Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peel

I’m on a bit of a lemon kick right now.  After the totally awesome Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart which I made for my last Improv Cooking Challenge I’ve just wanted more tangy lemon desserts.  For my upcoming Crazy Cooking Challenge I managed to find a dessert which includes lemon and still meets the criteria for the challenge.  This post is a bit of a sneak preview for that challenge which will post this coming Tuesday.

All I can say right now is that my Crazy Cooking Challenge recipe includes these delicious Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peels and that it’s lucky that any of them made it onto the dessert as I swear, every time I walked by the tray of these I’d grab one or two to snack on.  The combination of the dark chocolate and the chewy sweet and tangy lemon peel is pure perfection.

You can use any lemon of your choice but I chose Meyer lemons because the rind is so thin so I didn’t have to work at peeling away the white pith.

Dark Chocolate Dipped Candied Lemon Peel

8-10 Meyer lemons
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
extra sugar for dipping (about 1 cup)
3 oz. dark chocolate chips
2 - 3 tsp. Crisco solid shortening

Cut the lemons in half and using a lemon reamer juice the lemons.  Remove the remaining fruit pulp and as much of the white pith as possible using a spoon or butter knife.  Cut the rind into strips.  In a medium saucepan bring the water to a boil and add the lemon peels. Boil for about 5 minutes until tender. Remove the peels from the water and stir in the 2 cups of sugar until dissolved. Return the sugar water to a boil and add the peels.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the peels uncovered until transparent and tender, about an hour. Using a slotted spoon remove the peels from the sugar syrup and lay the peels out on a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Allow the peels to dry uncovered overnight.  Reserve the lemon syrup to use in other recipes or to sweeten tea.

Place about one cup of sugar in a small bowl (add more if necessary.)  Dredge the dried peels in the sugar until they are coated and place them on a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Place the sugar coated peels in a warm 100F oven and allow them to dry out for about an hour or allow to sit overnight uncovered on the counter. 

Once the peels are dry, melt the chocolate and stir in a bit of Crisco to thin it out a bit. Dip the peels 2/3 –3/4 of the way up into the melted chocolate.  Lay on a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet and allow the chocolate to harden.  Store the candied peel in a dry location and if you can keep from snacking on them, they’ll stay for a few weeks.

Enjoy!