Have you ever had strawberry pretzel salad? The kind that involves gelatin and cream cheese? That might sound odd but it’s actually delicious. As you could probably guess, this recipe popped up sometime in the 1960’s, when Jell-o was all the rage (and salad didn’t have to include leafy greens). Paula Deen has her own recipe on that if that tells you anything. There was this tea parlor my mom used to take me to, and they would serve a cup of this salad as a side with your tea sandwiches. It was such a good treat. So why not a strawberry pretzel pie?
Since strawberry season has come upon us, I was thinking about what I could do to make this dish a little easier to serve. The pretzel crust bakes perfectly in the oven, and the filling sets in the fridge. Pretty quick and easy! (And no gelatin).
Make the pretzel crust
If you do not have a food processor, crush the crumbs in a freezer bag! Just grab a roller or a bottle of wine and get smashing (carefully). Once the pretzels become a fine meal, you can dump the crumbs into the greased pie dish and pour on the melted butter. You will have to work it in and stir it up with a spoon or your hands. Once the pretzels crumbs are all coated, you can then start compacting them into a firm crust on the bottom of the dish.
If you do use a food processor, just pulse the pretzels and add the butter right into the machine. Pulse it until the mixture starts to ball up a bit, like you are making dough! Then just dump it into the pie dish and form a crust with your fingers!
Make the strawberry pie filling
To make the center, I created a jam sauce to stir into the main mixture. Make sure your strawberries are ripe and juicy! Slice them up and put them in a sauce pan to get them nice, runny and thick. I added a small splash of water and a tablespoon of sugar to get things going. Stir the mixture on low heat for five or so minutes until the pot has turned into a thick sauce. Then set aside to cool completely.
Then it’s time to put together the rest of the pie! Beat together cream cheese, sugar, and heavy whipping cream until it’s thick. Then, add lemon and brandy! The brandy (Trade Joe’s brand) gives the pie an extra punch, so I highly recommend trying it.
Once that’s ready, swirl in the strawberry sauce! This is the best part 🙂
From there, you just need to carefully pour it into your pie crust and smooth it out! Then place it in the fridge for at least three hours so it can chill and set. It’s fine if you leave it in there overnight, too.
Before you serve, you might want to top it with some extra berries. I gave mine an extra drizzle of brandy and sugar, and then I arranged them all over the place. Then, your strawberry pretzel pie is ready to eat! Enjoy!
If you want more dessert recipes, try my copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf or my Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake!
Strawberry Pretzel Pie
Equipment
- Glass or metal pie dish
- electric mixer
- spatula
- medium sauce pan
- large batter bowl
- zester
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 4 cups salted pretzels
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted (8 tbsp), plus more for greasing
- 1½ cups strawberries sliced (no tops), plus more to top the pie if desired
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp brandy
- 1 lemon zest and juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and move a rack to the center of the oven. Grease your pie dish with butter and line with parchment paper if desired. In a food processor, pulse the pretzels until they are well processed, but not completely smooth. It should still have some chunks here and there. Pour in the melted butter and pulse again until the pretzels come together into a "dough." It will become one large lump.
- Dump the pretzel mixture into the pie dish and push it in with your fingers, ensuring that the dish has a compact, even layer across its surface area. Then bake it in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
- In the meantime, make the strawberry jam. Add 1½ cups of sliced strawberries to a sauce pan with 1 tbsp of water and 1 tbsp of granulated sugar. Over low heat, allow the berries to melt and become jammy, the sauce thickening as you stir occasionally. Continue to watch and stir for about 5 minutes. Set aside too cool.
- In a large bowl, add the cream cheese and beat it on medium speed for 1 minute, until it appears soft and whipped. Add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and beat again until it looks well combined. Slowly add in 1 cup of heavy cream, and then keep beating until the mixture is whipped and not runny. This may take a few minutes.
- Add 2 tbsp of brandy, followed with the zest and juice of one lemon. Beat together once more until it is just combined.
- With a spatula, carefully fold in the cooled strawberry mixture, making sure not to over mix the mixture. Then pour the mixture into the pie dish, and smooth it out evenly without ripping up the crusty edges. Cover with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours (or up to 24 hours) to set.
- If desired, add fresh strawberries on top of the pie before serving. You can also toss the strawberries with an extra splash of brandy and a pinch of sugar to maximize the flavor. Slice and enjoy! Keep leftovers refrigerated.
