I first had old fashioned strawberry pretzel salad at work when one of my coworkers brought it to a lunch potluck in the teacher’s lounge. Some teachers at my school refer to this yummy concoction as strawberry pretzel salad while others called it strawberry pretzel Jello dessert. I started making it at home for various occasions. Now, I decided it would be a fun dessert to make with Scooter Britches for this month’s Kids’ Kitchen post.
Strawberry Pretzel Salad (AKA Strawberry Pretzel Dessert)
Making the Gelatin Layer for Strawberry Pretzel Salad
To start, I prefer to make the gelatin. It requires a few minutes to cool before it can be added. Therefore, it’s better to do this step first.
I boiled 1 1/2 cups of hot water and then mixed in the strawberry gelatin until it is completely dissolved. Next, I added in 1 1/2 cups cold water. While the gelatin cooled, I sliced the strawberries.
Tip: I prefer to use use fresh strawberries, but I have made this recipe with frozen strawberries before and it worked fine.
Flexibility with the Strawberries
There are two options for the strawberries. You can simply add the sliced strawberries into the gelatin while the gelatin cools. The other option is to hold off on the strawberries and layer them onto the cream cheese mixture a little later.
Personally, I prefer to mix the strawberries into the gelatin mix right after stirring in the cold water. I have tried to layer the strawberries over the cream cheese layer before. No matter how carefully I placed the strawberries, they often floated to other places when the gelatin was poured over them.
Since Little One is only 18 months old, it is often somewhat of a pain to let her join in the cooking adventures because taking turns and waiting patiently are not her strong suits. However, she is obsessed with climbing the stool that SB stands on for helping in the kitchen, and she pretty much pushed her way into our cooking session after her nap. And how could I turn away such a cute little helper?
Making a Pretzel Crust for Strawberry Pretzel Dessert
To start the crust, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees.
For this particular cooking with kids session, I let SB handle the crushing of the pretzels. She began crushing up the pretzels in a large Ziploc bag. This was one of the favorite parts of our cooking session for this little princess.
Seriously, there was no convincing her to take off the princess dress.
We added the pretzels to some melted butter, white sugar, and a little cinnamon before spreading the crust into a greased baking pan. I baked the crust for about 10 minutes and then let the pan cool on the stove.
Making the Filling for Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Next, in our mixing bowl, we blended 3/4 cup of white sugar with one block of softened cream cheese. Once that was creamed, we added the tub of Cool Whip.
We carefully spread the cream cheese layer over the cooled pretzel crust.
Tip: It is important to seal the cream cheese all the way around with no gaps or thin spots. The cream cheese layer serves as a barrier between the liquid-y Jello and the crust.
Layering Strawberry Pretzel Salad
At this point, the Jello and strawberry mix wer thickened but certainly not set. Gently, we poured the Jello and strawberries over the cream cheese layer. The finished strawberry pretzel dessert chilled in the fridge overnight.
The next day, I garnished with whipped cream and crushed pretzels before serving.
Strawberry Pretzel Salad {Strawberry Pretzel Dessert}
Ingredients
For Pretzel Crust
- 2.5 cups Pretzels crushed
- 3 tbsp Granulated sugar
- 1.5 tbsp Cinnamon
- 3/4 cup Butter melted
For Cream Cheese Layer
- 1 block Cream cheese softened
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 tub Cool Whip thawed
For Strawberry Layer
- 1.5 cups Water boiling
- 6 oz Strawberry Jello
- 1.5 cups Water cold
- 2 cups Strawberries fresh and sliced; can also use 10 oz frozen strawberries (thawed)
Instructions
To Make Pretzel Crust
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Melt the butter.
- Crush the pretzels.
- In a medium bowl, mix the butter, the pretzels, and the white sugar.
- Press into a greased 9×13 inch baking pan.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and allow the pretzel crust to cool.
To Make Cream Cheese Layer
- In a mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Gently add in the Cool Whip.
- Spread filling over pretzel crust, very gently.
- Refrigerate.
To Make Strawberry Layer
- In another bowl, mix the gelatin with the boiling water until the gelatin is dissolved.
- Let the gelatin cool for about 10 minutes.
- Mix the frozen or fresh strawberries into the Jello until the mixture thickens.
- Gently pour over the cream cheese filling.
- Refrigerate for several hours until topping appears set and firm.
- Garnish with Cool Whip, chopped pecans, or crushed pretzels just before serving.
Nutrition
Whether you call this tasty treat strawberry pretzel dessert or strawberry pretzel salad, it is delicious either way! The cool layers and berry topping make it a perfect dish for a summer potluck or get together.
Check Out Our Other Refreshing Desserts
Don’t miss out on some of our other yummy summer treats such as lemon icebox pie, watermelon pizza, blueberry fried pies, pineapple coconut icebox pie, and the best ever key lime pie! If you are feeling more of a cake vibe, try our orange creamsicle cake bites, upside down blueberry cake, and easy lemon strawberry poke cake.
More from Kids’ Kitchen
Check out the other recipes in this month’s Kids’ Kitchen blog hop:
Forest Berries | Royal Little Lambs
Healthy Frozen Raspberry and Yogurt Dessert {Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free} | Living
Jamie
My A is still raving about this when you made it last! I’ll be making it with her.
The Gifted Gabber
Yay! So glad she enjoyed it! If you can, definitely use the fresh strawberries for a bit more flavor.