Dark Chocolate-Dipped Candied Citrus with Vanilla Infused Sea Salt

conflicted confections.

Dark Chocolate-Dipped

Candied Navel Orange + Clementine Slices 

with 

Vanilla Infused Sea Salt.

confections gotta be confected.

Apparently today (yesterday, as I post this) is (was) national dipping things in chocolate day, or some equivalently contrived BS foodie holiday. I loathe participating in these things and tend to avoid them like the transparently disingenuous plague they are. Yet here I am, joining in. It really couldn't be avoided. Sometimes confections need to be confected and this was a pre-planned, pre-holiday food gift prep day that just so happened to fall on an unfortunately coincidental calendar square.

But I feel a little tool-y about it all the same...

Addendum-- all previous complaints notwithstanding, if there's ever a national vanilla-infused 

sea salt day, I'm all over it. 

That stuff is worth a cynical and VERY public sacrifice of integrity.

candied.

dipped.

Dark Chocolate-Dipped

Candied Navel Orange and Clementine Slices

with 

Vanilla Infused Sea Salt

(makes about 25 pieces)

3-4 medium sized organic navel oranges +

3-4 organic clementines
(should yield somewhere around 4c, once sliced)

6c water

2c (+ 1-2Tbsp) unrefined sugar

1/2c dark chocolate chips 

2tsp unrefined coconut oil

1Tbsp finely ground sea salt

1/4 fresh vanilla bean pod, halved

Raw Vegan Chocolate Dipped Caramels

because EVERYTHING is better dipped in chocolate.
Raw Chocolate Dipped Date-Tahini Caramels.

be not ashamed.

Lately, I can't go more than a week without coating something in dark chocolate. All of my recent dessert concoctions seem to wind up dipped or drizzled (or sometimes dusted) in the stuff.  So, in an effort to make this unbreakable chocolate habit a little less health-averse, some serious raw vegan dessert experimentation has been going down in the slow club kitchen. There was this raw chocolate cheesecake, some almost raw chocolate drizzled coconut macaroons and now these caramels. 

OMG... these caramels.

Date-tahini filling takes the place of a traditional sugar-based caramel and is dipped in a raw dark chocolate coating. 

Perfect chocolatey, caramel-y goodness and completely raw to boot. 

I wouldn't go so far as to call them healthy... but if you're planning on shame eating two dozen chocolates this valentine's day (no judgements, we've ALL been there) 

make it these chocolates. 

Trust me. 

Candied Orange Peels

What's better than winter citrus? Winter citrus candy!

Waste not, want not:

Candied Navel Orange Peels

Candied orange peels, coated in sugar and fully dried. Time to add some dark chocolate!

I hate to waste food. This is evidenced by my freezer full of vegetable scraps, the many bins of compost around the perimeter of our yard, the constant rotation of pickling/ preserving projects in the pantry and, in the winter, the big tupperware container full of orange peels in the fridge. 

A big box of Florida oranges is a Christmas tradition in my family; started by my grandparents and now continued by my mom and dad.  When I depart my childhood home after the holidays, I do so with a more than generous box or bag full of oranges.  I never juice them or do much other than just eat them. Being able to eat a fresh, juicy orange almost every day during the long, dark New England winter is a true gift, there are few foods more uplifting. But what to do with all of those peels??

Saved navel orange peels, sliced into matchsticks.

You're telling me I can make CANDY???

Done and done.

Candied orange peels are a lovely little treat, perfect with an afternoon cup of tea. The cooking process gives the peels a soft, almost jelly-like texture. Elegant, delightfully fragrant and delicious, they are the perfect winter dessert, also a great way to preserve the flavor of fresh seasonal citrus for the rest of the year. I highly recommend coating your finished orange peel with a bit of melted dark chocolate.
Trust me on this one.

Saved navel orange peels, waiting to be candied.

Candied Orange Peels:

You will need:
Peels of 6-8 oranges,
navels work best,
cut into 1/4" matchsticks (about 2c)
3c water
2.5c vegan organic sugar

9 cups of boiling water,
for blanching.
extra sugar, approx. 1/2c for coating

Dark chocolate for dipping, optional

Slice your orange peel into approximately 1/4" thick matchstick style strips, removing any pulp or exterior blemishes.
Once sliced, you should have roughly 2-2 1/2c of orange peel.

Combine orange peel and 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil over medium high heat for 5 minutes.
Drain peels and water and repeat 2 more times.
This will soften the peels, making for a better texture and remove the bitterness.

Orange peels after boiling in sugar water.

Once final boil is complete, drain the peels.
Add 3 cups of water and 2.5cups of sugar to the saucepan.
Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
Add orange peels to the liquid, stir very gently to combine.
Return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low.
Simmer peels for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until they become translucent
and liquid has thickened.

Using a slotted spoon, place peels in a strainer to drain.

*Reserve cooking liquid



Fill a shallow bowl with the extra 1/2 cup of sugar.
Using a pair of small plastic tongs or your fingers,
take about 1/4 cup of the candied peels and toss in the sugar.
Gently stir to coat, then remove from bowl.
Separate peels and carefully lay out on a drying rack or baking sheet lined with plastic wrap.
Repeat this process with the remainder of the peels.
 Allow to air dry for at least 12 hours.
The peels are ready to store once the coating is dry.
Store in an airtight container, keep at room temp or store in the freezer.
They will keep for at least 6 months.

*Save the reserved cooking liquid in a glass bottle/jar with a tight fitting lid. You have essentially made an orange-infused simple syrup. This is a great add in for cocktails.

Making dark chocolate covered candied orange peels:
To make this treat a wee bit more indulgent, coat your peels in dark chocolate.
Trust me, this extra step is worth it.
Once your candied peels have dried,
melt dark chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave.
Dip one end of sugared peel into the melted chocolate and place on a silpat
or baking sheet coated with plastic wrap to dry.
Store in the same way.

Candied orange peels, dipped in dark chocolate. Nothing wrong with that. 

Vegan Peppermint Patties

food gifts are the best gifts.
DIY Dark Chocolate Peppermint Patties.

Processed peppermint patty filling, ready to be formed.

Ok, I'm not gonna sugar-coat it (badum bum), these might get you in a little trouble. You may find yourself lying on the couch, face and hands covered in chocolate, cursing the day you first decided that they would make fantastic and (theoretically) easy Christmas gifts. Or, if you're more responsible and more time-management focused than I, you may just have a delightfully relaxing day putting these treats together. Learn from my mistakes, kiddos. Don't try to prep, dip, individually wrap and box up two hundred and fifteen of these in one day. My hands might be permanently claw-shaped from so much teeny tiny wrapping. But still, worth it. These mints are GOOD, (relatively) easy to prepare, and are sure to make you the king/ queen of holiday food gifts. 

They're such a hit with my friends and family 

that people start asking me about next year's batch right around January first. 

But, as much as they may beg, I make them but once a year.

First rule of show business (or peppermint patty making), 

gotta keep 'em wanting more. 

Now, this recipe is for a large batch. If you make small patties (about teaspoon sized) it will make between 60-70. You can easily halve the recipe, but I encourage you to make the full batch. You'll already be putting in the work, so why not make more? You can vary the size of the patties a bit, though if you go too big they can become a bit unwieldy. I like to make mine small, about 1/2" across;

 I find the filling holds together perfectly at this size. 

These keep super well in the fridge and also freeze beautifully. 

Formed and frozen peppermint patty filling, ready to be dipped.

 So here we go:

Vegan Dark Chocolate Peppermint Patties

( makes approximately 60-70 small patties)

First batch of finished mints, only 200 more to go.

You will need a food processor and a double boiler

set-up on your stove top for this recipe.

Ingredients:
6c organic powdered sugar

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2Tbsp room temperature coconut oil

2tbsp peppermint extract

2tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup light (unsweetened) coconut milk

4 cups (2 12oz bags) vegan dark chocolate chips

What a mess.

To prepare the filling:

Combine sugar, 1/4c coconut oil, coconut milk and extracts in the food processor.

Mix until ingredients have combined to form a well incorporated paste.

The mixture should look like the photo above.

Scrape filling out of food processor and into a medium sized bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 

Once the filling is chilled:

Remove from fridge and line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpats.

Measure out a teaspoon sized ball of filling and roll into a ball in your hands. 

Place the ball on mat and gently flatten with two fingers.

Repeat until you have filled your cookie sheets. 

Place filled cookie sheets in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.

If you find that the filling is becoming sticky and hard to work with,

place it back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. 

When your filling is nearly chilled, set up a double boiler on your stove top.

Bring water to a slight simmer over medium high heat.

Add chocolate chips and 2Tbsp coconut oil, stirring until melted.

Remove frozen fillings from the freezer and loosen them from the trays.

They should be solidly frozen enough to easily pop off.

Dipping your mints:
Dip a dinner fork into the melted chocolate to coat the tines.
Place a frozen filling disc on top of the coated fork.
Dip completely into the melted chocolate, coating the disc.
Allow the excess chocolate to drip off, then drag the fork
over the edge of the bowl, removing the rest of the chocolate.

Use another fork or knife to gently slide your coated mint off of
the dipping fork and back onto the silpat.
Repeat this process with all mint fillings,
then return dipped mints to the freezer to set up.
If you find that your un-dipped fillings are becoming too soft to work with,
return them to the freezer to re-freeze.

Once your dipped mints have set up (10-15 minutes in the freezer)
remove them from the silpats and package however you'd like.
I find that, if giving them as gifts, individually wrapping them makes for both
neater storage and better presentation.
Just pick up some baker's paper or parchment and cut it to the appropriate size.
Because there is no dairy these can be stored at room temperature,
but also keep very well in the fridge or freezer.

Now go make some and impress all your friends!

This is the best part.
My hand should uncramp any day now...