Chocolate Covered Candied Orange Peel

Recently over at our sister blog, Off The Menu, we had a Christmas in July event.  Yes, I made a whole Christmas dinner.  As facebook fan asked me to make fig pudding.  Now I have never had, let alone make, a fig pudding.  But after learning what goes into this traditional English Christmas treat, I decided that I would like to add my own touch by including some chocolate covered candied orange peel in the pudding (which is more like cake than pudding.) Sweet, delicious, simple to make, and covered in chocolate, what could be better?


Ingredients:

• 1 navel orange
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

Steps:

Peel the orange in as little pieces as you can.

Eat the orange, or save it for later.

Slice the orange peel into 1/3" wide by 2" long strips.

In 1/2 water boil the orange peels for 2 minutes.

Drain the orange peels.

Boil 1/2 water with the 3/4 cup sugar until the sugar dissolves.

Add the orange peels, and boil for 15-20 minutes.

Line a cookie tray with wax paper, and in a single layer, lay out the orange peels.

Allow the orange peels to dry for at least 1 hour.

In a double boiler melt the chocolate chips.

Put the orange peels in the chocolate and completely cover the peels with the chocolate. 

Use a fork to place each orange peel on a wax paper lined tray.

Place the try in the fridge, and allow to dry for 1 hour.

Remove the peels from the wax paper, and keep in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Simple as that!  Now that you have chocolate covered candied orange peels you can use them as a fun garnish, or eat them as a little after dinner treat.