Orange n Choco chili snaps!

Ok, so ever since I saw Procrastobaker's Peppermint Crisps, I've been dying to bite into one. I mean, Chocolate and peppermint are two of my all time favourite things and here it was both together in one amazing looking cookie. I couldnt wait to make it and one of the first things I did today morning was to make up my mind make it today itself. It only required minimal ingredients, all of which was there in my pantry. Turns out I was wrong. I did not have peppermint extract and there cannot be peppermint crisps without peppermint, now cant it? But I was so looking forward to my chocolate fix and so I did what I do best, Improvise. I knew I definitely had orange extract in my kitty and plus there were a couple of fresh oranges handy, so I decided that instead of peppermint, orange it would be and so was born my orange and choco chili snaps. Why snaps and not bars or cookies? You'll know soon enough. :)

Here are the things you need,

• 250 grams of chocolate chips or roughly chopped bars
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup grated coconut 
• 1/2 tsp orange extract
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbsp zest of orange
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• 1 green chili cut along the length (for a bit of spice. Omit if you are not a chilly fan) 

Method:

1. Boil water,sugar and chili together until all the sugar dissolves.
2. Then remove the chilly and let the sugar syrup remain untouched until it caramelizes. As soon as it the sugar syrup changes colour and turns a pale yellow, switch off the heat.
3. Now add the orange extract and swirl the pot to incorporate the sugar syrup and the extract.
4. Now in a baking tray lined with parchment paper, pour the sugar syrup and let it sit for 15 minutes or until it hardens.
5. Once it hardens, break the sugar into pieces and pulse it in a food processor until it becomes sandy.
6. On double boil, melt the chocolate and remove from heat.
7. Then add the coconut, orange juice and the finely ground orangy sugar. Mix well.
8. Once again, in a baking tray lined with parchment paper, spread the chocolate mix evenly
9. Sprinkle the orange zest on top and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
10. Serve! Yummy!

Apologies for the really poor photograph. Its that, as soon as I was taking the chocolate off the fridge, in walked my 6 year old niece with her gang of friends and this pic was all I could manage before the attack. :)

Few notes:

** Because I live in a humid environment, the formation of the orange sugar sheet was extremely tricky as the moment I took it out of the fridge the sugar would turn sticky. So, all those people living in hot and humid conditions, keep this in mind and take care to pulse the sugar sheet into sandy sugar only in the last minute just before you add to the chocolate mix.

**Also, if storing, keep the chocolate under refrigeration as well, the humidity can cause it to melt.

** And finally, why did I call these chocolate bars, SNAPS? Because, I forgot to score the chocolate before setting it to harden and so had no choice but the snap the chocolate. I had no shapely chocolates! but it tasted awesome nonetheless!