Strawberry Jello Pretzel Salad

This Strawberry Jello Pretzel Salad is a staple at picnics, cookouts, and the like.  There are a lot of different versions floating around, but I found this recipe for Strawberry Jello Pretzel Salad on allrecipes.com.

You'll need:


2 cups pretzel twists or small sticks, crushed
3/4 cup butter, melted
3 tbs sugar


1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 (8 oz.) container frozen whipped topping, thawed


2 (3 oz.) packages strawberry-flavored Jello
2 cups boiling water
2 (10 oz. ) packages frozen strawberries (it's nice if these are sliced, rather than whole)


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  


Stir together the crushed pretzels, melted butter, and 3 tbs of sugar.  Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until set.  Set aside.


In a large mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar.  Feel free to use light cream cheese or that neufchatel business, if you'd like.  Fold in the whipped topping.  Smooth this mixture across the cooled crust.


Dissolve the Jello in boiling water.  Stir in the frozen strawberries, and set this bowl in the fridge for just a bit.  You want your Jello mixture to set a bit before adding it to everything else.  Otherwise things are a runny mess.


After the mixture has attained the consistency of egg whites, pour and spread it over the cream cheese layer.  Then refrigerate this dish until it has set.