~Pina Colada Freeze~

Nothing says summer to me like a pina colada--or anything with coconut and pineapple in it, for that matter!  On the 4th of July, my friend Maddie hosted a get-together at her house and she loves the combination of coconut and pineapple as much as my hubby and I do.  So....to help curb the El Paso heat and satisfy our palates, as well as finding something easy to whip up...I made a Pina Colada Freeze!

Literally, with three easy steps and just a few ingredients, you've got a nice, easy and tasty dessert that your friends will ooh and ahh over. 

Oh yeah...the dessert is supposed to be served frozen, but I found that it was just as wonderful--with a cheesecake-like consistency--as it sat out on Maddie's dinner table for a while.

Pina Colada Freeze
from Kraft Foods Food & Family (Summer 2010), kraftfoods.com

1 cup finely crushed pretzels
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter (melted)
1 pkg. (8 oz) Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened)
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping (divided)
1 can (8 oz) Dole Crushed Pineapple in juice
1/4 cup toasted Baker's Angel Flake Coconut

1.  Mix pretzel crumbs and butter.  Press onto bottom of plastic wrap-lined 9-inch round pan.  Freeze until ready to use. I think next time around, I'll be using a springform pan just to make it easier.  Getting the plastic wrap off was a pain.

2.  Beat cream cheese, sugar, pineapple and toasted coconut until well blended.  Whisk in 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip; spoon over crust.

3.  Freeze 4 hours.  Use plastic wrap to remove dessert from pan.  Top with remaining cool whip.

Enjoy!!!