Strawberry Cheesecake Pretzel Bites

Here is the amazing dessert that I was talking about on Friday! Right now there is a couple left sitting in my refrigerator, just calling my name, tempting me to eat them all at 11 o'clock at night.


I just might too, they are hard to ignore!

I saw this recipe from Amy on www.doyouknowthemuffinpan.com and they looked like everything a summer dessert should be. They had fresh strawberries, a delicious pretzel crust, and an amazing light cheesecake centre.  Amy is definitely someone to follow, not only does she make amazing desserts like these, but she also makes all sorts of other amazing food in her muffin tin! That's right, she muffin-izes all sorts of things by modifying them so they can be made in a muffin pan and they are so fun and delicious every time. How cool is that? 

She took this recipe and made it in her mini-muffin pan which would be the perfect size to serve at a party or a BBQ!

Random aside: When do people do their best blogging? I find that my 'best' work (at least, the posts I am most proud of) happens at completely random times.  I feel like I can tell which of my posts were done all in one sitting, and which ones were written in pieces while at work, on my phone on the LRT ride home, etc. Odd eh? If only I could magically produce my laptop at any time of the day when a random thought hit me, who knows what would end up on this blog! 

I do love how this blog has given me an outlet for both my love of baking and cooking, as well as an amazing way to meet awesome people and release my random thoughts! Food, friends, and free therapy? Awesome.

If you need a delicious dessert that will impress a crowd, these are perfect! You can also mix up the fruit depending what is in season, and adjusting the jello flavour to your tastes.   Another bonus is that you can take out any aggression from the day on the pretzels in order to get them to that crushed state!

I made this in my regular muffin pan (instead of a mini-muffin pan) and we loved them.

Strawberry Cheesecake Pie Bites

• For the crust:
• 1 box refrigerated pie crusts (I used Pillsbury and one was the perfect amount)
• 1 cup crushed pretzels
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 tbsp melted butter
• For the cream cheese filling:
• 2 pkgs (250 grams each) softened cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
• 3 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 lb fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup ice cubes
• 1 box strawberry Jello

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F 
2. Roll out one pie crust and use a round cookie cutter or a glass to cut out circles (slightly larger than the bottom of the muffin pan cups)
3. Press each circle of pie crust into the muffin cups
4. In a small bowl mix together the crushed pretzels, melted butter, and 1/4 cup sugar
5. Press the pretzel mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup
6. Bake the crust for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown
7. Remove and let cool completely before adding the fillings
8. While the pan cools, cream together the cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla
9. In a second bowl whip together the heavy cream, icing sugar, and remaining 1 tsp of vanilla until stiff peaks form
10. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until well mixed
11. Spoon the cream cheese mixture into each of the muffin cups, leaving about 1 cm of room at the top (I had some of this leftover, so I set it aside to use as a delicious fruit dip!)
12. Press the sliced strawberries on top of the cream cheese mixture
13. In a small bowl mix together the boiling water and jello mix. Stir in the ice cubes until melted
14. Pour the jello mixture over each of the muffin cups
15. Place the tray in the refrigerator and let set for at least 4 hours
16. Enjoy!