Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Chocolate Bark with Peanuts and Orange Peel

A friend of Judy's, Juliana Thompson gave her some Christmas cookies and sweets and this was one of the items. I have to say that it was one of the best sweets I have ever had. I ate all of it! I had Judy ask for the recipe and she sent it and a full batch - which needless to say - I ate it all again.

Ingredients:

- 1 navel orange
- 1 pound of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 1/3 cups coarsely chopped unsalted peanuts
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Directions:

1. Line a 12 x 17 inch rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; chill in fridge.
2. With a vegetable peeler, remove zest from the orange in long pieces. With a sharp knife, cut the zest into very thin strips, about 1 inch long.
3. Place chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water; heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth.
4. Mix in half the zest and peanuts. Immediately pour onto prepared sheet.
5. With a flexible spatula, spread into a 10x12 inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. To help spread chocolate, rock baking sheet back and forth. Sprinkle with remaining zest, peanuts and the salt.
6. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes. To serve, break into pieces. Bark can be refrigerated up to 3 days, between layers of parchment, in air tight containers.

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