Orangettes

 The perfect sweets for Christmas.

Orangettes and truffles

Ingredients

3 big oranges with thick skin

200g caster or granulated sugar

400ml water

150g good dark chocolate, possibly more.

Method

Cut the top and bottom of the oranges, then cut the skin into quarter. Peel the skin.

Bring a pan of water to the boil then add the orange peel. Let them boil for 3 minutes, then drain and rinse them. Repeat the operation: bring water to the boil and boil the peels for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse. This will get rid of the orange's bitterness.

Let the peel cool down.

In a saucepan, bring the sugar and 400ml of water to the boil. Meanwhile, cut the peels into strips, around 5mm wide. When the syrup is boiling, add the peels. Let them simmer for 5 minutes then take the pan out of the hobs. Let the peels and syrup cool completely. Once it's cold, put the pan back on the hobs, bring to the boil then simmer for 1 minute. Take the pan off the hobs and let it cool completely again. Repeat a third time. The peels should start to be a bit translucent.

Let the peels dry on a rack for a whole night or day. 

To coat the peels, simply melt the chocolate in a bain marie. Dip the peels one by one in the chocolate, leaving the top uncoated (it's prettier and less messy). If you think you're going to run out of chocolate, add a few more pieces in the bowl, and stir lightly to melt them with the rest of the chocolate.
Let the peels and chocolate dry on a baking sheet. 

The orangettes can be stored up to a month in a container in the fridge.

Tips

- Keep the chocolate in the bain marie while you dip the peels so it does not cool down and solidify. Dip the peels two by two maximum.

- Keep the orange syrup in a jar in the fridge and use it to flavour other cakes, cocktails, etc.