Strawberry Pretzel Squares

By shawnanewton

"This is a light refreshing dessert that everyone loves and will be surprised that the crust is pretzels. Be sure your cream cheese is soft. I placed my unwrapped cubes on a plate and put in the microwave on defrost or low for 15 second intervals to speed up the process." ~Dawn (Nero) Biehl

Ingredients

• 2 c. pretzels, finely crushed
• 1/2 c. sugar, divided
• 2/3 c. butter or margarine, melted
• 12 oz. (1 1/2 8-oz. pkgs.) cream cheese, softened
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 c. Cool Whip
• 2 c. boiling water
• 1 8-oz. pkg. strawberry jello
• 1 1/2 c. cold water
• 4 c. sliced strawberries (1 qt.)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350. Mix pretzels, 1/4 c. of sugar and the butter. Press firmly onto bottom of 13 x 9" baking pan. Bake 10 mins. Cool.

Beat softened cream cheese, remaining 1/4 c. sugar and milk until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spread over crust. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Meanwhile, stir boiling water into gelatin in large bowl at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours or until thickened (spoon drawn through leaves definite impression). Stir in strawberries. Spoon over cream cheese layer.

Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Cut into 20 squares to serve.