My friends, I give you:
Raspberry Pretzel Salad: The Great One.
It occurreth at every family gathering we ever had, and its praises are sung loudly, with much fuss being made over the sizing of the slices (which don’t make it past four hours because literally everyone takes a second piece). I don’t like to think about what would happen if this didn’t make it next time. Probably everyone would spend the day moaning in agony or something dramatic.
It’s a good thing my mum doesn’t mind making it. She let me help this time. She got the recipe from a really old church cookbook. I’m sure there are many variations of this around the web, but I’ve never eaten it anywhere else. Then again, it’s been a while since I went to an honest-to-goodness church potluck. I’ll have to bring it back.
Anyway, it is sweet, salty, creamy and crunchy. You would think it would be nast, but actually, it is light and super delicious. It’s a “salad” that practically counts as a fruit serving. Ahem.
Most appropriately, Raspberry Pretzel Salad is like Valentine’s Day.
It is red. It recurs with unceasing regularity. It reminds people to declare their love. And it is not always pretty.
Now, we just need a Valentine’s Day church potluck. It would be perfect. I feel like that is the best idea ever maybe. Ok.
Enjoy your day,
L
Raspberry Pretzel Salad
Adapted from The Faith Family Cookbook
2 1/2 cups broken pretzels
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter, melted
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tub Cool Whip, divided
6 ounces raspberry Jell-O (two 3-ounce packages)
2 cups boiling water
20 ounces frozen raspberries
Preheat oven to 35o degrees F. Mix pretzel sticks, melted butter and powdered sugar in a 9 x 13″ glass baking pan. Bake for 1o minutes. Let cool. You can stick it in the fridge if you want.
Beat cream cheese, egg and powdered sugar until smooth, then fold in 9 ounces of Cool Whip. Spread this on the cooled pretzels and refrigerate. Make sure that all of the pretzels are covered with the cream cheese mixture. It acts as a seal from the Jell-O, so they won’t be soggy.
In a separate bowl, mix the two packs of Jell-O with the boiling water. Add the frozen raspberries, along with all the juice. When this mixture is thickened slightly, pour it over the cream cheese mixture and let it set in the fridge. Before serving, spread the remaining Cool Whip over the raspberry Jell-O.
This dessert is best eaten on the day it is made. If you let it set overnight, the pretzels can get soggy, and the top layer of Cool Whip does its thing.
Stop it. I want that now.
Me too. Me too. Going bonkers over here in MA.
I had a salad very similar to this (maybe even exactly this) at a party last summer. LOVED it! Can’t wait to make it.