candy girl
How to make orangettes:
Slice ends off four oranges, score the peel from one end to the other, and remove the peels from the oranges.
Slice the peels into thin strips and trim the edges.
Using a medium size pot, place the peels in boiling water and blanch them for a few minutes. Rinse the peels, and repeat this process a second time. This is done to remove the bitterness of the peels.
Prepare the simple syrup by combining 8 oz. water and 8 oz. sugar in a saucepan. Bring the syrup to a simmer, place the peels in the pot, and simmer for 1 hour. [Don’t do what Deb did, and not check on them, only to find that at 45 minutes the water had boiled off and many edges had begun to burn in the pan, and she wished she’d left the pot covered.] Once the peels have cooked, remove them from the pot, and place on a rack to cool and drain.
Melt 16 oz. dark chocolate over a double boiler. Dip the candied orange peels in the chocolate, remove them quickly, and let them cool on a piece of parchment paper. Store the orange peels in an airtight container your belly.
Recipe adapted from here.
Another way to make sure everything will be alright, even if you become occupied elsewhere, is to make more simple syrup than you need.
It’s ok to mostly cover the pot, but not until the simple syrup has “cleared” = when you see no more sugar granules.
Blanching beforehand also opens up the pores of the orange peel, so that it can recive the syrup later. With grapefruit I will sometimes blanch 3 times.
I always wondered what were in those!
I am de-lurking to tell you that you are my favorite person in the whole world (at least at this exact moment). I have only been reading your site for a few weeks and am officially obsessed. I plan to make a few of your recipes for thanksgiving.
Chocolate covered orange peels and chocolate covered orange slices are my absolute favorite, I think I could live off of them. If you have a good recipe for orange slices I would love to see it since mine seems to be hit and miss and sometimes the slices end up too bitter. I’ll definitely be trying these sometime this week.
Thank you.
Wow, you are killing me here! I´m so doing these, but either later or like just an orange and inviting people over lol Self-control? What is that?
Happy thanksgiving to all Americans, by the way. A great time to cook, eat like a pig and be with the family :)
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!! You just solved the “But what if someone doesn’t want pumpkin or pecan pie” dilema! Deb, YOU ROCK!!!!!
Hi Deb. I’ve been reading your blog since before it was in ivillage. Anyway, I have a question that does not relate to this fabolous recipe but I still have to ask and you seem very knowledgeable: I found this amazing recipe that required sherry so I went and bought a bottle of cream sherry (the guy at the store said that was better). The thing is, foolish me…I lost the recipe! Do you have any recipes in your collection that call for sherry by any chance?
Thanks!!! I think you can tell I don’t cook that much.
The recipe I’ve been laboring under for years involved soaking the peels overnight and then blanching them FOUR (count them, four!) times…do you think this is really necessary? Yours look lovely with perhaps a third of the labor. I like making candied Meyer lemon peels too.
Those look incredible! I think I’ll have to put together a batch for my husband.
Oh, I do like your idea to store them in your belly the best!!
My mom made candied grapefruit peel one year. They were really heavenly but sooo labor intensive, she never did it again. I’d like to try these and then try with grapefruit.
Thanks smitten! It’s great to have found you!!
I love it! Store the orange pieces in your belly. I can think of no other place for it to be, than sitting in my stomach keeping the fudge I made company. :D
Ok, I have to admit that I don’t like chocolate and orange together but I love making orangettes for favors during the holidays. I love how well you describe the process and I love the quality of your pictures! Beautiful post.
Hello again,
I was enchanted by your pictures and the simplicity that I tried making these tonight but the zest part was tough and chewy. Any pointers on what went wrong?
That picture of the orange is spectacular. It shimmers with light and color.
This is my all time favorite candy — and it isn’t easy to find outside of specialty stores. While I am a bit intimidated, I might actually try making this.
Do you have a receipe for chocolate covered orange slices ?
shuna - Thank you! This was my very first time making these, and the very first recipe I grabbed (Smart, eh?) so I’m far from an expert. Question: Do you need to boil fresh water for each batch or can you rinse and then boil them in the original? I used fresh water for each boiling, but of course, this was time-consuming.
Kirs - Le voila! Isn’t it great that you can just eat orange peels, albeit with loads of sugar.
Maytal - I’ll look out for recipes for orange slices. I’m not much of a candy maker at all, but I realize a lot of people are putting together home baked gift bags this time of year, so it might be time for me to try some stuff out.
Marce - I made just one orange worth of peels, too, as I didn’t need a pound of them around! I was just curious.
Married Girl - Glad you liked. Just to note, next time I think I’d boil the peels first three times instead of two. They’re not too bitter, but they could be a little softer, I think.
Ro - I usually just mainline the stuff. Er, just kidding. Mostly - have you tried it in coffee? Splashed into French toast batter? I have a recipe coming up in a week in an online magazine that uses Baileys, but until then, I’ll see if I can dig up something else. If I remember correctly, the Bailey’s website has a few dessert recipes, too, though I haven’t tried any of them.
WendyP - I wish I could say but this was my very first time making them and the very first recipe I stumbled across, so I don’t feel I’m any kind of expert. That said, if the recipe works, don’t fix it. Except that overnight soaking - I bet you can get away with skipping that.
Jessie - Ok! Er, just read the comments, too. It looks like there’s a bit of good advice in here.
Tanna - I’d like to try them with grapefruit, too. Also, I wanted to try lime peels with white chocolate but everyone was horrified at the idea. It could work, right?
Ulterior - Welcome. I should have directed you here sooner.
Jenifer - Fudge? Fudge? Please share!
Helen - Thank you.
Jelena - Oy. I feel bad. The truth is (I’ve mentioned in the comments, but that barely helps) this was my very first time making them and the very first recipe I grabbed. While I liked the results, it’s far from well-tested. Did yours overcook at all? Mine did, but I attempted to trim those parts.
Julie - Thank you.
Neil - Do it! That would be so cool. As I’ve said above, next time I’d boil it three times in plain water. Otherwise, I loved the way they turned out.
Jan - Not yet, but I’ll keep my eye out.
Deb,
It is indeed to start a fresh batch of cold water each time. The previous water if full of the particles you are wanting to get rid of. Takes too much time? Have another pot going at close to the same time– you can still use the same pot, but you will be expediting the process.
beautiful photos, very clear.
I made it today again, it worked out much better. I think they just dried out a bit. They’re so yummy which is why they don’t last for very long :)
Could you recommend a way to wrap these so I could ship them to my dad? I have never shipped home made candies especially ones with chocolate makes me nervous. The trip would be 2 days via Priority mail. Thanks for any suggestions you have!
I LOVE this recipe!
I made these over the weekend and — YUM! I was impatient, though, and put milk in my chocolate to smooth it as it was melting, so there’s no crunch in my chocolate, unfortunately. But still, I’m loving this recipe. Thank you!!!
One piece of advice I could use, though: How did you dip the peels? One by one? All at once and then pour them out onto parchment? I did three oranges’ worth, and doing them one by one was making me batty, so I tried a lot of different methods — none of which were satisfying. What did you do?
mmm - they look SO good
I have some oranges I bought before the CA citrus freeze
I may have to do them justice with this recipe
@ jess patiserie is patience! the only way is one by one…
the pictures are realy nice! But for the sirup I would use the juce of the orange instat of wather and a pinch of salt (remember that is as litle as you can pick up with ONLY 2 fingers, what I mean is: be caerfull that’s a point were you easyly can over do it) and at the very end a dash of contreau to protect it from the kids arround x-mas some kardamom and cinemon is a must or cook 2 or 3 slices of fresh ginger with it (likely you want to cover these with choc too)
Oh, goodness! I love the suggestion to store these in my belly. That’s where everything good ends up.
I’ll be giving these a try this holiday season for sure! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
Hey great recipe. I don’t think I have ever seen that one done online before.
How in the world are we ever going to stop eating during this holiday season?
Yummie yummie in our tummie, this afternoon that is!
We make this treat at Christmas time every year. We just dip one end of the orange sticks in the chocolate, however. Yummy.
Just found this recipe, and had a thought…could you use the (unburnt) simple syrup after the simmer to flavor coffee or tea or… Or would it taste burnt? Anyway this sounds delicious and I will make them for my kids later tonight.
Appealing way to use the whole fruit.
Thanks for sharing such an interesting recipe. I thought the photo work was great!
What a wonderful idea, u made it look so simple and the photos look great.
X M
If you’re going to give these as gifts or if these are for anyone but yourself, you’ll probably want to make sure the chocolate is tempered. Otherwise the chocolate will look dull and off-colored. If it’s not for anyone else, I suggest cut out the tempering. Just get ‘em done and eat ‘em! This is my favorite candy.
Thank you so much for this recipe- I have loved these since I was little and never realized they were so straight forward to make!
It looks and sounds like a delicious treat for the holidays…ought to add this to the holiday cookie list.
I plan on making these– my question is: Do you think that the recipe would work well with Splenda? The sugar is to sweeten, not to actually candy the peels, right?
Hi Lori — The orange peels are actually candied! So, I doubt that splenda would work. That said, I’m not practiced at all in cooking with it, so perhaps someone will chime in with a solution.
I made these today, have not dipped them yet. My orange peel slices seem a touch tender and am hoping they won’t break up or fall apart. I’m not sure if I cooked them too long or what. I have them drying now and they are quite sticky. Do they normally seem sticky until they are very very dry? I too am wondering how to dip them.
Um, I thought eating peels was bad for you or something.
Peels so far as I know are not bad for you. Sometimes my husband will eat a whole orange, peel and all! By the way, I made these orangettes last night and melted the chocolate and finished them this morning and they are outrageously good!!! I just put the pieces in the hot melted chocolate and used a fork to sort of push the chocolate over the pieces and then lifted them out and dried them on parchment paper. They hardened and are delicious.
I just wanted to say first off that I LOVE this site! I can’t believe I have never read a food blog before? Yes, I maybe “have” been living under a rock….maybe.
Deb, you are awesome, and I love your style of writing! You make me smile, it’s a pleasure visiting this site. My husband last night wondered where I had disappeared to…”Honey, come checkout this awesome website! She’s hilarious!” He already said that I have to make the Brownie Cheesecake for my brother’s birthday next year…..we have our own chocoholics in our family.
I didn’t know where to post this, but since this is the “Candy Girl” entry, I guess here is fine. I had come across this recipe over a year ago from a friend in North Carolina. The only name we have for this is “Crack” or “Crack Candy”. It’s seriously addicting. There is not a 2 week period that goes by when I don’t have to make this for my husband’s co-workers…..guess all those burly, landscaper men love “Crack”. LOL!
Anyway, here goes, once you make it, you MAY just have to pour dish soap on it to stop eating it….something about the combination of sweet and salty….yum.
Crack, or Crack Candy, or Evil Recipe Incarnate
Evil recipe incarnate
*4 oz saltine crackers (that’s one skid, as DH would say)
*1 cup butter
*1 cup dark brown sugar
*2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
*3/4 cup pecans (I prefer walnuts…)
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer.
-In a saucepan, combine sugar and butter. Bring to a rolling boil for 3 minutes.
-Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers completely.
-Bake at 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate to cover and sprinkle nuts of your choice on top.
-Cool completely and break into pieces.
*****NOTES*****
I use one of my oldest 10X15 non-stick cookie sheets for this. If you use one of those jelly role pans 1) they are too big and 2) this stuff STICKS and you will never get it off of the pan. I have heard rumors that lining with foil helps, but I never have had a problem using my old beat up pan. It is not officially known as the “Crack Pan” and not used for anything else.
I have heard tell of people using Club Crackers in stead of saltines. I have not tried it yet for fear of messing with perfection, but I hear that they are more buttery than saltines, therefore make a better candy. We’ll see……
I guess you could vary what kind of chocolate you would like to use….also what kind of nuts. I have also seen people sprinkle crushed candy canes on top (blech! Peppermint + Toffee Like Flavors = Me No Likey) or toffee bits…..
Your freezer is your friend! I freeze this so I can break it up and have my “sample/control/test” piece faster. OR, if you are in the frozen tundra of the north like me, then just set it outside to cool faster. :-D
I really REALLY hope some of you guys try this. It’s amazingly simple and soooo good.
Great recipe, makes the house smell fantastic ! I used the leftover syrup to sweeten mulled wine. Mixed with the spices it gives a really nice citrus taste to the wine.
Thanks
Jamie, Alsace, France.
Deb — I’m actually making these right now! I took your advice and boiled the peels three times instead of just two, and I really do think it made a difference (I’m one of those people who eats the rind plain, so I tasted the boiled ones). The bitterness is completely gone after the third boiling. =) Can’t wait to taste the final product!
wat a delicious food i wish i could have it now….thanx for sharing it
jasmine
tech-chek.blogspot.com
That’s a very cool dessert idea, and very simple and easy to make.
http://www.webyaa.com/category/food
Great photographs, too!
Thanks to your advice Deb- I tried making the candy two ways- one batch with Splenda and low carb chocolate and one with sugar and regular dark chocolate, following the directions exactly the same.
Since the Splenda peels didn’t candy, I’m storing them in the refrigerator. But, the taste is remarkably similar, which makes me happy. I probably wouldn’t give the sugar free version as a gift unless I knew the person was dieting, but for myself, it’s a delicious treat that I can indulge in guilt-free!
Thanks for the recipe. Note: do not give up after tasting the oranges after boiling or even the sugar bath. I thought at that point they didn’t taste very good but after the chocolate these are really yummy. They taste very similar to those orange chocolate balls that you can buy and are supposed to break and then eat.
I make these every year at Christmas and they are a HUGE hit. I do scrape the pith off the orange once the quarters are peeled and then I blanch mine 3 times, each time starting with fresh cold water and bringing up to a boil, draining and repeating. As for the simple syrup, I never bring that to a boil, only a simmer (you wont burn them and you’ll always have yummy left over orange flavored simple syrup left over). The peels cook for 45 minutes in the simmering syrup - DO NOT STIR! ONLY SWISH THE PAN SLIGHTLY IF YOU NEED TO MOVE ANY OF THEM AROUND - and then I let them drain on a wire rack slightly before rolling in sugar. I dip mine one at a time, leaving about 1/4 of the sugared orange peel showing. I think it looks pretty, gives the recipient an idea of what they’re eating and also, they are much easier to dip that way.
Love the site!!
You all are easily impressed. Let me impress you more… If you julienne the orange peel (cut into extremely tiny strips) and only boil the simple syrup until it’s clear and add the orange peels you can make a marmalade. Just don’t cook the peels so long in the syrup. Candied orange peels are very common in the industry and tweaking the recipe makes such a quick fruit spread that it’s a fallback for many pastry chefs.Also, the peels are very pretty when rolled in large crystal sugar after draining, saves time and makes a beautiful dessert garnish.
Very interesting recipe. Like the whole idea
Just to add that I may try this with white choclate as well
I have just found you using Stumble. The recipe for the orange skins in chocolate looks devine. I am definitely going to try that one. I am adding your site to my favourites so I can visit again.
Found the recipe while reading your grapefruit post… and a tiny sidenote to add.
I make something similar to these, and if you make a double batch of the simple syrup and pull the strip at the same time, you have left an amazingly fragrent orange syrup that can almost completly substitute for triple sec. Very yummy drizzled over ice cream or poured into black tea as a sweetener.
Do citrus rinds freeze well? Could I save up my rinds from my oranges and then have a candy making party? It would make me feel frugal (something I rarely feel!).
I just finished makeing a batch of these orange rinds. They are GREAT. The simple syrup was great in my Ice Tea afterwards what a bonus.
Hazel
This looks tasty and relatively easy.
Love your site…just “stumbled” into and I’m glad I did. I think I might be getting married soon (call it a hunch) and I have a feeling I’ll be coming back here repeatedly.
Best,
LK
Wow the pics of the oranges are amazing! I love chocolate and oranges. I am going to double the recipe and make the syrup to drizzle over ice cream and pound cake!
wow these look soo good, i love chocolate and orange together, mmm
Wow! These are so good! I have been searching for this recipe since our trip to Turkey last summer where I found some of these at a candy kiosk. I almost cried when the bus driver said we could not go back that way so I could load up again! I made them yesterday and you have totally made my week! Thank you thank you thank you! Penny Raynor
there’s thirty minutes left on the timer and im REALLY tempted to peek in the pan. i keep hearing sizzling sounds and im scared they’re burned. but if its still bubbling, that means there’s still syrup in there!
the pictures are AMAZING, btw
Hi Emily — If you hear sizzling, you should definitely check! They can burn, especially because all of our stoves have their own temperatures/levels they call “low.” Good luck.
It looks very simple and easy to make. Thank you for sharing.
wow. never seens anything like that before. I have seen pretty much everything exle in chocolate except peels. Nice. Thanks
I made these for Valentine’s Day this year. Instead of doing strips, though, I cut the peels into little, bite-size hearts. And I topped each one with a heart-shaped sprinkle from Barbie’s cooking line. They turned out not only delicious (many never made it to my Valentines … ) but adorable!