosting from Bluebonnets & Brownies
California Veggie Wraps from My Kitchen Addiction
Waffle Cone Fruit Cups by Dine & Dish
Mini Berry Pies on a Stick and Kettle Corn at Food for My Family
Perfectly Pink Pomegranate Smoothies from Food Your Way
Grapefruit Avocado Couscous by Stetted
Quiche Lorraine from GoodLife{Eats}

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Strawberry Pretzel Salad In Jars

Yield: 10 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 7 minutes

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups crushed salted pretzels
4 tablespoons white sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip), thawed
1 (6 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin
2 cups boiling water
1 (16 ounce) package frozen sliced strawberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the pretzel crumbs, 4 tablespoons sugar and melted butter. Stir with a fork until the butter is fully incorporated into the pretzel crumbs.

3. Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of pretzel crust into the bottom of each of your jars. Press the crumbs gently into the bottom of the jars. Be sure not to pack them in too tightly or the crust will be difficult to eat.

4. Place the jars onto a baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for about 6 minutes. Allow the jars and crust to cool completely before layering in the filling.

5. In a medium bowl, beat the sugar, cream cheese and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon filling into a piping bag with a round tip or simply snip the tip of the bag. Evening divide the filling between each jar. Place the jars into the refrigerator for about 1 hour.

6. In a medium bowl, stir together the gelatin mix and boiling water. Stir in frozen strawberries. Place the bowl into the refrigerator for about five minutes. This will allow the gelatin to firm up a bit. Evenly spoon the gelatin between each the jars. Place jars back into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Serve chilled.

Notes:

- If you don't want to make individual servings, this recipe will also work well in a 9x13-inch pan.
- You can make your pretzel crumbs as fine or coarse as you like. I prefer them to be a little on the finer side.
- I have not tried this recipe using using freshly whipped cream, so I cannot attest to the outcome.
- The jars seen in the photos are the Weck Mini Mold Jars {Style #976}.