A festive holiday layered recipe with cranberries, pineapple, cream cheese, pecans, and pretzels! A little bit creamy, crunchy, sweet, and a little salty. A nostalgic family favorite with an impressive presentation to wow your holiday guests!
8-ouncepackage cream cheesesoftened (brick-style, not in a tub)
1cupconfectioners' sugarsifted if lumpy
8ounceswhipped toppingthawed
Lime Layer:
1cupboiling water
3-ouncepackage lime Jello
8-ouncepackage cream cheesesoftened (brick-style, not in a tub)
8ounceswhipped toppingthawed
10 to 15drops green food coloringoptional but recommended for a deeper more intense green color
Pretzel Layer
⅓cupbuttermelted (unsalted or salted* See Notes)
1tablespoongranulated sugar
1cupcrushed pretzels
Topping Layer
Whole pretzelsfor garnishing
Whipped toppingfor garnishing
Instructions
Cranberry Layer:
Spray a 9x9-inch or 10 to 12-cup Bundt pan** (See Notes) extremely well with cooking srpay; don't be skimpy because you don't want this to stick. Tip - Use a pan that you know well, and know that it's not prone to sticking.
Add the boiling water to a medium sized mixing bowl, add the cherry Jello, and stir until dissolved.
Add the pineapple juice and stir to combine.
Add the pineapple tidbits, cranberry sauce, and the nuts.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and place in the refrigerator until completely set, at least 1 hour or more.
Cream Cheese Layer:
To a medium bowl, add the cream cheese and beat with a handheld electric mixer on high speed until soft and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Tip - Make sure your cream cheese is well-softened or this will be harder than it needs to be for you.
Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the confectioners' sugar, and beat to incorporate.
By hand, fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture until well combined. Tip - Look up a video what it means to fold if you don't know what this is; it's not the same as simply stirring in.
Spread this mixture gently and evenly over the cranberry layer.
Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or more.
Lime Layer:
Add the boiling water to a medium sized mixing bowl, add the lime Jello, and stir until dissolved.
To a separate medium bowl, add the cream cheese and beat with a handheld electric mixer on high speed until soft and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Tip - Make sure your cream cheese is well-softened or this will be harder than it needs to be for you.
Fold in the whipped topping.
Optionally if desired, add 10 to 15 drops of green food coloring to the cream cheese mixture and stir till there are no streaks or unevenly colored patches.
Stir this cream cheese and whipped topping mixture into the green Jello by hand until well combined.
Pour this mixture over the cream cheese layer in your baking pan.
Place the pan in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or longer. The Jello needs to be very well set before adding the pretzel layer so don't rush it.
Pretzel Layer:
To a medium bowl, add the crushed pretzels, sugar, melted butter, and stir by hand until well combined.
Spoon this over the green Jello layer and evenly spread it.
Using your fingers, press it fairly firmly over the Jello so it can adhere as it cools. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or longer.
Releasing/Inverting:
In order to release the dessert from the baking or Bundt pan, you will need to fill your kitchen sink with an inch to two inches of very hot water.
Place the pan carefully in the hot water, making sure the water doesn’t go over the sides and into the pan.
Hold the pan in the hot water for 20 to 30 seconds.
Run a paring knife around the sides of the dessert.
Place a cake stand or large serving plate upside down over the baking or Bundt pan, and then quickly flip it over and allow the dessert to slide out, give it a minute.
If it doesn't come out, flip back over and hold in the hot water for an additional 10 to 20 seconds. Take caution though, you don’t want to hold it in the hot water too long so you don't melt the Jello.
Serving:
Once the dessert is on the cake stand or serving plate, add a dollop of whipped cream to various places and add a whole pretzel on top. Tip - I try to do this approximately where I think each serving size will get its own bit of whipped topping and whole pretzels.
Notes
*Butter: I use salted butter to play up the salty-sweet aspect but you can use unsalted if that's what you prefer.**Pan size: Regarding a 9x9-inch versus a 10 to 12-cup Bundt pan. If you use a 9x9-inch pan you won't have to deal with the nooks and crannies a Bundt pan has when you are running your knife around the dessert to release it in the finale of the recipe. However, at times a square pan is more prone to creating a vacuum-like seal making the release a little more tedious. Bottom line, both style of pans have their pros and their cons. You can see from the photos, I used a square pan.Storage: Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. If you are making this up to 24-36 hours in advance, don't add the final whipped topping and whole pretzels until serving. And if this is your plan, cover with foil, lid, or cake stand topper to make it as airtight as possible. Extra will keep for up to 5 days airtight in the fridge, noting that the pretzels will become soggier as time passes, the whipped topping will deflate somewhat, and the colors could bleed; visually it won't look as good but the taste will be fine.