Chocolate Covered Clementines December 24, 2009

A friend recently gave my mom the idea of making chocolate covered clementines, so my mom passed the idea along to me. Last night I decided to try it, and they turned out amazingly well!

If you’re looking for a sweet treat to serve at Christmas or New Year’s, this is the perfect solution. All you need are several clementines, about a pound of dark chocolate melting caps and a few white chocolate melting caps.

Directions:
Peel about 6 to 8 clementines and pull apart the slices. Set aside.

Place a handful of dark chocolate melting caps into a microwave-safe container. (I used a Pyrex measuring cup.) Microwave for about 30 seconds. Then stir the chocolate and put back in the microwave for another 15 seconds. Stir again.

Continue microwaving for 10 second intervals, stirring in between, until chocolate is completely melted. (Be very careful not to leave it in the microwave too long, or it will burn.)

Once the chocolate is melted, place one of the clementine slices into the chocolate. Use a spoon to submerge the clementine and to pull it back out of the chocolate.

Let the excess chocolate run off the spoon before placing the slice onto wax paper. Use a fork to gently slide the clementine off the spoon and onto the wax paper.

Continue melting more chocolate caps as necessary, heating them for 10-15 second intervals.

Once you have dipped several slices, melt some of the white chocolate caps the same way as the dark chocolate. Using a spoon, drizzle the white chocolate across the dark chocolate-dipped slices to decorate.

Place the finished slices in the refrigerator to harden the chocolate coating.

To garnish my chocolate covered clementines, I made a clementine flower.

Garnish:
Using a sharp knife, trace two perpendicular lines across the top of a clementine and extending down each side (as if you were going to cut the fruit in quarters). Gently use the knife to slice through the peel, but try not to cut into the actual fruit.

Once you have slit the peel about 3/4 of the way down each side of the fruit, gently peel back the skin part of the way to expose the fruit inside (making the petals of the flower).

Place a chocolate chip or whatever else you like in the center of the inside of the fruit to make the center of the flower.

Arrange the chocolate covered slices in a flower shape around the outside of the garnish.