It’s the holidays, and this year I won’t be able to go back home to Tuscany… and I know, I will terribly miss seeing my grandmother!
It used to be one of our most cherished Christmas celebration to lock ourselves up in the kitchen for a full afternoon, usually a couple of days before the family lunch, and prepare the sweet treats that would accompany the final toast. Our favorite things to prepare have always been Ricciarelli (Siena traditional’ Almond Cookies) and the candied orange peels dipped in dark chocolate.
Both recipes require a long time of preparation, which makes for a great time at the kitchen counter with any of your family members, especially kids as they are always game when it’s time to work on a dessert!
Traditionally the “Scorze di Arancia” demand a very slow 3 days preparation time, but I have never met a kid able to wait that long for a dessert, at least neither one of my daughters! So I had to give it a few tries before I was able to come up with a much quicker solution. Both methods will provide you with great results, however if you really want to give your orange peels a perfect crunch you should go with the slower version of this recipe, as it allows the orange peels to dry much better and become crispier.
This said, when we prepare this delicious recipe in our house it usually takes us no more than a couple of days to devour it all. Once the chocolate dries on the orange peels you can save this candies in the fridge for up to two weeks, enjoy!