Candied Orange Peel Recipe
by Julie Davis
Every year my kids and I make candied orange peels. We use freshly picked oranges off of the tree in our front yard, in Browns Valley. My son loves them so much he eats half of them before I even get the chance to dip them in chocolate, so we make extra. Here’s our quick and easy recipe.
Note: I haven’t had good luck with making a double batch. They don’t seem to dry correctly. I recommend making one batch at a time.
These take a few days to dry so you will want to plan ahead.
Ingredients:
2-3 large oranges (lemons also work with this recipe)
4 cups sugar, divided
3 cups water
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Directions:
Cut the peel off of oranges and into ¼ inch strips.
Cook peels in a pot of boiling water for 15 minutes and drain.
Bring 3 cups sugar and 3 cups water to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Add the orange peel strips and bring back up to a boil.
Simmer until the orange peel is soft but not falling apart, 45 minutes to an hour.
Drain and toss peels in 1 cup of sugar to coat.
Transfer and separate strips to dry on a foil or wax paper-lined baking tray. Make sure the strips are separated and not stacked on top of each other.
(optional) Once the candied orange peels are dry dip half in melted semi-sweet chocolate and lay on wax paper to harden.
The syrup is delicious and can be reserved in a glass jar in the refrigerator for pancakes, ice cream topping or cocktails (more on this below).
Citrus infused vodka
Looking for something else to do with all the fresh citrus that’s available this time of year?
Slice the peels from any citrus, lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit with as little of the white part as possible. Put your peels in a glass jar about halfway full. Cover completely with your favorite vodka. Give it shake. Let sit for about two weeks. Strain the vodka and store it in a nice glass jar.
Citrus infused vodka cocktail
This is my go-to quick and fun cocktail, perfect for a warm summer day. Serve citrus-infused vodka over ice with some of your reserved syrup from above and add sparkling water.
Citrus the gift that keeps on giving, ENJOY!