Strawberry Pretzel Bars

By Millie Peartree

Updated June 19, 2024

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
45 minutes, plus 4 to 6 hours’ chilling
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Rating
4(387)
Comments
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Old-fashioned strawberry pretzel salad, topped with gelatin, gets a modern makeover. Here, pretzels are tossed with graham cracker crumbs, then topped with a light cream-cheese mixture and finished off with strawberry jam and fresh strawberries, for a delicate sweetness. Cut the bars into bite-size pieces or bigger slabs. Either way, this old-new dish is sure to be a favorite.

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Ingredients

Yield:12 bars

FOR THE CRUST

  • 1 cup/120 grams finely crushed pretzels, plus more for garnishing

  • 1 cup/115 grams finely crushed graham crackers (about 7), plus more for garnishing

  • ¾ cup/170 grams unsalted butter, melted

  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

FOR THE FILLING

  • 1 cup/240 milliliters heavy cream

  • 1 cup/123 grams powdered sugar

  • 1 (8-ounce/226-gram) package cream cheese, softened

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE TOPPING

  • 1 cup strawberry jam, stirred to loosen

  • 1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

51 grams carbs; 72 milligrams cholesterol; 453 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 27 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 249 milligrams sodium; 4 grams protein; 31 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix pretzels, graham crackers, butter, sugar and cinnamon. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Bake until set, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool on a rack. Wipe out the bowl to use for the filling.

  3. Step 3

    Make the filling: Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip heavy cream and ½ cup powdered sugar to stiff peaks. Transfer whipped cream to the wiped bowl. To the stand mixer (no need to wash the bowl), add the cream cheese, the remaining ½ cup powdered sugar and the vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until smooth. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Spread evenly over the cooled crust.

  4. Step 4

    Top the bars: Spoon dollops of jam over the filling and carefully swirl into the whipped cream. Top with sliced strawberries. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours or until firm. To serve, cut into 12 equal pieces and sprinkle with crushed pretzels and graham crackers.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
387 user ratings
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Comments

louis

It tastes like bad icing for a not existing cake. Do not attempt, waste of time and money.

Mary Ann Grant

I wanted this to be like my family reunion’s treat in Minnesota, but without the jello and Cool Whip. Nope! This version is impossibly sweet. The strawberries disappear under the thick blanket of goo! Why use cream cheese? Why the cups of sugar? The jam? I’m better off with homemade Angelfood, fresh whipped cream, lightly sweetened and good vanilla flavoring, with mounds of the berries.

D.K. Harding

Several commenters noticed upon the dessert sitting, the strawberries leached juice. If you sprinkle a bit of sugar on the newly cut strawberries, they will leach juice in about 1 hour. Pour off the juice. Then, top the bars as in Step 4 (thus minimizing the flow of juice from the strawberries).

LG

I’ve made this several times during peak strawberry season, always to rave reviews. A few modifications I’ve made along the way: 1) Cut all the sugar in the crust. I actually like to add an extra pinch of salt. 2) No need for the weird multi bowl rigmarole with the frosting. Just beat the cream cheese with all the sugar then slowly drizzle in the cold cream, straight from the fridge. Beat to stiff peaks. Oh and cut the sugar to like 75%. 3) Skip the jam entirely. Too sweet and too runny. 4) Refrigerate the crust and frosting to set, then cut into squares in the pan. Top each square with fresh strawberries and serve immediately.

Maha

This was yummy! We dropped the jam though and will probably use a bit less sugar next time. But the salty crust was heavenly!

Adam

Good idea - poor execution. It seems the recipe still suffers from the issues noted by previous makers. I tried the leaching for a few hours but the strawberries still created more juice when placed on the top and refrigerated overnight. The cream and cream cheese icing never set in any way. The crust is good. This all resulted in a mess - a tasty mess - but a mess nonetheless.

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