Tis the season for festive homemade treats and one of my favorites is candied orange peel. Simple to make with a brilliant citrus flavor candied orange peel stars in a number of classic Christmas breads and are a great make ahead gift. This recipe for Homemade Orange Peel is easy to make and is sure to make your holidays joyful and bright.
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Ingredients for Candied Orange Peel
- Oranges (navel or valencia oranges)
- Granulated sugar
- Water
How to Use Candied Orange Peel
Candied orange peels are a classic holiday treat on their own or dipped in dark chocolate. Made by cooking orange peels in a sugar syrup the result is a sweet treat with an intense citrus flavor. Candied orange peel and candied lemon are also an ingredient in a number of European Christmas delights like German lebkuchen and stollen, Italian panettone and British fruitcake. Candied orange peel would also make a great garnish for any holiday cocktail (especially my Chocolate Orange Martini) While you can by candied citrus at the grocery store making it from scratch takes minimal effort and tastes much better.
How to Make Candied Orange Peel
You can use the following recipe to make any kind of candied citrus, including candied lemon peel, candied lime peel or even grapefruit. While this recipe is fairly simple you will need a little bit of time so it’s best to make this candied citrus at least one day before you want to use it.
Rinse the oranges thoroughly and cut off the tops and bottoms. Score the skin into quarters and remove the skin (both zest and pith, or orange and white parts).Cut the peels into ¼ inch strips, reserve the orange for another use (or just eat it as a snack).
Place orange peels in a saucepan and cover the peels with water. Over medium high heat bring to a boil for five minutes. Drain the peels return to the pan with more water and repeat the blanching process for a total of 3-5 times. Blanching is done to remove the bitterness, taste the peel after each blanching to ensure they are not bitter before cooking in the sugar syrup.
Add 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar and bring to a simmer over medium heat stirring occasionally to ensure the sugar is fully dissolved. Add the peels to the syrup and cook for 45-60 minutes adjusting the heat to maintain a simmer and ensure the peels are covered in syrup. The peels will be done when once the are soft and slightly translucent. Drain the peels, reserving the orange simple syrup for another use (this citrus simple syrup is perfect for to sweeten tea or for making cocktails). Toss the peels in the remaining sugar and transfer to a wire rack. Dry for 3-4 hours and then transfer to an airtight container.
If you like this Homemade Candied Orange Peel be sure to take a look at some of my other recipes!
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Homemade Candied Orange Peel
Equipment
- 1 Large saucepan
Ingredients
- 3 large navel oranges
- 2½ cups granulated sugar divided
- 2 cups water plus more for initial blanching stages
Instructions
- Rinse the oranges thoroughly and cut off the tops and bottoms. Score the skin into quarters and remove the skin (both zest and pith, or orange and white parts).
- Cut the peels into ¼ inch strips, reserve the orange for another use.
- Place orange peels in a saucepan and cover the peels with water. Over medium high heat bring to a boil for five minutes. Drain the peels return to the pan with more water and repeat the blanching process for a total of 3-5 times. Blanching is done to remove the bitterness, taste the peel after each blanching to ensure they are not bitter before cooking in the sugar syrup.
- Add 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar and bring to a simmer over medium heat stirring occasionally to ensure the sugar is fully dissolved. Add the peels to the syrup and cook for 45-60 minutes adjusting the heat to maintain a simmer and ensure the peels are covered in syrup. The peels will be done when once the are soft and slightly translucent.
- Drain the peels, reserving the orange simple syrup for another use. Toss the peels in the remaining sugar and transfer to a wire rack. Dry for 3-4 hours and then transfer to an airtight container.
Jamie says
Awesome! Such a very cute and cool treat plus it’s very unique. Great idea and concept! Looks so yummy and kids will definitely love it!
Amy Liu Dong says
This looks sweet, an amazing treat for everyone to love and enjoy! Definitely will be a big hit for many! Its uniqueness will make it enticing!
Kari Heron | Chef and Steward says
I love this and it has so many great uses for baking!
Ann says
Oh these remind me of my childhood! I have never thought of making these at home. Great idea!
Monica says
Great recipe. I did mixed fruit and it was good for lemons too.
Brianna says
Thanks! I use this recipe for lemons and grapefruit as well 🙂
Glo says
This recipe looks amazing! Question- how do you store these?
Brianna Simmons says
You can store these in a dry airtight container or jar.