Homemade Chocolate Orange Sticks are made with a delicious orange jelly filling dipped in melted chocolate. Simple chocolate candy recipe that is so easy to make!
Chocolate Orange Sticks are one of my absolute favorite holiday treats. When I was a kid, every year my dad would get a box of chocolate covered orange sticks in his stocking for Christmas and he was always very nice to share so I learned to love them too.
I never even thought about making them myself, but then years ago, I found a recipe for this special treat. Initially, I was pretty skeptical and doubted that they would taste as good as the kind in the box, but the homemade version is even better. Like, so so so good. We now make these every single year around the holidays and make enough to share with neighbors and friends. Everyone loves them!
Update: I also created a raspberry version of these and they are amazing too! I can’t decide which ones I like better, so I usually just make both every time!
What are Chocolate Orange Sticks?
Chocolate Orange Sticks are a candy that is most easily found in stores during the holiday season. This is candy that has an orange jelly filling that is dipped in chocolate. These chocolate candies can be stored at room temperature for days and make the perfect gift for friends and neighbors.
INGREDIENTS IN HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE ORANGE STICKS
Unflavored gelatin – You will need 3 tablespoons of unflavored gelatin. This usually comes in a box that has small little packets. You will need 4 of the little packets to get the necessary 3 tablespoons.
Sugar – Two cups of granulated sugar are needed to make the candied orange jelly mixture.
Water – You need a half cup of cold water to dissolve the gelatin in. You need half a cup of hot water (hot tap water is fine) to mix with the sugar to help dissolve it before boiling.
Orange juice concentrate – To get the most amazing orange flavor, you will need two tablespoons of frozen orange juice concentrate. You can just scoop this right out of the can and save the rest of the concentrate for future batches!
Lemon juice – You need two tablespoons of lemon juice. I use the kind from the bottle, but fresh squeezed lemon juice will work also. The first time I made this recipe, I was a little nervous because I didn’t really want lemon sticks! But I promise that you won’t be able to taste the lemon flavor at all. Somehow it just enhances the orange flavor. 🤷🏼♀️
Lemon extract – You will need 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract. Again, I promise you won’t be able to taste the lemon at all!
Orange extract – One teaspoon of orange extract will strengthen the orange flavor in the chocolate orange sticks.
Orange food coloring – You don’t have to add the orange food coloring, but it does make the candy a lot darker and more visibly orange. Totally up to you!
Chocolate – You need 12 ounces of melting chocolate or chocolate almond bark. Regular milk chocolate pairs so well with the orange, but dark chocolate is also amazing and white chocolate works as well. Use whatever kind of chocolate you like best!
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE ORANGE STICKS
Mix the unflavored gelatin in the half cup of cold water and set aside so that the gelatin can soften up.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and hot water and stir until dissolved. Turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the gelatin mixture and slowly boil on medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Make sure to stir the mixture occasionally. Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients, stirring the mixture until smooth.
Use non-stick spray to prepare the molds you will be using. Carefully pour the mixture into the well-greased molds. I purchased this mold from Amazon, but before I had the mold, I used several mini loaf pans and the loaf pans work just as well as the silicone mold.
Let stand over night and then remove the jellied orange mixture from the molds. Cut the candy into the desired shape. If you use the same molds that I did, you will just need to slice each rectangle in half to create the thin rectangles that are very similar to the store-bought orange sticks. If you use a mini loaf pan, you will need to make slices that are about 1/3″ wide.
Now it’s time to melt the chocolate. If you are using melting wafers or Candiquik, just follow the melting directions on the package. Dip the sliced rectangles into the melted chocolate. Place the dipped chocolates on wax paper.
If you’d like to make them look a little bit fancier, you can drizzle a little white chocolate on top just for fun. Just make sure the chocolate coating is set and dried before adding the drizzle.
HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE ORANGE STICKS
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp unflavored gelatin I used 4 of the little packets
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup hot water
- ½ cup cold water
- 2 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp lemon extract
- 1 tsp orange extract
- 5-6 drops orange food coloring
- 12 oz melting chocolate or chocolate almond bark
Instructions
- Mix the unflavored gelatin in the half cup of cold water and set aside so that the gelatin can soften up.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and hot water and stir until dissolved. Turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the gelatin mixture and slowly boil on medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Make sure to stir the mixture occasionally. Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients, stirring the mixture until smooth.
- Use non-stick spray to prepare the molds you will be using. Carefully pour the mixture into the well-greased molds. I purchased this mold from Amazon, but before I had the mold, I used several mini loaf pans and the loaf pans work just as well as the silicone mold.
- Let stand over night and then remove the jellied orange mixture from the molds. Cut the candy into the desired shape. If you use the same molds that I did, you will just need to slice each rectangle in half to create the thin rectangles that are very similar to the store-bought orange sticks. If you use a mini loaf pan, you will need to make slices that are about 1/3" wide.
- Now it's time to melt the chocolate. If you are using melting wafers or Candiquik, just follow the melting directions on the package. Dip the sliced rectangles into the melted chocolate. Place the dipped chocolates on wax paper.
- If you'd like to make them look a little bit fancier, you can drizzle a little white chocolate on top just for fun. Just make sure the chocolate coating is set and dried before adding the drizzle.
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WHAT KIND OF CHOCOLATE IS BEST FOR CANDY MAKING?
If you can melt it, you can use it. While I recommend using chocolate specifically meant for melting (like Wilton melting wafers or Candiquik), you can use your own melting chocolate of choice. Just make sure that you can get it nice and smooth once it’s melted so that it can easily coat the jelly sticks. I think that milk chocolate pairs best with the orange flavor, but you can also use dark chocolate or white chocolate instead if you prefer.
How to store Homemade Chocolate Orange Sticks
You can store these for a week at room temperature (maybe longer, but they’ve never lasted that long at my house!) and they still taste fresh! They taste great chilled too, so you can store them in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 weeks in an airtight container.
Since they are so easy to store, this makes this candy the perfect treat to ship to friends and family who live far away – these hold up better than a lot of other homemade treats.
CAN I USE OTHER SHAPE MOLDS?
Absolutely! You can use any silicone mold shape you want to create fun shapes. Imagine hearts around Valentine’s Day, or mini donuts either would be well received. You can adjust the molds to fit themes, holidays and events!
ENJOY EASY HOLIDAY CANDY RECIPES? HERE ARE MORE WE LOVE:
- Easy Oreo Balls
- Buckeye Balls Candy
- Saltine Cracker Toffee recipe
- Tiger Butter Fudge
- Easy Chocolate Peppermint Patties
- Raspberry Jelly Candy
- Easy Mint Chocolates
- Chocolate Raspberry Sticks
- Homemade Almond Joy Bars
- Microwave Pumpkin Spiced Caramels
- Chocolate Peppermint Truffles
- Martha Washington Candy (Coconut Pecan Truffles)
- Rolo Pretzel Turtles
- Peanut Clusters
- Cherry Jelly Hearts Candy
Homemade Chocolate Orange Sticks are made with a delicious orange jelly filling dipped in melted chocolate. Simple chocolate candy recipe that is so easy to make!
Erin says
YUM! My husband would die. He loves chocolate orange and these look amazing! Pinning to try ASAP!<br />Erin @ Simple, Sweet & Savory
30b08686-b0b3-11e3-8c2f-000bcdca4d7a says
I would LOVE to have the raspberry version of this too– hope you will post that one too when you get it worked out.<br />I LOVE your recipes and relate to your blog name!
Kara says
These look amazing! When you used the mini loaf pans, did you just fill them 1/2" full, or did you slice them lengthwise?
Terri @ that's some good cookin' says
Wow! Such a lucky family to get to have these treats. I agree; raspberry would be great!
Tosha says
Ice stick molds work really well for this adventure!! they are just a bit thinner giving you a bit more chocolate with your orange.
Jessica says
That is such a great idea- I just got some from Ikea!! Thanks!
Patti says
Do you have to keep these refrigerated?
These are my favorite candy so I would love to try them.
Nellie says
I don’t usually refrigerate these when I make them – I’ve had them last up to a week if kept in an airtight container on the counter. I think they might even be ok longer than that, but they are so good, they tend to disappear within a few days!
KDD says
Did you cut the pieces before letting them sit overnight or right before dipping in chocolate? These are my favorite candies ever, and I want them to work out right the first time. Thanks!
Nellie says
I always cut them after letting them sit overnight. You can dip them as soon as you’d like after cutting them. These are one of my favorite treats too – I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve made these! Enjoy!
tara skaggs says
i was undering if i did the excat recipe for the raspberry for the oranger sticks if it would work. use the oranger jello instead of the juice and the lemon juice. i also found some raspberry danish dessert glaze it is like the gelatine would that work also.
Jessica says
We have a separate post for Raspberry Sticks already- check it out! http://butterwithasideofbread.com/2015/03/chocolate-raspberry-sticks/
Jocelyn says
Can you use sugar free jello with these recipes?
Nellie says
I have never tried it but I am guessing it would work just fine!
Denise says
Do you think you could use agar agar instead of gelatin? Thinking vegan Xmas gifts!
Nellie says
I have never used agar agar, but after doing a little bit of research it looks like it should be a good substitute! Let me know how they turn out!
Rhonda says
I love orange sticks. So do my grandchildren but you can’t always find them in the stores. Can you use the milk chocolate chocolate chips as your dipping chocolate or do you recommend using the candy dipping chocolate? Do you grease the silicone pans and if so what do you recommend?
Nellie says
I’m sure you can use milk chocolate chips to dip, but you may have to add 1-2 tsp of shortening to thin it out just a little bit to make the dipping easier. I have used actually dipping chocolate but often use chocolate almond bark and it works very well too. I do grease the silicone pans very well and have always just used PAM cooking spray. It works wonderfully!
betty boop says
I made the orange sticks the only mold was same material that was showed but i only had star shapes, andf i had to use the chocolate chips, i guess it could of been better, but tasted fine to us. thank you.
Sharon Costello says
My jelly sticks did not come out clear like in the picture but a tad foamy. Why would this happen?
Jessica says
These look spectacular for holiday entertaining! And so easy to make!
Sandi says
I have always loved these. I was really psyched to see they are gluten free! Sharing!
Brenda says
Excellent recipe! I need molds! I hand cut all of them so the uniformity is off but no one will care because they taste great! I used one 10 oz pkg of Giradelli dark melting wafers-perfect amount.
Thank you again my Grandmother will be thrilled!
Teresa hall says
How should you store chocolate covered orange?
Nellie says
I just store them in an airtight container at room temperature and they last at least a week that way. You could probably store them in the fridge if you wanted them to stay fresh a bit longer, but I would set them out prior to serving so they can get back to room temperature.
Karin Patnode says
I made these I believe the Orange jelly got overcooked…when I poured into pan it instantly turned hard and dry …any idea as to why ?
Nellie says
I’ve never had that happen, so I’m not sure, but yes, it sounds like the mixture may have been overcooked? Or perhaps there was too much gelatin added somehow?
Jenny says
Would this work using a regular glass baking dish or a metal cake pan? Would it be difficult to get out?
Inez L. Dooney says
Can these orange sticks be made sugar free with splenda? My husband loves these and is diabetic, I have bought them sugar free in Gresham Oregon. Just wondering if you know or I will just try it
Inez
Nellie says
I’ve never tried using Splenda, but I would guess it would work out ok. Please let me know if you try it!
Suparna Bhattacharjee says
Awesome , let me know how can I make mango filling for chocolate
Nellie says
Suparna – I’ll have to try to come up with a mango filling! You could definitely use mango juice concentrate instead of the OJ concentrate, but I’m not sure that there is such a thing as mango extract so I’m not sure how strong the mango flavor would be. Let me know if you try it!