// hello friends -

Summer time is here! That means mother nature has turned up the heat, barbecue season is in full swing, and it’s time to rummage through our recipes to find the perfect warm weather treat.

Look no further.

Let’s cut to the chase.

Here is a cool and saccharine summer dessert that might just go down as the best recipe of Summer 2019. It’s a salty, sweet, buttery, sour treat that doesn’t require oodles of oven time:

Strawberry Rhubarb Pretzel Pie.

We could discuss how this pie might remind us of an old fashioned, delightful, fluffy, jello drenched, cream cheese delight that our grandma whipped up for summertime get togethers, or just like key lime pie, the whipped texture is a lovely complement to the heat a barbecue provides but I promised to go straight to the good stuff, so here is the recipe.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pretzel Pie

Serves 8 // Prep Time 1 hour // Cooling Time 3-4hours

Strawberry Rhubarb Filling:

1 pound fresh strawberries washed, hulled, and cut in half
1 pound fresh rhubarb stems chopped in 1/2 inch chunks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 lemon

Pretzel Crust:

1 cup + 2 tablespoons Snyder Of Hanover Butter Snap Pretzels® very finely ground
3 tablespoons sugar
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Cream Filling:

1 -14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Garnish: (optional)

3-5 strawberries
10 pretzels crumbled
whipped topping

Step 1: Grease one 9-inch pie or tart pan and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2: Make the Strawberry Rhubarb Mixture. Place strawberries, rhubarb, sugar and water in a large saucepan. Turn stove to high heat. With a knife or vegetable peeler, shave several strips of peel from the lemon and add them to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, turn down the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes until the rhubarb and strawberries are soft. Remove from heat, add the juice of the entire lemon to the mixture. Let cool to let the flavors combine.

Once cool, pour the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer and press the mixture with the back of a spoon to remove the liquid from the mixture. The straining should result in 2-3 cups liquid. Measure out a 1/2 cup liquid and 1/2 cup pulp in separate bowls. Place in the refrigerator and cool completely.

(Save the remaining pulp and liquid for later. It’s great on pancakes, mixed with soda water for a mocktail or spooned over yogurt for a sweet snack.)

Step 3: Make the Crust. In bowl, add the pretzels, butter and sugar. Stir until combined. Evenly press the pretzel mixture into the bottom of the pie pan. Place the pie pan on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove and let the crust cool completely. Baking will help the crust remain whole.

Step 4: Spoon the cooled 1/2 cup pulp into the bottom of the pie crust and smooth evenly. Set aside.

Step 5: In a medium bowl add the sweet and condensed milk and the 1/2 cup syrup. With a hand mixer, combine until smooth. Fold in the whipped topping. Poor into the pie crust.