Emily's Raspberry Pretzel Salad

Whenever we get together for our big family dinner I ask the kids to each bring something like a salad. Then everybody turns to Emily and before they speak she knows what they are going to say, "Please make your pretzel salad." I personally have never made it so she almost always makes it for us. It may seem a little tricky so I will add her tips. Sometimes I just eat it as my dessert. Some of my sons have a second helping as their dessert. Some of them don't even wait for the blessing of the food before they dig in.

Recipe

Crust:

1 sm. pkg pretzels, crushed
3/4 cup butter, melted
3 Tablespoons sugar

Mix well. Spread in glass dripper/cake pan. Bake @ 350ºF for 7-10 minutes. Let cool.

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed

Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Add Cool Whip. Mix well. Carefully spread over pretzels. It's best to spoon dollops of filling all over pretzels and then gently spread out evenly. Be sure to spread clear to the edges to seal pretzels from the Jell-O added in the next step.

Jell-O Topping:

1 lg. pkg. strawberry jello
2 cups hot water
2 12 oz. pkgs frozen raspberries

Stir jello into hot water. Stir until jello is dissolved. Add frozen raspberries. Gently stir until jello begins to thicken. Pour over filling and let set up for several hours.