Raspberry Pretzel Delight

Here's an email conversation that I had with my sister, Cathy. Yes, my fabulous, gorgeous, talented, youthful, vibrant, funny, caring and all-around wonderful sister, Cathy.

Joey: Remember 'Raspberry Pretzel Delight'? Where did that recipe come from? I'm doing 4th of July recipes and that's one that you can add blueberries and do red white and blue. I already have the recipe. It's in your handwriting. Just wondered where it came from.

Cathy: I absolutely remember it - it was really yummy! I think it came from a magazine, like Good Housekeeping or something like that, but I also remember some connection to Mrs. Iannacone & Terri. I'm not sure if I gave them the recipe, or if they gave me the recipe. Anyway, I made it once or twice and then promptly lost the recipe, so I'm looking forward to having it again. (I love the contrast of the salty pretzels and the sweetness of the raspberries & cream.)

Joey: Aren't you glad I kept all those old recipe cards?

Cathy: Yessiree, mister.

I think that says it all. You should definitely try it!

Crust:
1 1/2 c. crushed pretzels
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. margarine or butter, melted

Filling:
1 (12 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. water
1 pk (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding
1 3/4 c. frozen whipped topping, thawed

Topping:
1 (21 oz) can raspberry pie filling



Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all crust ingredients;
mix well. Press into ungreased 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 8
minutes; cool.

In same large bowl, combine condensed milk and water; blend well. Beat in
pudding mix for 2 minutes. Refrigerate 5 minutes. Fold in whipped topping.
Spread on cooled crust. Refrigerate until filling is firm, about 1 hour.

Spoon fruit topping over filling. Cover; refrigerate until serving time.
Garnish with whipped topping, fresh raspberries and mint leaves, if
desired. Store in refrigerator.

Tip:
You can use any combination of pie filling or fresh fruit. If your grocery store doesn't have raspberry pie filling, you can easily use seedless raspberry jam instead. Just thin it down with one or two tablespoons of water. To give it a Patriotic theme, do stripes of raspberry or strawberry alternately with stripes of blueberry, making sure to leave a little of the white filling showing between stripes. You could also do it as I did; make a square area of blueberries in just the upper left corner of the pan, and then do horizontal red and white stripes over the rest of the pan, making a flag design. Clever, huh?