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This Orange Cranberry Pretzel Salad is sure to be a hit at your Thanksgiving table. You decide if it’s a salad or dessert.
Thanksgiving for us usually means a trip to Utah for a Wilkes Family Thanksgiving.  We are changing things up a little this year. It is our year to have the married kids for Thanksgiving, so I decided I wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving at home in Portland.  I am so excited that all the children will be coming home for Thanksgiving. I’ve been busy planning our Thanksgiving day menu.
One required menu item for any holiday meal at our home is Jello.  I grew up on Jello. It made a frequent appearance at Sunday dinners and always on holidays.  We usually made my grandma’s favorite jello. The Wilkes family likes jello too.  At their Thanksgiving meal you will usually find a jello pretzel salad. Usually this pretzel salad is made with raspberry or strawberry gelatin, butI love the combination of flavors in this orange cranberry jello salad! I also added some pumpkin pie spice into the pretzel crust for more holiday flavor.
How to Make Pretzel Salad
The crust is made of crushed up pretzels, butter and pumpkin pie spice.
You bake that layer for a few minutes and let it cool. Then add the cream cheese and dairy whipped topping layer. Yum!
Then your thickened gelatin and fruit layer goes on top. I used mandarin oranges in mine.
Then just let it set up fully in the refrigerator.
Of course a little garnish of whip cream and more oranges on top will make it extra pretty.
Do you have any must have dishes at your holiday meals or do you change it up every year?
Pretzel Salad Recipe
Orange Cranberry Pretzel Gelatin Salad
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 C pretzel sticks
- 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 C butter melted
- 2 C boiling water
- 1 6 oz. pkg. cranberry flavored gelatin
- 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 C cold water
- 1 11 oz. can mandarin oranges drained and juice reserved
- 1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese softened
- 1 C granulated sugar
- 1 8 oz. container frozen whipped topping thawed
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray
- Put pretzels in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin.
- Put into bowl and combine with brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice.
- Stir in butter.
- Press mixture into bottom of pan and bake for 9 mimutes. Cool
- In a large pan bring 2 C water to a boil. Add gelatin and stir until dissolved.
- Add in enough cold water to reserved juice to equal 2 cups. Stir in to gelatin.
- Refrigerate until partially set and thickened about 2 hours.
- In a mixer beat cream cheese and granulated sugar until smooth and fluffy.
- Fold in whipped topping.
- Spread mixture over pretzel crust
- Chop mandarin oranges and add into thickened gelatin.
- Carefully pour over cream cheese mixture.
- Return to refrigerator and allow to totally set up.
Nutrition Facts:
Recipe adapted from Pillsbury.com.
CakeSpy says
Love this one – I have heard it is a Utah specialty!
Leigh Anne says
Yes, I believe they do eat a lot of jello in Utah 🙂