When I was growing up in Nebraska in the 1980s, my mom was the queen of what are now considered retro foods from that era. I have fond memories of her pretzel-crusted strawberry Jell-O and cream cheese "salad." Of course, now that I'm a food snob—or food elitist, as my dad would say—I have to give it a slightly more sophisticated rendering. A springform pan is pinch-hitting for the glass Pyrex dish, transforming the salad into a tart. The sides of the pan are removed to reveal the pretty layers. It can be made in a 9-in/23-cm deep-dish pie pan instead, but then I guess it becomes just that, a pie. Salad, tart, pie—whatever you want to call it, this throwback is worth revisiting.
If you'd like to make this tart gluten-free, simply use gluten-free pretzels in the crust.
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