Strawberry Pretzel Dessert

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert is one of my all-time favorites! If you want to trick yourself into thinking you’re eating something healthy, then you can also call this Strawberry Pretzel “Salad”.

My mom’s birthday was this Thursday, and since her birthday is in June, she usually requests a lighter, non-chocolatey dessert. For previous occasions we’ve made her strawberry layer cake, tres leches cake, a hot milk sponge cake, etc. Notice a trend? If you clicked on all of the recipes, they all had strawberries on top! She’s a big fan, as am I!

For those that like the sweet-salty combination, this dessert is for you. It’s got a slightly salty crust from the pretzels, a cool, creamy cool whip and cream cheese center, and a light and refreshing topping with strawberry Jell-O and fresh strawberries. Yum!

Matt is actually not a pretzel fan (he actually doesn’t like ANY crust to any dessert…pies, you name it), so he doesn’t eat the pretzel bottom of this dessert. One time I made it for him and substituted crushed graham crackers for the pretzels. It was still a good combination, but it of course was not as salty, and the graham cracker crust got slightly more soggy as it sat in the fridge as compared to the pretzel crust.

My mom had a great birthday and as you can guess, as not much is left of this dessert (or salad, if you wish to call it). Enjoy!

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 24

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, melted
2 1/2 cups pretzels, crushed
3 Tbsp. sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
8 oz. frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 cups boiling water
6 oz. strawberry gelatin
20 oz. frozen strawberries, partially thawed

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
FOR THE CRUST: Mix butter, pretzels, and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake for 7-10 minutes. Cool.
FOR THE CREAM LAYER: Mix the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and whipped topping. Spread over the cooled pretzel layer.
FOR THE STRAWBERRY LAYER: Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add strawberries and stir until partially thickened. Pour over whipped topping layer.
Chill overnight before serving

Chocolate Eclair Dessert

I had never heard of Chocolate Eclair Dessert before until I visited my aunt Jolene in Houston a few years ago. As soon as I took that first bite, I knew this would be a recipe that I would frequently make.

If you’re looking for a fancy-looking, comfort food-tasting, easy-to-make dessert for a crowd, this is a winner. Tonight we had life groups at our church and so I brought this, and the pan was gone by the time I got home in just a few hours!

While the name, “chocolate eclair” sounds elegant, making this dish is not complex…it’s actually a NO-BAKE dessert! All you need are graham crackers, instant pudding mix, milk and cocoa to make this pretty, layered dessert.

Word to the wise: make this a day before you actually plan on eating it. That is, if you can wait that long!!! Allowing it to sit in the refrigerator lets the graham crackers soften and absorb the pudding mixture.

Enjoy…it is soooo good!

chocolate eclair dessert

Chocolate Eclair Dessert

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

2 (3.5 oz) boxes instant vanilla (or french vanilla) pudding
3 1/4 cups skim milk, divided
1 (12 oz) container Cool Whip
Graham crackers
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions

FOR THE FILLING: Combine pudding mix and 3 cups of milk; beat. Stir in Cool Whip.
Place layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch dish. Spread 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Repeat with another layer of graham crackers and pudding; then top with a final layer of graham crackers.
FOR THE TOPPING: Bring cocoa, 1/4 cup milk and sugar to a full rolling boil; boil about 1 minute, stirring very frequently. Remove from heat and cool one minute. Add butter and vanilla; stir until butter is melted.
Pour chocolate topping over the top layer of graham crackers.
Refrigerate overnight.

Featured

Tiramisu Trifle

Kudos to my amazingly talented neighbor, Carmen, who made this wonderful tiramisu trifle for me and my family.

Two weeks ago, I interviewed Carmen as part of the resident recipe article I write for our monthly neighborhood magazine. I was so impressed with her delicious creation, that I had to share it with you sooner than later!

Carmen’s family loves tiramisu but she has never been a real fan. After experimenting with a lot of recipes, she finally came up with one that all of her family liked!

She started to make it the traditional way with lady fingers, but found they are really hard to find in a regular grocery store. One day, when Carmen couldn’t find lady fingers, she had some homemade biscotti and decided to try using them instead of the lady fingers. That inspired her to make many other “twitches” in the recipe! It instantly became a crowd favorite!!

This tiramisu is the ultimate, most decadent and delicious dessert. It’s perfect for a crowd, and while it takes a little patience to make, it’s definitely worth it. I give Carmen’s Tiramisu Trifle two thumbs up… I’d give it more if I had more thumbs!!

Enjoy!!!

Carmen’s Tiramisu Trifle

Serves: 12+

Ingredients

MASCARPONE CUSTARD
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
12 large egg yolks
4 (8-ounce) containers mascarpone cheese
2 cups chilled whipping cream
2 tsp. almond extract
DIPPED BISCOTTI
1 shot of expresso
1/4 cup coffee liqueur
1 cup water
2 Tbsp. sugar
30-40 almond homemade or store bought biscotti
FOR LAYERING
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, finely ground in processor
CHOCOLATE LEAVES
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
about 40 leaves of assorted sizes

Instructions

FOR THE MASCARPONE CUSTARD: Whisk sugar, water, vanilla extract and egg yolks in a metal bowl. Set bowl “a bain marie” – over simmering water. Whisk until mixture thickens for about 5 minutes. Remove bowl from over water. Whisk mascarpone, 1 container at a time, into warm custard until blended.
Beat whipping cream with almond extract until cream forms soft peaks. Fold in mascarpone custard.
FOR DIPPED BISCOTTI: Mix warm water, expresso and coffee liqueur. Dip biscotti in coffee mixture to coat on both sides.
FOR CHOCOLATE LEAVES: Wipe and dry leaves. Melt chocolate in microwave 30 seconds at a time, mixing after each 30 seconds, until chocolate is completely melted.
Brush chocolate over the bottom side of the leaves until coated.
Place leaves on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Chill until firm.
Carefully peel chocolate from leaves.
TO ASSEMBLE: Cover bottom of trifle dish with dipped biscotti. Spread about 2 cups of the mascarpone custard to cover biscotti. Sprinkle with ground chocolate chips. Repeat layers until you reach top of dish. Cover and chill for a couple of hours or until ready to serve.
When ready to serve, decorate with chocolate leaves.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Here’s an extremely sweet white chocolate bread pudding recipe that you must try if you’re a bread pudding fan! I want to preface, however, with the fact that I did not have my good Canon Rebel camera, so the pictures here are a little dark and blurry. You can blame it on my Blackberry Torch phone camera… by NO means am I an advocate of Blackberries… somehow I’ve been stuck with one for the past five years, which is miserable. I am just dying to get an iPhone!

My husband Matt and I were in Houston a few weeks ago, visiting my cousins and my aunt Jolene. As always, when staying with Jolene, you can expect over-the-top, delicious meals prepared by her and her southern charm. While our taste buds never object to Jolene’s savory and delectable southern comfort food, our waistlines may as it’s hard to stay thin during our visit. 🙂

We ate good over the course of 1 1/2 days! The night we arrived, we devoured pot roast, green beans, mashed potatoes, corn casserole and strawberry pie for dinner. The second day consisted of bacon, sausage & biscuits, and fruit for breakfast; Philly cheesesteak sandwiches from leftover pot roast topped with melted swiss and leftover strawberry pie for lunch; and for dinner – chicken and mushroom spinach crepes with fruit, and white chocolate bread pudding for dessert.

Are you hungry yet?

I hope so, because I wanted to share with you this white chocolate bread pudding recipe we made from the Houston Junior League cookbook, Stop and Smell the Rosemary: Recipe and Traditions to Remember. The recipe was very easy to make, and as I mentioned above, is very sweet!

Enjoy…

Cut bread into thin slices. Bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Heat half-and-half and cream over low heat. Whisk egg mixture into cream. Stir in vanilla. Slowly whisk in melted chocolate.

Line custard cups or baking pan with bread strips.

Pour custard mixture over bread strips. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until inserted comes out clean.

Serve warm with white chocolate sauce or refrigerate and serve later.

Heat cream until frothy, not boiling. Whisk warm cream into melted chocolate until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Serve pudding chilled or warm, with white chocolate sauce.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Ingredients

PUDDING:

4 ounces French bread, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch slices

1 1/2 cups half and half

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 large egg

4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

4 ounces white chocolate, melted

WHITE CHOCOLATE SAUCE:

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

4 ounces white chocolate, melt

– shavings of dark and milk chocolate

Directions

PUDDING:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter six 1/2-cup custard cups (we used a large quart-sized baking pan). Cut bread slices into strips as wide as depth of custard cups. Put bread strips on baking sheet and bake until golden, approximately 10 minutes. Set aside.

2. Heat half-and-half and cream in a medium saucepan over low heat until hot. Do not boil. Beat egg, egg yolks, and sugar in small bowl. Whisk a few tablespoon warm cream into egg mixture. Whisk eggs back into cream. Stir in vanilla. Place melted chocolate into a large bowl and slowly whisk cream mixture into it.

3. Line sides of custard cups with bread strips, breaking strips as necessary to get a neat fit. Strain custard into cups and let bread absorb liquid. Add more custard as needed to fill cups to within 1/2 inch of rim. Place cups in baking pan large enough to hold them with at least 1-inch spacing between each. Fill pan with boiling water to within 1 inch of rims of the custard cups. Bake until set and a tester inserted comes out clean, about 35 to 45 minutes. Check pan after 15 minutes. Add additional boiling water if necessary to maintain water level.

WHITE CHOCOLATE:

1. Heat cream until frothy, but not boiling. Whisk warm cream into melted chocolate until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Pudding may be be served in cups or unmolded. To unmold, cover and chill cups throughly, at least 1 hour. Loosen edges with a knife and invert with White Chocolate Sauce. Garnish with chocolate shavings.

Yield: 6 servings

Recipe from: Stop and Smell the Rosemary: Recipe and Traditions to Remember – A cookbook by the Junior League of Houston, Inc.