Red Rhubarb Gelatin Salad

I love this stuff. It's layers of salty crunch and sweet cream enveloping a tangy gelatin layer. This recipe is a conglomeration of two other recipes  - one from The Joy of Rhubarb and the other I've already shared. It's a great way to use rhubarb and still get the decadence of the creamy and crunchy layers from the original raspberry version.

Gelatin layer:
6 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 6-ounce (large) package of cherry or strawberry gelatin (sugar free is fine too)
Optional: 1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries (do not thaw)

Creamy layer:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz whipped topping
1  - 1/14 cups sugar (taste)

Pretzel layer:
3/4 cup melted butter
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups hand-crushed pretzels 


Coat a 9x 13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Combine rhubarb, sugar and water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently, until rhubarb is tender (8 min). Stir in dry gelatin. Pour hot mixture into prepared pan. Gently drop strawberries on top. Refrigerate until set.

Meanwhile, mix pretzels, melted butter and 2 tablespoons sugar. Spread into a 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Stir loose from the pan and let cool.

Combine cream cheese, whipped topping and sugar with hand mixer at medium speed. Spread mixture over set gelatin and chill again for at least 30 minutes, or until ready to serve.

Just prior to serving, top with pretzels.