Baked Sunday Mornings: Strawberry Jell-O Salad

I was completely skeptical about this week's recipe for Baked Sunday Mornings, "Strawberry Jell-O Salad." This dessert was completely foreign to me, and I never would have attempted it if it wasn't on the baking group schedule. I had no idea what to expect, but I didn't expect much.

This dish has a pretzel crust made from crushed pretzels, butter, and dark brown sugar. I ground the pretzels in the food processor, but I didn't want to make the pieces too small since the instructions warn you not to overprocess them into a powder. Because most of my pieces were quite chunky, the crust didn't hold together very well; in the future, I would grind half of the pretzels into dust and leave the other half chunky. The pretzel dust combines with the butter and brown sugar to form a sort of pretzel mortar that holds the crust together; I had some mortar, but not enough.

After you bake the crust and cool it, you spread on layer of cream cheese that is mixed with sugar and lightened with whipped cream. I was slightly concerned that the recipe called for granulated sugar instead of powdered, but the sugar dissolved completely and the texture of this layer was nice and smooth.

The final layer is strawberry Jell-O with sliced strawberries, which you have to make a little in advance so that it is already partially set by the time you pour it onto the cream cheese layer.  After a little more time in the fridge so that the Jell-O can completely set up, the salad is ready to cut and serve.

Because my pretzel crust wasn't firm, it was a bit of a challenge to cut, serve, and eat these bars. It would have been easier to scoop the salad out of the pan with a spoon instead of cutting it into bars, and a fork or spoon was required to eat it. That said, I absolutely loved this dessert. The salty crunch of the pretzels, with the tangy creaminess of the the cream cheese layer, and the cold and wobbly fruity Jell-O combined to make something that was utterly delightful. The two comments I heard repeatedly from tasters were that the bars were refreshing and surprisingly delicious (I guess I wasn't the only one with low expectations!). I found myself craving more salad after it was gone.

I think the fact that my expectations were pretty low before making the recipe actually made me enjoy and appreciate the salad more. This Jell-O salad is a bit unconventional, but I am absolutely planning on making it again. This recipe has been the best surprise in the Baked Explorations cookbook so far.

Recipe: "Strawberry Jell-O Salad" from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.  Recipe available here at Baked Sunday Mornings.