Strawberry Pretzel Salad

I never got the name of this recipe. I was thinking about changing it, but then I couldn't come up with a better name. The thing of it is, I don't always use strawberries, and to me, this is total dessert, not salad at all. I have tweaked the original recipe a bit (no jello if you notice it's not here!) to make it easier and less time-consuming, but still just as good. Enjoy!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

• 2 cups crushed pretzels
• 4 T sugar
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine - melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 (8oz) pks cream cheese (I use light)
• 1 (8oz) container of frozen cool whip - thawed (again, I use light)
• Fresh fruit cut up** -- I've used all sorts of combination! Peaches, Blueberries, Blackberries, Strawberries...really, whatever!! I have found that bananas and mandarin oranges don't do as well.

--Mix pretzels, sugar(4 T), and melted butter together. Press into bottom of a 9x13 pan (i use a cup to flatten it out)
--Bake for 10 minutes at 350 and let cool completely. (DO NOT go over 10 minutes or else you'll be eating your dessert with a pick axe -- believe me, I speak from experience!)
--In a bowl, beat the sugar and cream cheese until smooth.
--Fold in the whipped topping
--Spread evenly over the cooled crust. Set in fridge for 15-20 minutes to set (**this is a good time to cut your fruit)
--Arrange the fruit on top and get ready for the oohs and ahhs to erupt from people's mouths as they bite into this!

I recently took this to a church function and it was almost all gone by the time Scot got through the line -- it was completely licked clean when I went to get the dish to go home. And that's the way it happens every time.