Strawberry Jello Dessert with Pretzel Crust

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.