Strawberry desserts are perfect for summer barbecues and potlucks. Strawberry Fruti Bars are blended with cream cheese and whipped cream and then layered over a pretzel crust. After few hours in the freezer, you have a refreshing pretzel and strawberry dessert.
One of my favorite potluck desserts of all time is strawberry gelatin layered on top of a whipped cream mixture on top of a pretzel crust. I love the mix of salty and sweet. So when Fruti Bars asked me to create a summertime cookout dessert with their Chunks O’ Fruti Bars, I decided to use their Strawberry and Strawberry Cream bars to make a frozen version of the pretzel and strawberry dessert.
I purchased the Fruti Chunks O’ Fruit bars at Sam’s Club. Check out more about my shopping trip in my Google+ album! It’s always a chore to find freezer space for those large boxes from Sam’s, but Fruti Bars helped me out – the 4 individual boxes fit perfectly in my freezer.
Fruti Bars are all natural – no high fructose corn syrup and they are verified by the Non-GMO Project! Fruti Bars are made with a First Fruit Formulation – you will notice that fruit is the first ingredient listed on the ingredient list. Because there is so much fresh fruit, no other artificial colors or ingredients are needed.
With all that goodness, I tried really hard to keep my dessert healthy, too. I kept the sugar to a minimum and used organic ingredients when I could. I also used homemade whipped cream instead of the store bought kind (although you can use that, too!).
I love the pretzel crust! Crushed pretzels are mixed with a little butter and sugar and then toasted in the oven to give them a nice brown color and a little extra crunch.
Dice up the softened Fruti bars to make them easier to blend in with the cream cheese and whipped cream. When I mixed in the Fruti bars, I had a hard time getting the mixture smooth. I kept hitting chunks. Then I realized that it was the frozen fruit! So don’t worry if the mixture still feels chunky – that’s a good thing!
Spread the mixture over the pretzel crust and add some pretzels and strawberries for a little garnish. Freeze for a good 6 hours before serving!
Make sure to stop by Sam’s Club on May 13, 2012 for a Fruti and yogurt demo! What sort of recipe would you create with Fruti and yogurt?
Frozen Pretzel & Strawberry Dessert
Ingredients
- 3 cups mini-pretzels
- 5 Tablespoons melted butter
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup whipped cream
- 2 strawberry Fruti Bars, softened
- 2 strawberry cream Fruti Bars, softened
- Pretzels for garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Crush pretzels in a food processor or in a sealed plastic bag with a rolling pin.
In a small bowl, mix together crushed pretzels, butter and sugar. Press mixture in to the bottom of a 9 x 9 square baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until just browned. Allow to cool completely.
Remove wooden sticks from Fruti bars. Cut bars in to smaller pieces to make them easier to mix in.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, blend together cream cheese and 1 Tablespoon sugar until fluffy. Add in whipped cream and stir to combine. Add in Fruti bars and mix until combined.
Pour cream cheese fruit bar mixture on top of the strawberries and gently spread so that it's even in the dish.
Garnish with more sliced strawberries and pretzels, if desired.
Cover with aluminum foil and freeze for at least 4 hours.
When ready to serve, remove from freezer and allow to soften for about 10 minutes.
Slice and serve.
I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Fruti #cbias #SocialFabric #FreshNFruti