a tender yet chewey miracle

As the New Year is upon us, I've been thinking about my favorite edible creations and discoveries of 2010. Hands down, this notion goes to a little something I'd like to call miracle pretzels. These things will make you a believer. From this point on, neither the birth of a baby or the ability to walk on water will seem like an act of divine intervention. You'll have to make pretzels to experience a true miracle.

Pretzels: essentially a category of bread. Bread: the substance of life (or is that water?). It doesn't matter, water is a key component to perform said miracle, thusly confirming the fact making pretzels is equivalent to healing the sick or giving sight to the blind. Bread? Water? What's hugely important to remember is that pretzels are the basis of all life.

These doughy delights are simple to make and very impressive to those that are unaware of how easy they are to prepare. The true magic starts after you shape the pretzels, throw them in a crap ton of water and baking soda and watch them grow into beautiful voluptuous nuggins of awesomeness. Bake them until they're golden and radiant, then eat.

Lastly, make sure to use the most giant pieces of salt that you can find (as demonstrated in picture below). I used rock salt...just kidding.

Dear friends, I give you the gift of pretzels.