Go ahead & Tear open A Bag on This National Pretzel Day

They're twisted, a little salty and need the friendship of a dipping sauce.  And today, pretzels get a day of their own. It's a national holiday for them. I spent some of my morning learning how to make the doughy treats from the experts at Ben's Soft Pretzels at the Meijer store in Sussex.

Do you know the history of the pretzel?  Monks in northern Italy were said to have created them back in 610 AD.  The folded twist was used to resemble the folded arms of the praying monks.  The wedding term \"tying the knot\" apparently originated from the 1614 Swiss Pretzel loop that symbolized love.  Also in Germany, before children hunted for Easter eggs, they searched for Easter pretzels.  And in case you didn't know, the Pennsylvania Dutch actually brought the snacks to the states in the 1800s.

The process of making them isn't too hard but of course I made it so. If you really want to make it easier on yourself, just open a bag.  Also, you can get some pretzel freebies today just by clicking on the attached link.