MARZIPAN ORANGES
1 tube marzipan (I used 1/2 tube and made 1 dozen oranges)
orange food color (I used neon gel)
orange colored sugar
canned chocolate frosting + cornstarch (unless you have edible modeling chocolate)
edible orange glitter (optional)
orange essence or extract (optional)
***
First, if you don't have modeling chocolate (and not many people do) put about 1 tsp. canned chocolate frosting (not whipped) and 2 tsp. cornstarch in a little bowl ~ mix it together as well as possible ~ kneading the cornstarch in with your fingers, if necessary. Then spread it out on a small piece of waxed paper to harden up while you work with the marzipan. (This is going to be the little nubbin of stem, or whatever that is on the top of an orange.) *** Put a larger piece of waxed paper on the counter for the marzipan oranges.
For 1 dozen oranges, cut the marzipan log in half and knead it a little. Then press it down on your work surface and put a couple of drops of orange essence and a couple of drops of orange food color on it. Fold the marzipan over itself and knead the flavoring and coloring in. (I did this in my hand over the sink, because the coloring might leak out while you knead it.) You'll probably just get a marbling of color, but that's ok because it will add color dimension later.
When it's smooth and the flavoring is kneaded in, roll the marzipan into a thin log on your work surface and cut into 12 small pieces. Roll each piece into a ball in the palm of your hand and put them the waxed paper. Roll each ball over a cheese grater to give them the texture of a real orange ** Cut a little "X" into the top of each ball with a butter knife.
Put about 2 drops of food coloring into a small bowl with about 1-2 TB water. Then I added 2 more drops of food coloring, and went back and dabbed in a few spots on each orange for some darker areas for contrast.
Sprinkle orange sugar over all the oranges (and some edible gold glitter, if you want). Hopefully, your chocolate will be firm enough now, to get the tiniest little balls (about the size of a pin head) to stick into the little "x" on the top of the orange. (You don't want an actual stem that sticks up ~ although if you do other fruits, you can make a stem for them ~ so save extra chocolate in a baggie in your pantry.) Let everything dry before putting the oranges into little bon bon papers.