Although I often brag with my friends I’m the least picky eater they know (I thoroughly enjoy foods most people turn down – i.e: oysters, cow’s tongue, tripe, stock fish, frog legs, blue cheese, etc.), for some strange reason candied fruit never made it on the long list of foods I eat. Every year at Christmas I take time picking out candied orange bits from my panettone slice – something I consider an unnerving behavior in others. Poor little candied fruit, so harmless and so sweet…pushed out of the plate in such a brutal way.

Luckily, taste changes over time. For me it was a sudden u-turn and since last Christmas I cannot think to have a panettone slice without those little jewel-like orange pieces. It just tastes so much better! …So, when Signora Milena (the same lady who generously provided me with the ingredients to make Pasta con le Sarde) gave me a little bag of candied orange peel from Sicily, my heart was happy. She suggested I made little orangettes by cutting the peel in strips and then dipping them in chocolate. What a neat idea! The recipe itself was straight forward and not difficult at all. Signora Milena didn’t mention anything about tempering chocolate. Since I’m a perfectionist and I like to complicate my life enjoy challenges, I decided to temper my chocolate to give it a glossy and smooth finish.

Tempering chocolate can be tricky and messy, if 1) you’ve never done it before and 2) you’re a human being. Simply put, you’ll need to melt your chocolate, then cool it to a certain temperature and then slightly warm it again. I recommend using a thermometer and some help, if you have it. I cooled my chocolate on a marble slab, agitating it with scrapers until it thickened. The seeding technique I explained in the recipe below is definitely easier, but still requires a good amount of precision.

Whether or not you  like your chocolate tempered, you should try to make these little treats! They’re my favorite new thing to have with coffee. Yummy and cute…what a nice way to impress your guests!