Chocolate with a hint of orange is one of my favorite things, especially around Christmas time!
I was trying to decide on a yummy, but different dessert to bring to Thanksgiving and I had the idea to make orange flavored brownies.
I found a few recipes online and combined them all into what I thought would be the chocolatiest, orangiest brownies ever baked.
And here's what I ended up with!
Ingredients
1 stick of butter
1-1/2 cup of sugar The juice from one orange- about 1/4 cup The pulp from one orange- about half a cup 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract 1 cup of cocoa 1- 1/2 cup of flour 1 teaspoon of baking powder 1/4 teaspoon of salt 2 cups of dark chocolate chips
Directions
Soften the butter in the microwave and whip it together with the sugar.
Add the orange juice, pulp and vanilla to the butter and sugar mix.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
Sift well and add slowly to the wet mixture.
Transfer the batter to a baking pan, and cook for about 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean.
Cover the top of the brownies in dark chocolate chips and then return to the oven for 1-2 minutes to melt the chips.
Spread the melted chocolate chips around evenly.
For the candied orange slices
Cut a whole orange into very thin slices.
Put the slices into a pot with about 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
Boil for two minutes and then dump the water out.
Repeat this one to two more times, to remove the bitterness of the peel.
Fill the saucepan again with 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar.
Bring to a simmer, letting the sugar completely dissolve, and then add the orange slices.
Let them simmer for 30-40 minutes.
Remove oranges from sugar mix and let them cool on a baking sheet or cooling rack.
When the orange slices are cooled, add them to the top of the brownies.
It's best to do it while the chocolate chips are still melty, so they hold the oranges in place.
Then it's time to cut and serve!
They were a huge success! This was my first time candying anything, and the oranges slices turned out even better than I expected. The bitterness was gone from the peel, and the sharp citrus flavor went perfectly with chocolate fudgey brownies.
I loved the bit of orange pulp mixed throughout the brownies. It gave the whole dessert the super orangey flavor I was hoping for. I will definitely be making these bad boys again.
