Strawberry/Pretzel Dessert

Now, I will say that when my mom first told me about this dessert years ago I was very apprehensive. Pretzels, good; cream cheese and Cool Whip, good, Jell-O, good...but all together, not so much. She told me to just try it and I've been hooked ever since. However, I still don't care for her broccoli salad, but it's a hit with others. Anyways, here's the recipe:

Strawberry/Pretzel Dessert

Ingredients:

Pretzels, broken

2 tbs of sugar

2/3 cup of butter (this is about 1 1/3 sticks...melted)

1 block of cream cheese (softened)

1 cup of sugar (there's sugar twice in this...gotta love that!)

12 oz of Cool Whip

2 small boxes of strawberry Jello-O

2 cups of boiling water

16-20 oz of sweetened frozen strawberries (thawed)

I know this calls for a certain amount of pretzels, but since I love this layer I just break them up and drop them in the 9x13 dish. Basically, you want them to cover the bottom. Then I sprinkle the 2 tbs of sugar and pour in the butter. Then I stir it all around so the pretzels are coated. Cool completely (I usually put it in the fridge and it cools pretty quickly).

In a bowl I mix the softened cream cheese and the 1 cup of sugar. Then fold in (doesn't that sound fancy) the Cool Whip. Spread over cooled pretzels.

Try and make sure that you spread this mixture all the way to the edges of the dish so that when you pour the Jell-O it won't sink down to the pretzels...that will make them soggy.

Add two boxes of Jell-O to a bowl and pour in the two cups of boiling water. I always stir until the powder is dissolved. Then add the sweetened strawberries and stir. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Carefully spoon the Jell-O mixture on top of the cream cheese mixture. This will also prevent the liquid from sinking to the pretzels. If I just pour it in from the bowl it sinks every time, so I have learned to be a little patient.

Place in fridge and let chill for about 4 hours or until the Jell-O is formed.

Enjoy!