One of my favorite books last year was Emily Danforth’s The Miseducation of Cameron Post. It’s a coming of age story that’s great to read in the summer because the beginning so perfectly captures the lazy mood of the season.
If you’ve read the book, you know there’s plenty of ice cream and pop, along with an incredible-sounding dessert I’d never heard of before: strawberry pretzel salad! Apparently this was a big thing back in the day, and I couldn’t wait to try it, especially after reading Epic Reads’ post. I decided to make mine in a combination of mini jars and a smaller baking dish, so we had big slices as well as little portable desserts.
Download the recipe card for Strawberry Pretzel Salad if you’d like to try it! It’s modified slightly from Epic Reads’, though you can find a lot of other recipes and methods out there, too.
It takes a while to wait through the steps, but it’s super easy to make. I haven’t had Cool Whip in ages, so combined with the Jello (plus the nice salty crunch of the pretzels) it made me feel like a little kid again.
It’s the perfect sitting-on-the-porch, farewell to summer treat. Enjoy! And psst–read Cameron Post. It’s out in paperback now…and it’s fantastic.
Amy
Ohh that sounds really yummy. I have been wanting to read the book for a while too. Thanks for sharing this great recipe and reminding me that I want to read this book soon!!
Jessica R
Woah. That looks and sounds absolutely deeelicious! I will definitely be trying that one out because YUM. Jello, pretzels, Cool Whip… it should be a “sometimes snack” for sure, but a must-try. I love finding fun things like that in books! Thanks for sharing it, Wendy!
Wendy Darling
Yeah, not a snack I’d recommend making too too often, but every once in awhile…why not? :) And book food is the BEST.
Wendy @ The Midnight Garden
LisaFicTalk
*moves into Wendy’s house* *sits at kitchen counter while Wendy bakes delish bookish treats*
:D
Wendy Darling
Pull up a chair, Lisa! :D
Btw, are you taking a blogging break? I’ve been on FicTalk a couple of times recently and didn’t see any reviews from you within the first few pages…
Brenda
The receipe sounds scrumptious. I’ve seen one where pretzels are used to make chocolate bark but this one looks so much better.
Wendy Darling
Oooo, that pretzel bark sounds promising! I love the salty sweet crunchy thing. I’ll have to try that sometime, too.
Busybeesfamily
I am definitely going to try this! I have this book and just have not gotten to it yet, so this makes a perfect excuse to pick it up. I’m gomna sit on my porch swing and eat it while I read!!!
Wendy Darling
It’s such a great book to read to say farewell to summer, BBF! Especially if you’re lucky enough to have this dessert and a porch, too. I said “porch” in my post, but sadly, I don’t actually have one. *sigh*
Vivien
Oh I just got a copy of this book. Now I’ll definitely need to read it. I love making recipes based on novels. It adds a whole new layer to the book. My favorite recipe to make from a book is November Cakes from Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. Absolutely delicious!!!
Wendy Darling
Ooo, I think you’re the only one I know who’s made those November Cakes–or at least successfully, hah. I have a feeling you’ll love Cameron Post, Vivien. :)
Savannah Bookswithbite
I’m sure my husband would love this. He love strawberries.
Wendy Darling
Omg, my husband is a strawberry FIEND. And this is two times the strawberries (with the Jello), so he was in heaven.
Sara @ Forever 17 Books
I had been rolling around the idea in my head for the past few months of doing some posts on my blog, making food inspired by the books I read! And this right here is why, this looks so good! I think I’ve had something similar to this once at a picnic and it was delicious. I need to try this recipe out. The book too. Thanks for sharing it, Wendy!
Wendy Darling
Doooo it, Sara! I will drool over your bookish food posts. :) I hope you do give the book (and dish) a try sometime!
Nicole Hewitt
I just read your review of Spark on Goodreads and I just had to come and follow your blog! I look forward to reading more!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Wendy Darling
Oh, thanks for dropping in, Nicole! I’ll have to stop by your blog to say hi sometime soon, too. :)
A Canadian Girl
That looks so yummy! I’m actually hungry right now so this post doesn’t help ;)
Wendy Darling
Welcome to my life, hah. I constantly sabotage myself by browsing Pinterest recipes!
Sam (Realm of Fiction)
I love reading about food in books, though the last time I tried to make anything (Maggie Stiefvater’s November Cakes) it went disastrously wrong. I’m a little bit hopeless in the kitchen! This looks delicious though. I will save the recipe and trick my sister into making it for me. ;) Thanks for sharing, Wendy!
Wendy Darling
Oh no, I hate it when that happens! But sister trickery that results in desserts is always good. ;) I wish there were more recipes that would come out of YA and MG novels written right now, I feel like they’re few and far between.
Bookworm1858
I love that there’s a recipe for this although I don’t really like Jello so I’m not sure I’d ever give it a try. I am glad to hear that it’s good though because I think the idea of jello and pretzels together is not appealing.
Wendy Darling
Ah, definitely not the dessert for you if you aren’t a fan of gelatin. I hope you get a chance to read the book sometime, though!
Liviania
Sounds good, but I’ll probably just whip up some whipped cream instead of using Cool Whip.
Wendy Darling
I was actually going to do that too, Liviana, but I figured if I was going to go with Jello, I’d just go whole hog with the recipe. ;)
Lyn Kaye
Book Cooking!! LOVE IT!
Wendy Darling
I think more authors need to put yummy food in their books.
Christina
Now THIS is the kind of salad I can endorse.
Wendy Darling
DESSERT SALAD!
Bonnie R
OH my gosh this sounds freaking delicious! I’m going to pin this to my Pinterest and hope I don’t forget about it. lol
Eek.. still need to read this too.
Wendy Darling
I bet your kids would love it, Bonnie. I was telling someone above that my husband loved it, and he kind of loves all foods that 4-yeras-olds love. ;)
And yes, I bet you’d love the book, Bonnie. I hope so, anyway.
Aneeqah
Um, YUMMM. This sounds delicious! And it seems like you’re right, this is the perfect treat to enjoy in the cooling weather as summer comes to a close. I’m definitely going to be trying this out AND picking this book up!
Wendy Darling
Yeah, I can’t really imagine eating this during the winter. But its jiggly goodness is perfect right now! And yay, I’m glad you’re going to be trying both the book and the recipe! Let me know what you think of both.
Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com
PS Love your foot in the water pic ->
Wendy Darling
Ohhh, thank you! From a beautiful day at the beach this summer.
Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com
Ooooo this recipe looks yummy and easy!!! Thanks for sharing sweetie.
Wendy Darling
Totally yummy and easy. :) Mr. Darling was very enthusiastic about it…which is no surprise since he has the easting habits of a 4 year old, hah.
Jen Ryland/YA Romantics
Wow — that actually looks delicious — the sweet and salty combo is one of my favorites! My family has tons of recipes for the jello “salads” I ate growing up– orange jello with shredded carrots and mandarin oranges or red jello with fruit cocktail and sour cream trapped inside.
Wendy Darling
Same here, sweet and salty is practically always a guaranteed sale for me. I will say that after a few days the pretzels do get kind of soggy, so it’s one of those things you need to consumer pretty quickly, though.
I don’t know that I’ve ever had a jello “salad” before other than the occasional fruit cocktail cup. I’ve never heard of carrots in one before! Or sour cream! I must look this up now.
Lottie Eve
I must make this dessert! Absolutely must :D (Psst. I totally agree with you on how amazing The Miseducation of Cameron Post is. Just finished it recently!)
Wendy Darling
Oh yes, you should try making this sometime, Lottie Eve! And yay for Cam Post love. :) I wish more people would read it.
Mary @ BookSwarm
Um…I’m just not sure about that. Interesting combination ingredients but I’d probably try it if someone put it in front of me! Was this like a 50’s or 60’s recipe?
Wendy Darling
To be honest, I wasn’t sure about it either, hah. It sounded like it could be delicious but also could be *whispers* kinda gross. But I liked it, it’s such a throwback to childhood.
And yeah, I think it was pretty popular at Tupperware parties and such back during that time.
Tanja - Tanychy
Mhmm that looks tasty I need to try the recipe ones! I haven’t heard of this book but I need to check it out. Thanks for sharing this Wendy :)
Wendy Darling
SUCH a great book, Tanja. :) Reeead it!
Melanie
Girl, I am drooling here. That looks absolutely delish!
Thanks for sharing, Wendy! <33
Wendy Darling
Come over and have some, Mel! I guess it’d hardly be worth the trip, though. :P
Melliane
what a beautiful cake, I don’t think I ever eat something like that but now I want to!
Wendy Darling
I forgot to take photos of the interiors of the jars, but it all turned out pretty well! I hope you get a chance to taste it sometime, Melliane. Though you have many delicious desserts in France to make up for it if you don’t, hah.
Kate Bond
Man, you don’t do anything halfway, do you? This looks absolutely delicious.
Wendy Darling
Yeah, we don’t eat a whole lot of junk food, but this was cool and fluffy and perfect for summer.
Kate @ Ex Libris
Well, I certainly like the idea of *hat* kind of salad!
Kate @ Ex Libris
Wendy Darling
Hah hah, I actually like salads, but I never have understood why Jello molds are called salads either.
Keertana
Ooh, I’m so excited you tried out a recipe based on a food in a book! A lot of authors actually include recipes for the foods they mention, but I’ve never actually gotten around to trying them, but hopefully someday I will! Also: I am DYING to read this book! It sounds like something I’d love, so I’ll hopefully get to it very soon! :) Lovely post, Wendy – that looks yummy! :D
Wendy Darling
I am obsessed with food and I am obsessed with books, Keertana, so you can only imagine how much I love food porn in books! I’ve made a number of recipes from books, but mostly books from my childhood, so this was pretty fun.
Brianna C
That looks so delicious! I wish I could eat it :( Darn food allergies! lol
Wendy Darling
Do you have a gluten allergy? My husband does too, so I used gluten-free pretzels in this recipe. :)