TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: Edward Marc Chocolate Pretzels

[1] Covered in top-quality chocolate, a couple of these mini pretzels are a guilt-free treat.

[2] You can set them out for guests, but we kept the bag to ourselves (both photos courtesy Edward Marc Chocolatier).

You can find chocolate-covered pretzels in stores nationwide. So why are these from Edward Marc Chocolatier so special?

Because the chocolate is great, and the mini size means you can have just a bite.

Edward Marc is a chocolatier and confectioner in Pittsburgh. A family business since 1914, the company manufactures, wholesales and retails chocolate and ice cream products.

Now, their almost-addictive Dark Chocolate Pretzels are available in family-size bags (20 ounces).

Made with premium, sustainably-sourced dark chocolate, they’re a delicious combination of salty, sweet and crunchy.

The bite-sized Dark Chocolate Pretzels may be small, but they’re full of flavor. That’s why just a few are so satisfying—an easy way to serve your sweet tooth (and your crunchy tooth, too).

The normal portion of 10 pieces is 180 calories, but just two or three, at 18 calories a piece, is satisfying—plain, or with a cup of coffee.

We’ve also enjoyed the mini pretzels:

 
The product is certified kosher (dairy) by OU. There are no artificial ingredients or preservatives.
 
 
WHERE TO GET THEMEdwardMarcChocolatier.com.

They’re worth seeking out. You won’t be disappointed!

In fact, get a few extra bags as treats for loved ones, and to make yourself a hero at work.

Around 610 C.E., monks in Southern France or Northern Italy twisted and baked scraps of dough as a reward/bribe to children who had memorized their Bible verses and prayers. The shape represented the monk’s concept of a child’s arms folded in prayer.

This was a soft pretzel made from bread dough. It became very popular, beyond a kids’ treat. Pretzels went great with beer, for starters.

Over time, specialty recipes were created, such as soft gingerbread pretzels for the holidays.

Hard pretzels were first created accidentally in 18th-century America, when a baker’s apprentice overcooked a batch, which made a hard pretzel. Instead of tossing them as ruined, he took a bite and loved the crunch!

Here’s more of the history.
 
Chocolate-Covered Pretzels Arrive

As the story is told, more than 900 years later, a journeyman baker in Hamburg, Franz Joseph Leibniz, thought to cover pretzels with chocolate.

Perhaps the neighboring chocolatier inspired the idea. Leibniz enlisted his help in the project.

There is no verification for the Leibniz story, but a late 16th-century recipe shows how to prepare chocolate covered pretzels.

A recipe book was published by Max Rumpolt, a chef to nobility, in 1581. This is about 40 years after Leibniz is said to have invented the idea. Rumpolt called the recipe Precedella.

His cookbook, Ein New Kochbuch (A New Cookbook), consisted of 2000 recipes.

Here are more details of the chocolate pretzel story.
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*We make a simple “cannoli” dip by blending ricotta, confectioners sugar, a bit of vanilla extract and some optional orange zest). These comprise the fillings of cannoli, i.e. cannoli cream. We take an extra step and blend it in a food processor, to turn the texture into more of a dip. Cannoli filling often includes chocolate chips, so it’s a perfect pairing with chocolate-covered pretzels.

If you like an excess of chocolate, you can also dip the Dark Chocolate Pretzels into chocolate fondue. We recommend white chocolate fondue.