panettone prepwork, orangettes

At long last, I´ve surrendered to the Xmas frenzy hahaha and all I have to say is, oh my, I´m soooooo tired.
Trying to plan ahead, I decided to make orangettes for the panettone I´ll be making on Saturday, which hopefully will turn out as scrumptious as I dream it will.
They looked simple enough... don´t most recipes? but then again, many of them end up requiring quite a bit of toiling.
BUT, and this is a big but, their taste and texture completely make up for it. They are sweet, a bit crunchy, and the flavor is nearly orgasmic, both with or without chocolate (though I think the chocolate just takes it to the next level).
I adapted the recipe to suit my needs, since I just wanted to do just a few of them covered in chocolate and I didn´t like to roll them in cocoa afterwards. For the ones without chocolate, I decided to roll them in sugar while they were still hot (be careful with your hands... don´t ask why I feel the need to make this warning hahaha).
If you often find orange too bitter, don´t worry because the bitterness disappears after boiling them twice. And the concentrated flavor achieved in the end is absolutely delicious.
If you don´t feel in heaven eating these babies with a nice mocaccino or a quality tea, then I don´t know what kind of person you are and I don´t wanna know you at all. Do you have a soul??? hahahahaa

In case I don´t post earlier, I wish you all a very Merry Xmas and I hope you have a wonderful time with your loved ones, without any quarrels or anything like that :)

Without further ado, here they are in all their yumminess.




Orangettes (adapted from here)

4 large oranges
8 ounces water
8 ounces sugar
16 ounces dark chocolate
granulated sugar

1. Slice the ends off of the oranges, score the peel from one end to the other, and remove the peels off the oranges.
2. Slice the peels into thin strips and trim the edges.
3. 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.
4. Prepare the simple syrup by combining the water and sugar in a sauce pot. Bring the syrup to a simmer, place the peels in the pot, and simmer for 1 hour. Once the peels have cooked, remove them from the pot, and place on a rack to cool and drain.
5.
For the chocolate orangettes:
Melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler. Dip the candied orange peels in the chocolate, remove them quickly, and place them on a rack to cool and drain.
For the regular orangettes:
After removing the peels from the pot, roll them in granulated sugar while they are still warm and let them drain.
6. Store the orange peels in an airtight container.

NOTE: I´ve just realized I had used the very same title Deb had used for her post on orangettes. I guess the title got inside my head while I was using her instructions to make them and then I thought "candy girl, that could work, like that old Acqua song called "barbie girl". Anyone remember one-hit-wonder Acqua? hahahaha anyway, I digress, I just wanted to clarify the whole title plagiarism haha