Pam’s Pretzel Salad
Yes, you read that right. Pretzel Salad. This dish breaks all the rules – it presents as a dessert but is in fact a side, served with the main course. It’s salad reimagined yet its vintage. It’s unconventional and irresistible. It’s what you need to make for your next dinner party, potluck, Easter, Passover, and for the summer BBQs in near sight. It has a story, a vibe, and a taste that will wobble heads.
The ingredients – pretzels, strawberry, cream cheese, whip cream, butter, and… jello.
My friend, Mike “The Soap Man” Benigno of Holland Avenue Soap, Co.,—tipped me off to Pretzel Salad back in December. I get a text, “Merry Christmas! Curious in the vein of Jello arts, are you aware of Pretzel Salad? It’s that Midwest thing—my mother-in-law and her whole family are into it big time.”
I listed, “What the heck is Pretzel Salad?” on my editorial calendar.
When The Soap Man first started dating his wife, Ellen, they would go to Mike’s parents’ house in Belle Harbor for dinner. Ellen wanted to bring an impressive dish and something from her Midwestern roots to share with “The New Yorkers.” It’s a tradition and staple in her family and the Pretzel Salad recipe came by way of her Mother, Pam Colwell.
Pam and her Husband Mike moved from Illinois to Arverne recently, to be closer to their grandchildren, and to inadvertently introduce Rockaway to the Pretzel Salad.
I scheduled an interview with Mike’s mother-in-law, to learn more about the strange salad. Pam said she has been making the recipe for over 40 years and brings it to all the family gatherings. It’s a favorite.” she said. “Thanksgiving turkey, roast beef, pretty much goes with anything.” I laughed. She politely said, “You can also eat it as a dessert if you like.,” though I gathered that is not the Midwestern way.
What does it taste like? Pam paused, “It’s kind of like a strawberry cheesecake with pretzels!”
Pam’s Pretzel Salad:
Ingredients:
2, 2/3 cups crushed pretzels
1 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
8 ounce container of frozen whipped cream
6 ounce packages strawberry Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
10 ounce package of sugared, frozen strawberries
More butter for baking dish
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a food processor, crush the pretzels to a chunky consistency. Add to a mixing bowl and mix in the melted butter and 3 tablespoons of sugar; spread mixture into the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- Bake for 10 minutes, set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Fold in the whipped cream.
- Spread the mixture onto the cooled crust.
- Quarter the frozen strawberries. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Let it cool for a few minutes, then stir in the frozen strawberries and allow the jello to set half way – about 45 min. Check occasionally.
- When the mixture is the consistency of egg whites, spoon over the cream cheese layer.
- Refrigerate until set. Best made the day before serving.
Taste this: a crunchy, salty, buttered pretzel crust layered under a sweet, cream cheesy spread fluffed with whipped cream and topped with bouncy, sweet strawberry-infused jello. It’s an unlikely, yet perfect combination of textures and sweet and savory flavor. Not to mention, it looks adorable.
According to Farmers’ Almanac, the strawberry pretzel salad was first introduced in “The Joys of Jell-O,” a cookbook published by General Foods in 1963. But some strongly believe its origins trace back to inventive German immigrants. It is said the recipe can be found in the “Brentwood Civic Club Cookbook” dated 1960, credited to second-generation German immigrant Gerry Fanz Sullivan. And Southerners, claim it too? Clearly a congealed masterpiece of this caliber would spark country-wide origin debate.
For more vintage recipes and jello art, visit theglorifiedtomato.com and follow Paula’s jello journey on IG: @theglorifiedtomato.
