Chocolate Covered Candied Kumquats

From just outside of Athens in the port city of Piraeus, Greece, comes my pick for the most playful confection of the year. These candied fruits are enrobed in chocolate, coated in a crackling candy shell, then decorated to look like colorful pebbles. They’re adorable enough to catch your eye, but then delicious enough to eat them anyway.

Kumquats are a small, aromatic citrus, about the size of the tip of my thumb. The whole fruit, peel and all, is candied until the center is soft and gooey but the bright, tart citrus flavor still shines through the dark chocolate and orange-sherbet colored candy shell.