Strawberry Pretzel Surprise

This was one of my favorites prior to going gluten-free, but good news, you can make it gluten-free with ease!  Sorry dairy-free folks, this one isn't for you!  Adults probably like it more than kids, but trust me, as they get older, it will become one of their favorites too!

Enjoy!
Kirsten

PS: The recipe comes from a very old issue of Family Circle magazine!

STRAWBERRY PRETZEL SURPRISE

Crust:

2 cups crushed gluten-free pretzels (4 cups uncrushed)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar

Filling and Topping:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 package (10 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 packages (3 ounces each) strawberry-flavored gelatin
2 cups boiling water
1 package (16 ounces) frozen strawberries, thawed

1)  Heat oven to 350F.

2)  Crust:  Mix together pretzels, melted butter and sugar.  Coat a 13x9x2 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Pat the pretzel mixture into the bottom of the dish.  Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.  Cool completely.

3)  Filling and Topping:  In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Fold in thawed whipped topping.  Spread mixture over cooled crust.

4)  In a large bowl, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water.  Stir in thawed strawberries.  Place over larger bowl of ice water, and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until mixture starts to thicken slightly.

5)  Spoon strawberry mixture over cream cheese mixture.  Refrigerate for 4 hours.  To serve, cut into 16 squares.

NOTES:

~Glutino pretzels are by far the best gluten-free pretzels I have found.  You would never know they are gluten-free!