Holiday Orange Scented Fudge

When I was a little girl, one of my dad’s and brothers’ favorite Christmas treats was Chocolate Orange Sticks. They’d open the box with great anticipation, and there, lined up like a row of toy soldiers, were these “sticks” of orange flavored turkish-delight-like goo covered with chocolate. They’d grab them and take a bite and the orange goo would stretch out from between their teeth like melted cheese. Their joy was contagious so even though I knew from previous years’ experience that to me these little sticks were nasty, I’d pick up another and bite into it, thinking maybe they were better than I’d remembered. I’d chew and swallow that first bite and then sadly remember that they were definitely not on my list of favorite holiday treats.

It wasn’t until I started my food business and someone recommended I put a layer of raspberries between my famous Chocolate Truffle Pie, that I realized it’s not the fruit and chocolate combination I don’t like, it’s FAKE fruit and chocolate I don’t like. Of course this thrilled me and led me to create several more recipes involving chocolate and real fruit. Here is one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Orange Fudge

• 1 C cocoa powder
• 1 C real maple syrup
• 1/2 C cold pressed organic coconut oil (available at any health food store)
• 5 drops food grade orange essential oil (doTERRA brandare my hands-down favorite for cooking because they’re so pure)

I prefer to use non-alkalai processed organic cocoa powder. You can get this from the bulk section of most health food stores. Put all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. You may also use a blender. If your coconut oil is hard, use a knife to scrape it out and just estimate your half cup. After the mixture is smooth and saucy, pour into a waxed paper or parchment paper lined pan and freeze. You can choose the pan based on how thick you’d like your fudge pieces. After about one hour, your fudge will be ready to cut into and eat, although letting it freeze overnight will make it even harder and yummier. Use a knife dipped in hot water and quickly dried to cut your frozen fudge. This fudge will hold up fine for a couple hours at room temperature. It will soften but not melt (unless it’s the dead of summer). Store it in the freezer.

Sometimes we use this fudge as dessert for catered events. I fold up a 4″ x 4″ tissue paper, place a chunk of fudge on it and garnish with an almond or a curl of orange peel. Enjoy!

Tagged as: easy fudge, easy holiday desserts, fudge recipe for kids, holiday fudge, orange fudge