Pretzel Jell-O

It looks like I inadvertently took a vacation from the blog this month, amiright? I’m sorry I haven’t posted all month–but I’ve been ultra-busy and I might (I might!) have an exciting announcement come September.

But! Speaking of September, Labor Day weekend is right around the corner. So I am giving you a recipe that you should definitely make for one of your celebrations. It is Pretzel Jell-O!

Check out the sweet 1980s recipe card from my mum’s collection:

001

005

I don’t know the genesis of this recipe, but I was led to believe that it was a mid-Western thing (those of you in other parts of the country, please tell me if I’m wrong).

But regardless of its origins, it is delicious. It may be my most-favorite gelatin-based dish. And although there are a lot of steps, it’s not that hard. It’s not like those recipes that you have to layer Jell-O on Jell-O and hope they stick. See Jell-O Rainbow Cake.

Let’s get started with STEP ONE!

OF COURSE my mind goes here:

Joey McIntyre is my EVERYTHING.

But I digress. Let’s do this thing.

STEP ONE! (we can have lots of fun)

  • 2 cups crushed pretzels
  • 3/4 cup margarine
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • Mix together and press into 9×13 pan. Bake for 8 minutes at 400 degrees. Let cool.

002 003 007

STEP TWO! (there’s so much we can do)

  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 9 oz cool whip
  • Beat until smooth. Spread on top of crust.

008

STEP THREE! (it’s just you and meeeeeeee!)

  • 6 oz package strawberry Jell-O
  • Two ten oz packages frozen strawberries
  • Dissolve Jell-O in two cups boiling water. Stir in fruit. Let Jell-O stand for ten minutes until starting to thicken. Spread over cheese and chill. (note: I let the strawberries thaw a little bit before mixing them with the Jell-O.
  • 009012

STEP FOUR! (I can give you more)

Um. Not really a step. But I took this to a rooftop party on the 4th of July!

STEP FIVE! (don’t you know that the time has arrived?…HUH!)

Yes, the time has arrived.  To serve it.

001 002

OK, the photos don’t do it justice. But it was yummy. Trust me.

Yo, check it–how sweet is this deck?

baltimore roof2 baltimore roof

And, in addition to watching the fireworks (and I brought sparklers and little firecrackers from PA), our host, Will, had these awesome lanterns–you know the kind–the paper lanterns that they send off en masse in those lantern festivals in Thailand.

I took a video, but because I am not smart when it comes to my smart phone, I couldn’t get it to upload. I am lame.

Anyway, I hope that you all end your summers on a high note! And, to quote the song, I’ll See You in September!

Also, I really hope that someone googles “New Kids on the Block Jell-O” and finds this.

Or I don’t. Who googles that?

Published by

10 thoughts on “Pretzel Jell-O

  1. We just had a house warming party and I was so behind I never got the cream cheese frosting on the carrot cake cupcakes I had made special for my Mother’s 70th birthday, worst daughter ever. Just an FYI use foil cupcake papers, cake is greasy. We just called them muffins and put them on the table as is but now I have a bunch of cream cheese I need to do something with since most of the “muffins” are gone and the ones that will go to her will be made with dairy free cream cheese frosting. I also have just about every thing else for this except the strawberries so I will be going to the store and getting those and trying this, maybe it will become a west cost thing as well.

  2. OHEMGEE, Pretzel Jell-O is one of my favorite terrible for me things ever (right next to Funfetti Cookies…do it) and I am so glad others delight in the horror. Because I can put down the. whole. tray.

  3. Everything can be linked back to NKOTB and/or The Midwest. I have had that pretzel jello at many family reunions, weddings, funerals, and anything involving a church kitchen (flea markets, swap meets, county fairs, etc). I hope that your September announcement involves NKOTB!

Leave a Reply to yinzerellaCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.