As a child we played dreidel with chocolate-wrapped coins, called Chanukah gelt. Money given to a child by a parent on this holiday is also referred to as gelt. Here is a tastier take on Chanukah gelt, inspired by a recipe in this month's Martha Stewart Living. I used Ghirardelli bitterwsweet baking chocolate bars. These morsels make a great holiday gift, too. After you make the chocolate-dipped apricots, read up on how to play dreidel and use the candies in place of coins.
APRICOT GELT (CHOCOLATE-DIPPED APRICOTS)Makes about 4 dozen
1 pound dried apricots
1 pound dark or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Foil candy wrappers (optional)
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Heat chocolate over a double-boiler. Allow the water in the boiler to get hot but not fully boil. Use a plastic spatula to scrape chocolate away from the sides. Remove from heat as soon as the chocolate is melted. If you prefer to use a microwave, melt the chocolate in a glass bowl in short intervals, stirring well with spatula.
Immediately add all the apricots to the pot melted chocolate, and stir gently until they are all coated fully. Carefully lift each piece out of the pot with a fork, allowing some of the excess chocolate to drip off. For a more sophisticated look, you can also try holding each apricot by one end with your fingers and dipping only half of it into the chocolate.
Place carefully on parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until the chocolate has become firm (20-30 minutes). Store in ziploc bags or wrap in foil wrappers.
This recipe is part of the Festive Food Fair blog event.
remember that place across the street from the women's center on 18th that used to be a cookie shop? i think it was called annie's or something. it's near tartin. maybe if it's still empty, you could take it over and sell all your incredible creations. i used to encourage danny to buy it, but reading your blog, i think you might be perfect for it.
ReplyDeleteWoah Baby! Bring them on. I'll supply the dreidle. (spelling?)
ReplyDeleteGili: I think the way I keep loving cooking is by not doing it professionally! But I have thought of maybe doing some catering or personal cheffing eventually. Thanks, you are sweet.
ReplyDeletePoet With A Day Job: Come and get some this weekend! For real! I am thinking of having a Chanukah party, actually - I'll talk to you and L about plans.
Oooh, I want to try these with white chocolate.
ReplyDeleteOy vey these look good! :-)
ReplyDeleteChocolate dipped... that's all that matters! Yum!
ReplyDeleteI have a weakness for chocolate, so I'm sure I'd try the apricots you've made. Isn't chocolate just a wonderful thing? It is so versatile and wonderful.
These look gorgeous! In fact, I think my dad would love them as a Christmas present... I wonder how well they would ship... :) Thank you for inspiring me!
ReplyDeletegreat idea for gelt! ;P
ReplyDeletethanks for stopping by my blog. i see i have a lot to look over here! i would never have know about your great website otherwise. ;-)
we make the same thing and sometime stuff a blanched, toasted almond inside or marzipan. just to gild the lily a bit. umm or is it latke?
Isaiah - I was just going through your Passover recipes and wonder where you get GF apricots? So much of the dried fruit and/or nuts from either Trader Joe's or Whole Foods has an allergan warning on the package saying that the food was packaged in a facility that uses good manufacturing practices but that also processes wheat etc. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteEllen - I actually don't worry much about products made in the same facilities, I only worry about products made on the same equipment/lines. A facility that also manufactures allergen-containing products but uses good manufacturing processes is the least of my (many) worries ;-P Good manufacturing processes make it highly unlikely that cross-contamination can happen. I think the apricots I used for this recipe initially were the cheap Sunkist (?) ones that were 2 small boxes for $1 at Walgreens... Though I've also bought Trader Joe's and Whole Foods brands in the past.
ReplyDeleteOh, nice recipe! Chocolate again! I'm so crazy about chocolate, but I've found some facts about chocolate,so it's not so bad, what do you think?
ReplyDelete