Strawberry Cream Cheese Squares: Phase II
 

This recipe is modified from the Jello/Kraft recipe site:
http://www.kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?...ecipe_id=53033

Instead of pretzels I use All Bran or Fiber One. Splenda instead of sugar. Smart Balance for the butter/margarine. Neufchatel cheese or low fat cream cheese. Lite Cool Whip. It makes a large amount. Delicious! So here is the original recipe:

2 cups finely crushed pretzels
1/2 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup melted butter or margarine
12 oz. (1-1/2 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. milk
1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
2 cups boiling water
1 pkg. (8-serving size) JELL-O Brand Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1-1/2 cups cold water
2 pt. strawberries, sliced

MIX crushed pretzels, 1/4 cup of the sugar and butter. Press firmly onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Cool.
BEAT cream cheese, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and milk until smooth. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spread over crust. Refrigerate.
MEANWHILE, stir boiling water into gelatin in large bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until thickened (spoon drawn through leaves definite impression). Stir in strawberries. Spoon over cheese layer.
REFRIGERATE 3 hours or until firm. Cut into 20 squares.


KRAFT KITCHENS TIPS

Healthy Living
Trim 2 grams fat per serving by using PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, fat free milk and COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping.

Great Substitute
Substitute 2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Brand Strawberry Gelatin for 1 pkg. (8-serving size) strawberry gelatin.

This should be in desserts Phase II
 

Yikes! Please move this to Phase II Desserts! Not a salad!! :o

:lol: Done, Chickpea.

Crust
 

I wonder if you could use a differrent type crust? Maybe walnuts? I love this salad !

Yes, I am sure you could use any crust you like. OP, of course. I'm thinking of using the one from the no bake coconut cream pie in this list. It uses chopped pecans and coconut and no trans fat margarine. Plus, it is no bake! So walnuts, etc. should be great, too. I made a batch of the strawberry squares recently using half of the ingredients. Love it! Also experimented with using lime jello and pineapple. Wonderful! I could go on and on. Another topping was mixed berries.