By Millie Peartree
Updated June 20, 2024
- Total Time
- 45 minutes, plus 4 to 6 hours’ chilling
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- 4(108)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Old-fashioned strawberry pretzel salad, topped with gelatin, gets a modern makeover. Here, pretzels are tossed with graham cracker crumbs, then topped with a light cream-cheese mixture and finished off with strawberry jam and fresh strawberries, for a delicate sweetness. Cut the bars into bite-size pieces or bigger slabs. Either way, this old-new dish is sure to be a favorite.
Featured in: 5 Festive Recipes for a Juneteenth Feast
or to save this recipe.
Print Options
Advertisem*nt
Ingredients
Yield:12 bars
- 1cup/120 grams finely crushed pretzels, plus more for garnishing
- 1cup/115 grams finely crushed graham crackers (about 7), plus more for garnishing
- ¾cup/170 grams unsalted butter, melted
- 3tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1teaspoon cinnamon
- 1cup/240 milliliters heavy cream
- 1cup/123 grams powdered sugar
- 1(8-ounce/226-gram) package cream cheese, softened
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1cup strawberry jam, stirred to loosen
- 1pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
For the Crust
For the Filling
For the Topping
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
453 calories; 27 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 51 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 31 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 249 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
Step
See AlsoBrett's Old Time Radio Show Episode 595, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, The Malcolm Wish MD Matter | Brett’s Old Time Radio ShowHawaiian Macaroni Salad RecipeBrett's Old Time Radio Show Episode 590, Hanco*ck's Half Hour, The Radio Ham | Brett’s Old Time Radio ShowChill 2015 - [PDF Document]1
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Step
2
Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix pretzels, graham crackers, butter, sugar and cinnamon. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Bake until set, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool on a rack. Wipe out the bowl to use for the filling.
Step
3
Make the filling: Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip heavy cream and ½ cup powdered sugar to stiff peaks. Transfer whipped cream to the wiped bowl. To the stand mixer (no need to wash the bowl), add the cream cheese, the remaining ½ cup powdered sugar and the vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until smooth. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Spread evenly over the cooled crust.
Step
4
Top the bars: Spoon dollops of jam over the filling and carefully swirl into the whipped cream. Top with sliced strawberries. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours or until firm. To serve, cut into 12 equal pieces and sprinkle with crushed pretzels and graham crackers.
Ratings
4
out of 5
108
user ratings
Your rating
or to rate this recipe.
Have you cooked this?
or to mark this recipe as cooked.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
louis
It tastes like bad icing for a not existing cake. Do not attempt, waste of time and money.
Mary Ann Grant
I wanted this to be like my family reunion’s treat in Minnesota, but without the jello and Cool Whip. Nope! This version is impossibly sweet. The strawberries disappear under the thick blanket of goo! Why use cream cheese? Why the cups of sugar? The jam? I’m better off with homemade Angelfood, fresh whipped cream, lightly sweetened and good vanilla flavoring, with mounds of the berries.
D.K. Harding
Several commenters noticed upon the dessert sitting, the strawberries leached juice. If you sprinkle a bit of sugar on the newly cut strawberries, they will leach juice in about 1 hour. Pour off the juice. Then, top the bars as in Step 4 (thus minimizing the flow of juice from the strawberries).
BabsD
Used Fitjoy GF pretzels and Pam’s GF graham crackers. 1/2 cup of butter was more than ample. Whipped heavy cream with 3 TB cane sugar. Used 3/4 cup powdered sugar in cream cheese. Had organic strawberries from CSA share along with farmer made strawberry preserves in place of the jam - these preserves had just been jarred. Skipped crushed pretzels/graham cracker topping - the strawberries just looked too beautiful. This was delicious!!!!!!!! One more week of strawberries from the farm:)
Gretchen
Just made this for a church picnic and it was a fan favorite. The pan was empty! So good.
RkHath2
Made this with my 13-year-old niece. The family loved it.
Allison
Everyone loved them, but it feels like maybe a step is missing? Mine never “set” even after like 12 hours, and had runny strawberry jam layer. The first line mentions gelatin, but recipe does not have any. Should there be gelatin? Or should they be frozen maybe? Taste is great!
Jane
This is really yummy and so unusual!
Delicious but kind of runny
This was delicious, the whole family devoured it, but the texture wasn’t great. It started to get runny as the freshly sliced strawberries gave up their juice. Like I said, tasted really good, maybe slightly too sweet, but I wish there was some way to combat the strawberry juice spreading everywhere.
JeanO
I have blueberries from the local growers’s market that I was going to use for cobbler. I made this with them instead. It was a big hit.
Kathryn Eastburn
I've been making the old school version for years and this one is my new summer favorite. Made it last weekend for my granddaughter and have been eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner ever since.
Jaylbyrd
This is delicious even when made gluten-free and dairy-free! I used Kinnikinnick S'moreables graham crackers, Glutino pretzel sticks, Kite Hill almond milk cream cheese, and Califia Farms heavy whip cream. Also, 2/3 of the recipe fits well in a 10x10" pan.
patty
Also maybe next time I'll skip whipped cream and thin cream cheese with a tiny bit of lemon juice and fa*ge Greek yogurt.
patty
Made it for a vegan friend experimented vegan style. Wow! Used vegan butter. Used two cups of canned coconut whipped cream. Used 8 oz tofutti cc. I only used 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. Used Smuckers jam. It was delicious!!!! It was pretty sweet though, and I think it was the Smuckers. I would do it again with a more tart jam. And still cut down the powdered sugar even more. Also would try it with blueberries. It needs plate or napkins for drips, but all in all - do it!
UL
These are fine - though I find the cinnamon weird. Just seems out sync with the other flavors. I thought it was strange when I was making it but included nonetheless - next time I’ll leave it out.
Saga
Surprisingly excellent, considering some of the comments. I made one modification, using 1/4 cup rhubarb jam, rather than 1 cup of strawberry jam. I also followed the suggestion of lightly sugaring the slices and letting them leach juice, before blotting with paper towel and adding to the dessert. Everyone loved it. Will definitely make again.
sarah
I cut the sugar in the filling by at least half, and skipped the jam altogether. I also sprinkled the strawberry with a tsp of caster sugar and lemon juice to let them shed some liquid while the crust baked and cooled.
Allison
Everyone loved them, but it feels like maybe a step is missing? Mine never “set” even after like 12 hours, and had runny strawberry jam layer. The first line mentions gelatin, but recipe does not have any. Should there be gelatin? Or should they be frozen maybe? Taste is great!
MontanaSue
This is based on an old Jello recipe, but can be made without the artificial whipped topping. Adjust the sugar in the whipping cream to your taste, add the cream cheese to stabilize the filling. I drain the juice from the sweetened strawberries, add cornstarch & heat. Next time I’m going to try using the jam (with no sugar) because it looks prettier.
Kathryn Eastburn
I've been making the old school version for years and this one is my new summer favorite. Made it last weekend for my granddaughter and have been eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner ever since.
Mary Ann Grant
I wanted this to be like my family reunion’s treat in Minnesota, but without the jello and Cool Whip. Nope! This version is impossibly sweet. The strawberries disappear under the thick blanket of goo! Why use cream cheese? Why the cups of sugar? The jam? I’m better off with homemade Angelfood, fresh whipped cream, lightly sweetened and good vanilla flavoring, with mounds of the berries.
D.K. Harding
Several commenters noticed upon the dessert sitting, the strawberries leached juice. If you sprinkle a bit of sugar on the newly cut strawberries, they will leach juice in about 1 hour. Pour off the juice. Then, top the bars as in Step 4 (thus minimizing the flow of juice from the strawberries).
louis
It tastes like bad icing for a not existing cake. Do not attempt, waste of time and money.
Renee
The reference to gelatin in the recipe description is talking about the original, old-fashioned jello salad (a "mold").
Momo
Actually, I think the reference was to the original Strawberry Pretzel Sala, whic I’ve always made in a 9x13 glass baking dish, not a mold: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/20338/strawberry-pretzel-salad/
JeanO
I have blueberries from the local growers’s market that I was going to use for cobbler. I made this with them instead. It was a big hit.
Delicious but kind of runny
This was delicious, the whole family devoured it, but the texture wasn’t great. It started to get runny as the freshly sliced strawberries gave up their juice. Like I said, tasted really good, maybe slightly too sweet, but I wish there was some way to combat the strawberry juice spreading everywhere.
Private notes are only visible to you.