Strawberry Pretzel Macarons: A Love Letter to Pittsburgh’s Salty-Sweet Queen

I wasn’t born in Pittsburgh. I didn’t grow up eating chipped ham, pretending that fries belong on salads, and I had no idea what a gum band was. So when I first heard someone mention strawberry pretzel salad, I thought they were trying to kill me. Cool Whip, Jell-O, cream cheese, and pretzels does not a salad make. Ma’am, that is chaos in a 9x13.

But as any good transplant eventually learns, what sounds like unholy culinary fusion is actually one of the Midwest’s greatest love stories — salty, sweet, creamy, tart, and aggressively nostalgic. Pittsburgh didn’t invent strawberry pretzel salad, but the city treats it like a cousin who got famous and now shows up to every function in sequins. Honestly? I respect it.

So I took that lore — that Midwest energy, that grandma’s-church-basement-meets-Miss-America energy — and turned it into something a little more… dainty. These strawberry pretzel macarons are a sugar-dusted, pink glitter reimagining of the beloved salad. She’s elegant. She’s dramatic. She’s a Midwest princess in Parisian drag.

I sprinkled crushed pretzel crumbs over the top of each piped shell before baking — because the legend must live on. The filling? A whipped cream frosting ring to mimic the cream cheese layer, piped like a barricade. Inside those round walls: mostly-set strawberry Jell-O, just thick enough not to bleed through the shell. (Learn from me: mostly-set. Not jiggly. Not "live laugh leak.")

I once tried to make this flavor combo as a thumbprint cookie, but these macarons? These are the final form, they are the elite. The thumbprint cookies walked so these macarons could run away and dance at the Pink Pony Club.

Is this dessert ridiculous? Yes. Is it nostalgic? Extremely. Is it delicious? Abso-freaking-lutely.

Long live strawberry pretzel salad. And long live her pink, crunchy, chewy macaron makeover.

Macaron Shells:

• 130g almond flour

• 130g powdered sugar

• 90g egg whites (room temp, aged if you're an overachiever)

• 90g granulated sugar

• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar (optional, but helps them set)

• 2 tablespoons freeze-dried strawberries, finely ground

• 2 drops pink gel food coloring

• Finely crushed pretzels (for topping)

Frosting:

• ½ cup heavy whipping cream

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened (optional, for tang)

Jell-O time:

• 1/2 box strawberry Jell-O

• 1/2 cup boiling water

• 1/2 cup cold water

Instructions. Good Luck, Babe!

Shells:

1. Prep: Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. Sift almond flour and powdered sugar together. Add the freeze-dried strawberry powder and sift again. Get aggressive — lumps are the enemy.

2. Make the meringue: In a stand mixer, whip egg whites until foamy, then slowly stream in granulated sugar. Towards the end, add the cream of tartar if you’re using it. Beat until glossy stiff peaks form and you could turn the bowl upside down over your head (but don’t).

3. Macaronage: Fold in the dry mixture ⅓ at a time. Add pink gel coloring. Keep folding until it flows like lava and makes a slow-moving ribbon that disappears after about 10 seconds.

4. Pipe & Sprinkle: Pipe 1.5" rounds onto your prepared trays. Slam those trays on the counter like they owe you money — this gets the air bubbles out, I usually do 10 whacks per tray. Sprinkle crushed pretzels on top.

5. Rest: Let them sit out until they develop a skin and don’t stick to your finger when gently touched (20–40 min depending on humidity). You’re looking for “dry but still smug.”

6. Bake: 280°F (150°C) for 9 minutes, then turn the trays and bake for another 9 minutes. Let cool completely before removing the shells or filling them, or they will cry and so will you.

Frosting:

1. Whip cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla (and cream cheese, if using) until stiff peaks form. Chill if needed — warm cream turns to soup faster than you can say “weeping shells.”

Jell-O Center:

1. Mix Jell-O powder with 1 cup boiling water, stir until dissolved. Add ½ cup cold water. Chill until thick but scoopable — not fully set, not liquid. Think “wiggle, not waterfall.”

Assembly:

1. Pipe a ring of whipped cream frosting on the flat side of half your macaron shells.

2. Spoon a little jello into the center of each ring.

3. Top with another shell. Chill for a few hours for that perfect bite. (They get better with age, like regrets and thrift store band tees.)

These store in the fridge for 3–5 days. Usually, I’d say you can also freeze them but I haven’t tried that with the jell-o, so you’re on your own, kid.

J.