Strawberry Pretzel Parfait

Last weekend was action packed, this weekend was the same! On Friday, KK and I went out to dinner at La Carbonara, and then headed to a friend's 30th birthday party.  A lot of my friends are turning 30 this year, including me - my 30th is just over a month away! Along with the good company, the party host served my new favorite appetizer - Trader Joe's Mac & Cheese Bites.  We fully embodied the "married couple" persona on Saturday morning by cashing in a Groupon for a discounted BJ's membership.  The apartment is now fully stocked with toilet paper, cleaning supplies, shampoo, conditioner, and 4-lb. bag of candy corn :) We redeemed ourselves Saturday evening by visiting KK's cousin at his new, fancy apartment in Long Island City.  Casa Enrique, which opened only a few months ago, served up some excellent margaritas, guacamole, and enchiladas! Since work's been crazy the past few weeks, I had a little work to get through this afternoon, but now I'm looking forward to the Paprika Chicken KK has on the menu for tonight!

Speaking of candy corn, you probably know that I have a serious sweet tooth.  In a perfect world, I would be able to eat dessert or candy with every single meal.  Instead, I try to ignore my sweet tooth cravings and reserve dessert for special occasions.  I even ask that KK buy ice cream flavors I don’t like (strawberry or mint chocolate chip are his go-to choices) to avoid the temptation.  But sometimes, that just isn’t enough.  Last week, with a little Googling for “easy desserts for two,” I found this wonderfully quick and easy recipe.  Fresh strawberries would probably make this dish even better, but without any on hand, thawing frozen strawberries under warm water did the trick.  Instead of dragging out my food processor, I crushed the pretzels in a plastic bag.  It might have been a little more “manual” labor, but it made cleanup easier and I know KK appreciated that! This dessert is best served immediately, otherwise the pretzels will become soggy.  If the rest of the recipes on Dessert For Two are this easy and delicious, I think it’s quickly going to become one of my favorite blogs!

Strawberry Pretzel Parfait

Adapted from Dessert For Two

Prep time:  25 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients

12 strawberries, fresh or frozen, diced

2 teaspoons sugar

1 cup pretzel mini twists

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

¼ tsp cinnamon

Pinch of allspice

¾ cup sour cream

2 Tbsp brown sugar

Directions

1. Spread strawberries in shallow dish and sprinkle with sugar. Let sit for 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place pretzels in a large Ziploc bag and crush with your hands until pretzels are broken into small pieces.  Alternatively, pulse pretzels in a food processor.  Drizzle the melted butter, cinnamon, and allspice over the crushed pretzels and stir to combine.

3. In a small bowl, combine sour cream and brown sugar, breaking up any large brown sugar clumps.

4. In two serving dishes, layer sour cream, strawberries, and pretzel mixture. Repeat until all ingredients are served.  Enjoy immediately!