- 4 ounces of unsweetened dark chocolate (I buy the Ghirardelli 100% Cacao bars when I can find it, but Baker’s unsweetened chocolate works just as well.)
- ¼ cup of genuine farmer’s honey (I get my honey from Crigger Farm in Warsaw, Kentucky)
- Zest of two oranges (You can use the large holes of a cheese grater for larger pieces of zest or a microplane or small holes of a cheese grater for smaller, more delicate pieces of zest depending on your texture preference.)
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave safe bowl in the microwave until it’s almost completely melted (about two minutes.)
- Stir the chocolate until any chunks are fully melted and smooth.
- Add the honey and stir to fully incorporate it with the chocolate.
- Add in the orange zest and stir until mixed thoroughly.
- Put chocolate mixture in the freezer for about 10 minutes until it sets up a bit.
- Line a small baking sheet or plate with wax paper.
- Remove the mixture from the freezer and with a spoon, make dollops of the mixture and place on the wax paper.
- Put the candy dollops in the freezer for at least an hour to harden up.
- Store in freezer and serve ice cold or let them warm up a few minutes, depending on your preference.
You can see the difference in the look of this recipe using the large cheese grater to zest (candy at the bottom of the photo) vs. small microplane (candy at the top of the plate/photo.) Again, how you choose to zest is about texture and visual preference.
This recipe is a much healthier alternative to satisfy your candy craving and has about the same calories as the national brands, but is much healthier. There are a number of “low calorie” candy products and full calorie “snack size” candy products on the market. However, they contain preservatives and unnatural ingredients. This is a decadent way to satisfy your sweet tooth and feel better about what you’re putting in your body.
Also, note that most store bought honey is not “pure” honey. To get truly pure honey, you need to go to local honey producers/bee keepers. For a better understanding about honey, check out this article. http://www.rodale.com/research-feed/most-store-bought-honey-isnt-honey-all-tests-show
