Candied Orange Peel

Wow- I made these almost 2 months ago, but have had so many other things to blog about, that I'm just now getting around to posting them!  These were DELICIOUS!!  They were like homemade orange slice candy- but 100 times better.  (I LOVE orange slice candy).  They were chewy, citrusy, sweet- so good!  I didn't get as far as dipping them in chocolate- I made these right before our trip to Germany and had no time for dippage.  I need to try them again dipped in chocolate.  A few months ago, we ordered some chocolate-dipped orange peels online and they were so good, but so expensive! 

The original blogger tosses them in sugar after they've dried a bit, but I found that with our humid weather here, that was a waste, because the sugar kind of "melted" off a few hours later, anyway.  Plus, I prefer the smoother texture of the un-sugared ones.  The un-sugared ones are pictured above. 

 To get the peels off cleanly, I first sliced the oranges into slices, and then carefully peeled the peels off of each slice (pictured above).  This was the easiest, most stress-free way for me.  See the original recipe for another way.  Also, I'll post it below.  Closet Cooking says that you can do this with any citrus peel- I wonder how lemons would be! 

I tried to make these a second time, but instead of chewy and delicious, they were mushy and weird.  I had to throw them out.  I'm not sure what went wrong- but I did leave them unattended for quite a while.  They were either undercooked or overcooked, oops!  Lesson learned- don't go upstairs and watch a TV show while these are simmering away!  ;) 

Candied Orange Peel
adapted from Closet Cooking

3 oranges (navel work well)
2 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup sugar

1. To peel the orange:  Cut the top and bottom from the orange.  Cut the peel each orange into 4 vertical pieces and remove from orange in one piece.  Cut the peel into thin strips.  Alternatively, you can cut each orange into slices and individually remove the peel from each slice. 

2.  Bring a pot of water to boil, reduce the heat to medium and cook the peels in boiling water for 15 minutes, drain and rinse.

3. Bring the water and sugar to a boil over medium heat in a sauce pan.  Add the peel, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the peels are tender, about 45 minutes.  (Note:  You can save the liquid and use it as an orange-flavored simple syrup). 

4. Drain and place the peels on a cooling rack and let them sit until the coating is dry, anywhere from 24-48 hours.  If desired, toss in sugar a few hours after cooking.  You can also dip in chocolate once they are dry.  (Mine never really "dried", but just got drier.)

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