For a fancy-schmancy holiday treat that looks too pretty to eat, go for these Chocolate Dipped Candied Orange Slices!
Growing up, my dad had two Christmas treats that were sure to show up in the stocking every year: Cordial Cherries and Orange Slices. Yep, those were his trademark items. So, you can bet how excited I was when I walked into the Amano Chocolate Factory Store and discovered that they had superbly gourmet versions of each of these! Like, I’m talking top of the line deliciousness. And I didn’t even like cordial cherries, and was on the fence about orange slices until this encounter….. (of course I’m talking the bulk processed packaged kind of each, so they really aren’t comparable at all.)
I wondered how Amano achieved their final outcome with their oranges. Because so many candied oranges just seem and look sticky and icky to me. But their oranges were perfectly dried yet pliable. And they tasted fabulous. Luckily, Amano shared their little secret with us that makes all the difference. Instead of boiling the oranges in syrup to candy them, they soak/macerate them in a cooled simple syrup (I make a rich simple syrup) overnight and then dry them out. They said they used a food dehydrator. We’re actually still figuring that one out for timing and temp, but have had fabulous results in an oven.
These candied orange slices are really so simple, yet so sophisticated. They are the perfect adult Christmas treat gift that’s a little different than all of the peppermint bark and fudge that seem to be everywhere this time of year (although those sweet treats still hold a dear place in my taste buds! In fact we’ll be sharing our yummy versions this weekend). And my kids actually love them, too! This can still count as fruit for the day, right? Ummmmm…..maybe not. But, I’ll try to stretch the rules for you.
Chocolate Dipped Candied Orange Slices
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 large navel oranges, sliced into 1/8 inch slices leave on rind, zest, and all
- 1-2 cups dark chocolate morsels or chunks we like Ghirardelli, Guittard, or Amano - Morobe or Dos Rios are excellent pairings with this, for dipping
Instructions
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In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and water.
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Heat mixture until sugar dissolves completely and mixture starts to boil.
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Remove from heat, pour into wide, shallow Tupperware, and cool completely.
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When syrup has cooled completely layer your sliced oranges in the syrup, pushing them down until all are mostly covered.
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Cover container to seal and place in refrigerator overnight (I've left them for as long as two days before candying.)
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Preheat oven to 170 degrees F. (You can have some variation here - please see notes.)
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Nest a wire cooling rack on top of the parchment.
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Place your oranges on the wire rack. (The wire rack allows the drying to come from top and bottom so that they oranges can dry evenly).
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Place oranges in oven. If you have a convection feature on your oven, turn it on. Leave the oven cracked open about 2 inches.
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Dry oranges for 2 to 2 and 1/2 hours, rotating pan every 30 minutes, and flipping oranges every hour to maintain uniform drying.
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You will know that the oranges are done when they are pliable and dry to the touch.
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Let oranges cool completely.
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Temper your chocolate over a double boiler (here are some handy tempering instructions) or heat chocolate morsels in microwave in 15-30 second increments at 50% power until melted.
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Dip 1/2 of orange into chocolate and place on waxed paper.
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If desired, sprinkle fleur de sel (or other coarse salt) over top of chocolate.
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Let cool until set.
Recipe Notes
Tips for drying:
Convection in the oven is a wonderful thing! It helps create an airflow around the oranges for drying. However, if you don't have it, don't fret. Cracking the door open and using the wire rack also assist really well with drying. You may just need to leave them in a little longer.
You may also dry at a lower temperature (down to about 130 degrees) if you desire. Once again, you just want to continue to check the oranges about every 30 minutes, rotating them to avoid hot spots that could end up burning. Depending on how low you go, it could take considerably longer, but low temperature is key to not burning and having perfect chewy results.
Laying out the oranges for baking/drying after the syrup soak
When done, oranges should be dry to the touch and pliable.
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Oh wow…these just look so yummy and Christmasy! Love this idea!
Thanks Erin! They are pretty fun to make, and eating them….even better!
Love this recipe, I can’t wait to try it. My question is how to store orange slices, refrigerate or can I freeze them. How long do they keep either way.
Thanks
Hi Mary! Since they are candied, they don’t need to be refrigerated. I’ve stored them for up to 2 weeks. You could freeze – just realize that when the chocolate thaws it might sweat and cause discolorization. Hope you like them!
Thank you for the tip! If I freeze them without dipping in chocolate can I dip them later (thaw amount needed, then dip in chocolate) I have so many blood oranges to candied.
Mary: I would definitely take that approach over dipping them in advance! Here’s a thread that I found about freezing them as well in case you are interested. http://food52.com/hotline/24412-how-long-does-candied-orange-peel-keep-and-how-should-i-store-it-i-always-have-more-time-in-march-t
I made it!! Below is a photo of my results :). I used a dehydrator for 10 hours, which I now realize was a bit long. Maybe just 6-7 hours needed in the future.
https://instagram.com/p/BLhtWFBDDD4r1O18xKI1ZtkEITkrxGYQH-1ZG40/
Yay! Good job. Yeah, looks like needs just a little less time, but they do look beautiful!
I am halfway done with making these. I love candied oranges and chocolate. Thank you!
Sorry for the late response! I’m dying to get these going again for the holidays. Hope you loved them!
There was a considerable delay in printing. Wen the printing finally kicked in I received numeerous page.
Also, suggest you allow for just printing the reecipe.
Your page looks very interesting and I probably visit frequently.
Thank you
Thanks for the feedback Anthony! it used to have an option for just printing the recipe. I’m not sure what’s up, but I will investigate and see if I need to fix something with the code or the plug-in.
Hello Anthony,
You can print just the recipe by “highlighting” the recipe directions and then right click your mouse and choose print…or you can copy/paste them to an email to yourself to print from there. Have an amazing day!
The recipe says 2 inch oranges but doesn’t say how many oranges. How many should I use for this amount of sugar and water?
Hi Bernice! It should say 2 large navel oranges, 1/8 inch slices – we recently changed our website recipe plugin and it looks like it mixed up some of the wording on that line. I am going to edit it right now. Thanks for catching that and for letting me know!
Hi I am going to make orange and lemon slices as gifts. Why do these store for less time than say ones from a chocolatiers? Alison
Alison: I’m not sure what a typical chocolatier says for their slices so hard to compare! If you are talking about packaged ones, they may have additives and preservatives to help them store for longer. When I bought these in the past when Amano was making them, they were always fairly fresh. They may be able to last longer – say a month or so. I’ve just never had them longer than 2 weeks before we ate them all up! The process for candying these is different than other methods that you see because of the way they are soaked and dehydrated. My biggest concern for preserving would be moisture and temperature causing issues to the oranges and chocolate. I would also be concerned about them taking on other flavors (or vice versa). So if you sealed them in one of those vacuum seal type containers and kept them in a dark and cool place, they may be able to hold up well. Let me know how it goes!
So happy I stumbled across this recipe! My boyfriend’s mom LOVES chocolate and orange ANYTHING. I can’t wait to make a cute, little gift box full of these for her for the holidays!
I’m hoping to make these but put them in my dehydrator rather then oven to dry. There was one person who commented that they dehydrated them for 10 hours but perhaps should have just done 6-7 hours. I am curious what temp you used and if you used a flat silicon sheet in your dehydrator. Or, if anyone has suggestions? Thank you, Vicki
Can the surup be reused that wad used to marinate the orange slices for the Chocolate Covered Candied Orsnge Slices? For more orange slices or something else? Does it have to be discarded?
Hi Marion!
The last time I made these, I saved the syrup to use later for an italian cream soda – I wasn’t sure if it would get bitter over time, so I was just testing it out. It seemed to do just fine!
Ok we soaked them over night SO EXCITED . Will update when I get them candied. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi.
Thanks so much for this recipe, I made them last year as gifts and everyone said how yummy they were. Doing them again this year a deffo a christmas go to
Hi! Thanks for posting this! I really like the final look of the oranges, and would be so happy if I could have mine turn out similarly.
Have you been able to figure out what would be the proper time/temp to dry them in a dehydrator? I’d love to know!
Also, does the cool soak overnight in syrup remove some of the bitterness in the rind?
I live that this recipe sets the whole oranges! Am making it now and wonder if you have abuse for the sugar syrup once you’ve furnished soaking the oranges?
Sorry my typing is atrocious! I Love that you use whole oranges and wonder if you have a use for the syrup? Thanks
Hi! I am going to make these for a Christmas party. How many oranges would you suggest and do I need much more syrup if I am going to make in bulk? We have around 30-40 people.
Hi! I’m making these and I was just wondering… If you have the convection option on your oven do you have to leave the oven door open?
Othervrecipes call for simmering the Orange slices first in orden to talé the bitternes out .would you say this is not necessary in your recipe please le tus know
Hello, Is it possible to make these about a month ahead of Christmas and store in a tin or cellophane? If candied, they should last for a few months? Like you would get in a candy store? Also, can I use a glass container instead of the Tupperware in the syrup in the refrigerator?
Thank you,
Barbara
Also, Can I do 1/4 slices instead of 1/8 of an inch slice? Thank you, Barbara