Strawberry Pretzel Crust Pie

We had a few extra strawberries yesterday so I decided to whip up a dessert with them.  I hopped over to Pinterest and went in search of something I could make with ingredients on hand and came up with a tasty looking pie over at Yammie's Noshery.  As often is the case, I didn't have everything her recipe for Strawberry Tart called for ... sigh... but that meant I could do a bit of tweaking and see what the result was!

As you might recall, we are into maple syrup here (Dodge Hill Family Farms) so I replaced the sugar in her recipe with maple syrup, based on the substitution ration you can find here at Maple Syrup World.  I also didn't use jello mix in my strawberry layer, I used about 1/2 cup of jello!  We had JUST used up the last of what we had.

Strawberry Pretzel Crust Pie

Ingredients
Crust:
2 cups finely crushed pretzels
1 1/2 cups melted margarine
1/2 cup sugar

Filling:
8 oz 1/3 fat cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups whipped topping

Strawberry Layer:
3/8 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp corn starch
1/2 cup jello (Made up!  Most other recipes use a portion of a package of jello mix - I had NONE!)
1 pint strawberries

Directions

1. Crush the pretzels.  I like to use a food processor as the family likes it as "smooth" as possible.
2. Mix crushed pretzels, margarine and sugar together, stirring until all ingredients are well mixed.
3. Empty the bowl into a pie pan and squish mixture out evenly.
4. Bake in 350 oven for just 10 minutes.
5. Set aside to cool.
6. Soften the cream cheese and mix in sugar and vanilla.  I DIDN'T use maple syrup here as I thought it might change the consistency of this layer.  Once they are well mixed, fold in the whipped topping and set in the refrigerator to wait.
7. Add maple syrup and water to a small pot.  Stir.  Once it's boiling, add the cornstarch and the jello.  Continue whisking for about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.  
8. Cut the strawberries and set aside.
9. Once the crust is cooled, add the cream cheese layer.  
10. Cover the filling with strawberries and pour the glaze over the top.
11. Put in the refrigerator till it's time to eat!

NOTES:

• Using the jello already mixed up was fine - it was yummy.
• I think I will try a graham cracker crust next time - the consistency of the pretzel crust didn't work for me, BUT that being said, my daughter-in-law liked the saltiness they provided, vs the rest of the pie.

Hope you have fun in the kitchen this weekend!!
Let me know what you are up to,
Carrie