If you’re not from the Southern or Midwestern US, you might not have ever heard of strawberry-pretzel salad, which is the inspiration for these bars. While “salad” is part of the name, fear not—no vegetables or savory dressings are involved. Traditional strawberry-pretzel salad is comprised of a pretzel (and sometimes nut) crust, a sweet cream cheese layer, and a strawberry gelatin topping. Our version features a slightly caramelly sweet-salty crust, a fluffy citrus-infused filling, and fresh berry topping.
Strawberry-Pretzel Bars
Makes 9 to 12 bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1½ cups (210 grams) very finely crushed pretzels
- ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (73 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons (24 grams) all-purpose flour
Sauce:
- 2 cups (340 grams) chopped fresh strawberries
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons (4 grams) lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) cold water
- 1½ teaspoons (4.5 grams) cornstarch
Filling:
- 2 (8-ounce) packages (453 grams) cream cheese, softened
- 1½ cups (180 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoon (2 grams) lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract
- 2 cups (480 grams) cold heavy whipping cream
- 1 to 2 drops red gel food coloring (optional)
- ½ pound (226 grams) fresh strawberries, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°F). Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, letting excess extend over sides of pan. Lightly spray foil with baking spray with flour.
- For crust: In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients until well combined. Firmly press mixture into bottom of prepared pan.
- Bake until set, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Freeze crust until cold.
- Meanwhile, for sauce: In a medium nonreactive saucepan, bring strawberries, granulated sugar, and lemon zest to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Using a potato masher, mash berries into small pieces. Cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together1 tablespoon (15 grams) cold water and cornstarch until smooth; whisk into strawberry mixture. Reduce heat to medium; cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, 2 to 4 minutes. Press mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding solids. Let cool completely.
- For filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese at medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add confectioners’ sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla; beat at medium-low speed until smooth, stopping to scrape bottom and sides of bowl. Gradually add cold cream, beating until combined. Thoroughly scrape bottom and sides of bowl. Gradually increase mixer speed to high, and beat until stiff peaks form, 1 to2 minutes.
- Spread one-third of filling (about368 grams) onto cold prepared crust.
- Add cooled sauce and food coloring (if using) to remaining filling; beat at low speed just until combined. Gently spread onto filling in pan. Cover with plastic wrap, ensuring plastic does not touch filling. Refrigerate until cold and set, at least 6 hours, or up to overnight.
- Using excess foil as handles, remove from pan, and top with sliced strawberries just before serving. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
These were super delicious. They were light and highlighted the fresh strawberries so well. I didn’t grind the pretzels enough. They were delightfully chunky, but didn’t hold together as well. Also, my whipped filling wasn’t firm like in the picture. I could not pull it out of the pan and serve it like bars. It still cut and served up fine, but didn’t look as nice or stay together as well.