Sweet and salty, this Mandarin Orange Pretzel Salad recipe is the perfect dish to share this summer! You'll love the nutty pecans in the crust of this sweet treat!
In a large food processor, add pecans and sugar. Add pretzels and pulse several times until you have some crumbs and some broken pieces. Add melted butter and mix with a fork.
Press into the bottom of a deep, 13x9 baking dish. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar until smooth (several minutes). Fold in whipping topping and spread over pecan crust.
In a medium bowl, combine gelatin with boiling water until dissolved. Add in oranges and allow mixture to cool to room temperature (about 15 minutes). Pour over cheesecake filling.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night or at least 8 hours. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Use a deep 13x9 pan. You need room for each layer to stack within the pan. Lasagna pans are best!
Don't over pulse the crust. The crust mixture should have some pieces of pecans and pretzels in it; don't process it until it's only crumbs.
Dissolve the gelatin mix completely. If the powder doesn’t dissolve all the way into the hot water, you'll have specks of color instead of a pretty, uniform color.
Chill overnight. The dessert may set in as little as 4-6 hours, but I recommend making it in advance so the layers can fully set properly and get chilled, at least 8 hours or even better, overnight.