Summer Vacation Foods That Will Make You Feel Nostalgic

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Strawberry Pretzel Salad

The perfect antidote to a summer sweet tooth, the Strawberry Pretzel Salad is the queen of all Jell-O dishes.

These days, it’s hard to imagine a square of congealed sugar and flavoring could be considered a ‘salad’, but in times gone by this dish was a regular at cookouts and potlucks. Who doesn’t love dessert before dessert?

Ingredients (for 12 people):

• 6 oz. strawberry Jell-O
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 1/2 cups salted pretzels (crushed)
• 1/4 cup sugar + 1/2 cup sugar
• 8 tbsp butter
• 8 oz. soft cream cheese
• 8 oz. Cool Whip (thawed in fridge)
• 8 lbs. fresh strawberries (hulled and sliced)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Stir the Jell-O and the boiling water until it's completely dissolved. Set aside to cool.
2. Put the pretzels into a ziploc bag, and crush using a rolling pin.
3. In a saucepan, melt the butter and add 1/4 cup sugar and stir. Mix in the pretzels.
4. Layer the pretzel mixture into a casserole dish making sure the base of the dish is evenly covered. Put in oven, bake for 10 mins. and allow to cool.
5. Meanwhile, using an immersion blender on medium-heat, mix the cream cheese and Cool Whip until the lixture is fluffy. Spread the mixture over the cooled pretzels making sure the mixture completely covers it. Refrigerate for 30 mins.
6. Stir the strawberries into the room temperature Jell-O and pour over the pretzel and cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate for 3 hours until the Jell-O is hard.
7. Enjoy!