When we think about family heirlooms, a lot of times we imagine an antique. However, nostalgia and a sense of family pride can come from a lot of different places, including a recipe!
For the employees at Bendtsen’s Bakery in the town of Racine, Wisconsin, the family heirloom is a delicious Danish pastry known as a Kringle!
Kringle is a Scandinavian pastry, a Nordic variety of pretzel. Pretzels were introduced by Roman Catholic monks in the 13th century in Denmark, and from here it spread and developed further into several kinds of sweet, salty or filled pastries, all in the shape of kringle.
In the United States, kringles are hand-rolled from Danish pastry dough that has been rested overnight before shaping, filling, and baking. Many sheets of the flaky dough are layered, then shaped into an oval. After filling with fruit, nut, or other flavor combinations, the pastry is baked and iced.
For more than four generations or 81 years, Bendtsen’s family-owned bakery has been hand-making these timeless, tasty treats for folks from all around the world.
In fact, the kringle is such a big deal to Racine that it’s actually nicknamed Kringleville! There’s even a Kringle Queen pageant, and a kringle inspired polka!
Let’s not forget that the Kringle became the Official State Pastry of Wisconsin on June 30, 2013!
A Wisconsin distillery, Nordic Distillers of Middleton, Wisconsin makes a Kringle Cream liqueur from real Wisconsin cream, rum, sugar and natural kringle flavor.
Obvisouly the kringle plays a significant role in the lives of individuals in the state of Wisconsin. People travel all the way to Wisconsin to try a kringle for the first time in their lives!
What do you think of the kringle? Is it something that you would be willing to try? Use the comments section below and share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you!
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