Jello Pretzel Salad (Utah)

The people of Utah love Jello (their official state food) and the result has been some creative local recipes, like this Jello pretzel salad. Bringing together a layer of pretzels, cream cheese, and Jello makes for a fun, different dessert.

2½ cups pretzels, crushed fine (use a food processor or blender)
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
¾ cup butter
1 (6 oz) pkg instant strawberry jello
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen strawberries or small container (16 oz) sliced fresh strawberries
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 (8 oz) container cool whip

Combine pretzels, brown sugar, and melted butter and press into a greased 9x13" pan. You can use more butter if the crust isn’t sticking together. Bake at for 10 minutes.

Make jello according to package instructions and add the strawberries. Refrigerate until partially set. This took an hour or two. If it is not set enough it will leak through your cream cheese layer and make your pretzels soggy.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Blend in cool whip. Spread over cooled crust. Make sure you spread completely to the edges to create a seal so your jello doesn’t leak through. Pour jello over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until set.