Ingredients:
For the Crust:
1 1/2 cups of wafer crumbs made of vanilla
2 teaspoons melted butter
For the Filling:
One 20-oz can of drained and crushed pineapple
3/4 cup of sugar, granulated
Half a cup of cold water
Two unflavored gelatin envelopes
One package (8 ounces) of cubed cream cheese and one and a half cups of seedless grapes
One eleven-ounce can of drained and halved mandarin oranges
One 10-ounce container of drained and coarsely chopped maraschino cherries
Half a cup of pecans, chopped finely
Two cups of whipped topping, like Cool Whip
Instructions:
Regarding the Crust:
Melt the butter and mix the vanilla wafer crumbs in a small dish until they are uniformly wet.
Press the mixture into the bottom of a nonstick cooking spray-coated 9-inch springform pan. Put aside.
For the filling, cook the sugar and crushed pineapple in a small saucepan over medium heat for approximately five minutes.
Sprinkle the gelatin over cold water in a different small bowl and leave it for a minute to soften. When the pineapple liquid is warm, stir the gelatin mixture until it dissolves.
Add the cubed cream cheese and turn the heat down to low. Continue to stir until the mixture is smooth and the cream cheese has melted.
Take off the heat and allow the mixture to cool fully.
After cooling, mix in the pecans, cherries, grapes, and mandarin oranges. Add the whipped topping and fold gently until well mixed.