Description
A delightful and creamy Strawberry Dessert Salad with a crunchy toffee-like topping made from pretzels, pecans, brown sugar, and butter. This no-bake salad combines a fluffy cream cheese and whipped topping mixture with fresh strawberries and a baked sweet and salty crunch for a perfect balance of flavors and textures.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Cream Cheese Mixture
- 8 oz (1 package) cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 oz whipped topping
Toffee Topping
- 1 cup pretzels, chopped
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup melted butter
Fruit
- 2-3 cups strawberries, diced
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 400°F (200°C) to prepare for baking the toffee topping.
- Prepare Strawberries: Wash thoroughly and dice 2 to 3 cups of fresh strawberries. Set aside to be added later.
- Make Toffee Topping: Chop the pretzels and pecans, then combine them in a bowl with the melted butter and brown sugar. Mix until well-coated.
- Bake Toffee: Spread the pretzel and nut mixture evenly on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet with edges to catch drips. Bake for 7-9 minutes, watching carefully to avoid burning. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- Mix Cream Cheese Base: In a mixing bowl, whip the softened cream cheese with sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Then gently fold in the whipped topping to maintain the airy texture.
- Combine Dessert Salad: Once the toffee topping has cooled, gently fold it along with the diced strawberries into the cream cheese mixture, mixing until evenly combined.
- Serve: Enjoy your Strawberry Dessert Salad immediately or chill briefly before serving for a refreshing treat.
Notes
- Make sure the toffee topping is completely cool before folding into the cream cheese mixture to prevent it from melting the whipped topping.
- Watch the toffee closely while baking; it can burn quickly once it starts to brown.
- You can substitute pecans with walnuts or almonds if preferred.
- For a firmer salad, chill for 1-2 hours before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 28g
- Sodium: 220mg
- Fat: 21g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 29g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
