Hey friends! I’ve got your weekend entertainment round-up here, complete with a few things to read and a bright and cheery strawberry pretzel tart that is just begging to be made.

This week was a cluster in our house, thanks to sick babies, unfinished to-do lists, and an underwhelming amount of time spent making myself looks presentable (Sorry, Brett. I swear I’ll change out of these sweatpants eventually.) Luckily, a few hours spent snuggling with my sick Aimee girl on the couch (read: trying not to let me brain melt from Lysol fumes and watching back to back episodes of “Paw Patrol”), I reacquainted myself with the interwebs and got caught up on what was going on in the world. For example: apparently Donald Trump is president? What? And someone announced the wrong winner for “Best Picture” at the Oscars? And Ryan Gosling is the world’s most perfect human? (Okay, kidding, guys. I’m not that out of touch.) Here’s a few things that have my eye this week:

50 Things We Learned About Feeding Kids in the Past 6 Years

This little article from Bon Appetit Magazine has so many truths in it. If you’re a parent, you have to give it a read. I promise you’ll identify with something. I’d like to add a few of my own learned lessons to the list:

1. A tub of baby wipes is a legitimate tableware item.
2. No one will known that there is Crown Royale in your water if you are drinking it from a Yeti cup.
3. Squeeze packs counts as vegetable servings.
4. (More seriously) Find a reason to celebrate at least once a week. Set a date and make a mealtime a party. It’s good for morale.

March Madness

March Madness starts next week! Ok, ok, I know that audience for this blog is primarily women aged 25-34, but it would be entirely sexist to assume that there aren’t at least a few women out there who are beyond excited to watch some basketball. Everyone likes to watch the University of Kentucky win, AMIRITE? Check out this link to get your bracket filled out before the whole shebang starts. And Go Cay-uts.

The Piglet

If basketball doesn’t do it for you, maybe cookbooks are more your thing. We are knee deep in the quarterfinal round of Food52’s tournament of cookbooks! 16 notable publishings from this past year face off in a NCAAstyle tournament to determine the best cookbook of the year! I’ve got my money on “Dorie’s Cookies” to take the whole thing.

La Pitchoune

Brett and I have some traveling coming up. I’m not going to tell you where or when we’re going, because, geez, I don’t really know who could be reading this! Maybe some Charles Manson psychopath character has been following this blog for some time just waiting for me to reveal my actual location. SORRY CHARLIE, NOT TODAY. But for future vacay planning purposes, I’m keeping this idea on the back burner: Julia Child’s summer home in Provence France that is now a vacation rental and cooking school. You sleep where she slept, cook where she cooked, and no, this is not a drill. Amazing, right?

Strawberry Pretzel Tart

If you’re planning to make a few treats this weekend, keep this strawberry pretzel tart in mind. This is a brown sugar and pretzel crusted tart, adapted from my favorite pretzel pie crust. It’s filled with a no-bake cheesecake filling of sorts and topped with sliced strawberries. With less than 30 minutes of active prep time and requiring less than 10 ingredients, this strawberry pretzel tart is a cinch to make and quite the looker. With spring strawberries just around the corner, this is the tart you’ll make from now until the very last taste of summer. Count on it.

I adapted this recipe from one printed in the newest issue of Bake from Scratch. Bake from Scratch is a newer publication, dedicated to baking culture and the recipes, bakeries, and movers and shakers that make our world a little bit sweeter. You may remember that I was featured in a previous issue as one of nine baking bloggers to follow in 2017 (!!!), and while I am incredibly honored to have been featured, I’m really just thrilled to have a seat at the table. Getting to bake and write and interact with all of you is more fun than all of the basketball games, cookbooks, Provencial summer homes that the world has to offer.

Keep this strawberry pretzel tart on your list of weekend plans and save a slice for me! Let me know if you’re reading or doing anything extra fun this weekend and take a peek at the links I shared with you! Happy weekend and cheers to you!

You may also like:

Strawberry Shortcake 

Meyer Lemon Cheesecake

Cookie Butter Mousse

Berry Almond Streusel Pie

Vegan Coconut Lime Ice Cream Cake 

Strawberry Pretzel Tart

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

This strawberry pretzel tart has a sweet and salty pretzel crust, a no-bake cheesecake filling, and is topped with fresh strawberries.

• Author: Kate Wood
• Prep Time: 30
• Total Time: 30
• Category: Dessert

Ingredients

For the pretzel crust

• 5 ounces (ends up being about 1–1/2 cups of crumbs) of pretzels
• 1/4 cup (55 gm) brown sugar
• Heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup /1 stick (115 gm) of unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake filling

• 1– 8 ounce block (225 gm) of cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150 gm) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup (240 mL) heavy whipping cream
• 1 lb (450 gm) of strawberries, hulled and sliced

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Instructions

To prepare the crust

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor, whiz the pretzels, brown sugar, and salt until the pretzels are crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse to combine. Alternatively, you can crush the pretzel and stir the other ingredients in to combine.
3. Pat out the crumbs into the bottom and sides of a 10″ tart pan. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until set. Allow to cool completely before using.

To prepare the cheesecake filling

1. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth and without lumps. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
2. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream using a whisk or whisk attachment of a stand mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold half of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Once fairly integrated, add the remaining whipped cream and continue to fold until uniform. Take care not to overwork the mixture as this can cause it to lose its fluffiness. Spread the mixture out into the bottom of the cooled tart crust. Allow to chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Once ready to eat, arrange the sliced berries to decorate the top of the tart. Serve chilled.

Notes

• Pretzel crust is best eaten within two days of preparation. It maintains its delicious flavor for several days but the crust can become soggy.

Adapted from: Bake From Scratch