I really wasn’t sure about this Jell-O salad. I’m guessing it’s probably the most controversial recipe in this book, but honestly, it’s not out of place.
Jell-O salad is a traditional, very Midwestern dessert. I think every family has their own version – I grew up on one that used frozen raspberries (the ones in the tin) and sour cream. It was okay.
This one, I wasn’t so sure about. I’m not a fan of strawberry flavored anything. I love strawberries, but just the plain fruit. I’m funny about textures mixing – pretzel and Jell-O didn’t sound like something I’d like. But I forged ahead. I’ve been surprised by recipes in the book before.
The crust is made with crushed pretzels mixed with melted butter and brown sugar. It’s good, really good. I love using pretzel as a pie crust, but I’ve never made one this sweet before. I think I could just pour the sweet buttery pretzel chunks into a bowl and eat it with a spoon.
The second layer is sweetened cream cheese, lightened up with whipped cream. Delicious. I stuck a chunk of pretzel in to see what that combination was like, and it was good. So things were looking pretty optimistic. Larry agreed, the pretzel-creamy layer combination was pretty tasty.
At this point, the partially set strawberry Jell-O and sliced strawberries is added as the top layer of the salad. Emphasis on partially set. After over an hour in the refrigerator, I just assumed mine was fine and I poured it on, only to find that it had barely set up. The Jell-O seeped all through the other layers, making a red, soggy mess.
I let the gelatin set up firm and managed to rescue a piece that wasn’t totally ruined. I was absolutely right. I hate the texture of pretzel and Jell-O. I hate strawberry Jell-O. Larry didn’t love it either, but I think if I would have used cherry Jell-O and chunks of pitted sweet cherries (I considered it for a brief moment), he would have been pretty happy with this. Well, that and if I would have actually let the gelatin set up properly.
The upside to this is that the crust and creamy filling have inspired me. I think I see some sort of pie or cheesecake with a pretzel crust in my future.
To get the recipe and see the other entries from this week’s Baked Sunday Mornings head on over to Baked Sunday Mornings.
- Strawberry Jell-O Salad (Baked Explorations, p. 183)
yeah, if you don’t like strawberry Jell-O, i can see how this would be a hard sell. my jell-O also took a while to set – i actually put it in the freezer to speed up that process.
i’m on board with pretzel crusts for pie! i’ve had this bookmarked for a while: http://tidymom.net/2011/chocolate-pretzel-pie/
i loved the look on my MIL’s face when she cut into it, and found a pretzel! she was so puzzled! i had issues with the jello too. hopefully the next recipe will be more to your liking!
I was this close to trying the chocolate pudding variation, and wish I had. Looks nice and strawberr-y though!
I did like the pretzel crust & agree it has potential for other desserts. This wasn’t my favorite, but I wanted to try it.
I made this salad last Fall…not a Jello fan, but…I’ve used the creamy filling for whipped topping on LOTS of things since…everyone likes it and now the whole neighborhood makes it…it holds up in our AZ heat where whipped cream does not. So…I’m always happy to learn something new.
Even if you had problems with the Jell-O, your picture is so pretty — I love the perfect way your strawberry slices are neatly tiled! Hopefully you’ll like the next recipe better!
when the pretzel crust came out of the oven it smelt so good, I just wanted to eat it all and forget the rest of the recipe!!