This make-ahead salad is great for large gatherings, and can be served as a side dish or dessert! It has a delicious salty-sweet crust and freshly made whipped cream filling.
Place the pretzels into a large Ziploc bag and pound them by hand or with a rubber mallet until they are broken into chunks. The chunks should be less than an inch in size but not crumbs.
Mix the crushed pretzels, melted butter, and sugar in a medium bowl. Pour into a 9x13 pan and press gently into the bottom of the pan.Bake for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool completely.
Place whipping cream and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl. Using the whisk attachment for your electric mixer, mix on medium until the mixture begins to thicken. Then turn to high speed and whip for several minutes, until stiff peaks form.
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream, ¼ teaspoons cream of tartar
In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese mixture with sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Gently fold in the whipped cream.
Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled pretzel crust, being careful to press against the edges of the pan. This will create a seal that prevents the Jell-O from dripping down and getting the crust soggy. Place in the refrigerator to set while preparing the Jell-O.
Add strawberry Jell-O to boiling water and stir until the Jell-O granules have dissolved. Refrigerate until it has thickened to a consistency similar to that of egg whites (45-60 minutes). Add the strawberries and stir to combine. Pour over the cream cheese layer and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.