I garnished my orange chocolate mousse with candied orange peels and you know me, I could not resist making my own candied orange peels. As it turns out, candied orange peels are actually pretty easy to make. It is really just as simple as peeling some oranges, slicing the peels, simmering them in water and sugar until tender, tossing them in sugar and letting them dry. Before simmering the peels in the water and sugar you can boil them in water one or more times to help reduce the bitterness. The final step of drying the peels is going to take a day or two so you need to keep that in mind when making the candied orange peels.
For something that is so easy to make, these candied orange peels are addictively good! Candied orange peels are a citrus lovers heaven and you can candy pretty much any citrus fruits peel that you like. The crunchy sugary coating wraps around the soft, sweet pure orange flavour creating a pleasant contrast in texture. If you think that candied orange peels are good all by themselves, and they are, then you have to try dipping them into a melted dark chocolate coating. Chocolate and orange is one of those classic flavour combinations and this is one of the best examples of it that I have ever had!
Candied Orange Peel
ingredients
- 3 oranges, navel work well
- 2 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup sugar
directions
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Drain and toss the peels in the sugar. Note: You want to drain the orange peels well. If you just throw them straight from the syrup into the sugar, the sugar will clump up. (Tip: Save the syrup and use it in ice tea.)
- Place the peels on a cooling rack and let them sit until the coating is dry, anywhere from 24-48 hours.
That looks yummy!
Can you do the same with lemon and lime?
These really are delicious, and I was surprised that they weren't all that difficult when I tried them for Christmas. Yours are much nicer looking than mine were, though. I've been thinking about other citrus peel-chocolate combinations. Like lime and milk. Or grapefruit and white chocolate. So many possibilities.
Wow! They look amazing and love that they are so easy to make.
Thats something that i've always wanted to try. It seems like such an exotic food, though I guess it's something I could (hypothetically, not in reality) make it at home.
Beautiful!!!
these look delicious
following you
Lemon peels work great as well, lime not so much (they get rather bitter). Also, confectioners sugar gives a finer, smoother texture when dried.
I discovered these when I lived in France and just fell in love with them! perfect and they are such a wonderful pairing with chocolate.
looks marvelous! looking forward to trying this one, soon – real soon.
I have been wanting to make candied orange peel for a while now! This looks amazing. Thanks for much for the recipe…I can't wait to make them! 🙂
wow Those candied orange peels look marvelous! Do you think I can use pomelo peel instead?
Que casualidad!!precisamente las hice anoche!las tengo secándose en el horno para ponerles el chocolate hoy mismo 🙂
Te quedaron preciosas
Beautiful and so delicious!
Cheers,
Rosa
Tempting!
Yummy!
Yum!
These look amazing. I received some several years ago as a Christmas gift but it never dawned on me that I could make my own! You've inspired me
Esto es una delicia para no parar.
Saludos
No need words to tell the yummy taste of this recipe!!!Have a nice day
Orange with chocolate is one of my favorite combinations. Beautiful photos and lovely blog.
Lovely, I enjoy eating them and add them to items, but forget that I can make them on my own. Must do, thank you.
What a fun and tastey way to reuse orange peels! 🙂
Ooh, that some pretty citrus candy! I live in Florida, so I'm bookmarking this. Now I just need to find the trees with the thick skinned citrus…:-)
I just made this last week, just like you said there were tons of oranges in the stores these days. Love them. Love your pictures.
Mmmmm. I've been meaning to try this with grapefruit. Looks delicious.
I've been wanting to make my own candied orange peels for awhile now. Thanks for the recipe!
I love making candied fruit – such a pretty garnish for sweets. Orange is perfect with chocolate!
I could eat them like… well… candy. Love them chocolate dipped – just love them.
Looks delicious! I want that right now!
XOXO,
http://www.piecelovecooking.com
These I am DEFINITELY going to have to try! I love chocolate orange (I have a Lindt chocolate orange bar in my desk drawer at this very moment.) Thanks for the recipes.
These look so good and sound surprisingly easy! It makes me want to try so maybe I'll stop comparing orange peel to clementines!
Angie's Recipes: Though I have not tried candying pomelo peel I have seen candied pomelo peel. Because of the thickness of the skin I would definitely take the extra step and cut as much of the white pith from the skin as possible.
Kevin, your photos are stunning! I've been looking for just this recipe!!! Nicely done!!
They look great!
I have to try it! Thanks, Kevin 🙂
Hi Kevin…
What should the sugar syrup consistency be like… Im trying them right now… hopefully they work out
I made these a couple of days ago with oranges from my back yard (I live in central Florida). They're absolutely delish! Thanks for the recipe!!
This is on my list of things I would love to make, but haven't gotten a chance to… yours look great!
Anu Menon: The syrup will be pretty liquid-y. After you remove the orange peels you can continue to simmer the syrup to reduce it so that it thickens up if you want to use it for something else like a pancake syrup.
Thank you for the lovely recipe, I've always loved these, but had never thought to make them, and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was… almost as easy as eating them.
I even used them to decorate my orange chocolate birthday cake, a wonderful touch http://naranjamorena.blogspot.com/2011/02/torta-de-panqueque-chocolate-naranja.html 😀
This is something I've always wanted to try!! Never did though, because having not tasted them, I'm a little wary!
do these candied peels keep well?
am doing 'em tomorrow!
thanks for ALL the amazing input, Kevin!
Anonymous: Candied orange peels keep well, though mine have always disappeared rather quickly. 🙂
Kevin, these look amazing! I've never tried candied orange peel.. I was wondering if the consistency is like a chewy candy… like twizzlers or something?
Andrea: These candied orange peels do have a consistency like chewy candy!
This looks amazing!! Cant wait to try them! Thanks for sharing your recipes! I think I am going to stalk your blog for daily dinner ideas!
Soky
that looks amazing!! I am gonna try this straight away!….thanx for sharing Kevin!! 🙂
I can't wait to try this one, but there aren't any oranges around. I saw someone answer that lime peels get bitter. But I have no idea how to make lemon peels. Can you help please?
Thanks!
Nitts: You can candy lemon peels using this recipe as well!
This is just awesome. I tried it in my kitchen as soon as I read your post. It turned out real good. Thanks a lot for this simple and yum stuff! I'm from India and wish to post this in my blog with my cliks. Your name will find a place in my next post (saying a thankyou for the recipe)
Hi Kevin….I just had went through this recipe on Raj Deepa's blog and I can;t wait to try this. She had mentioned your link as well and hence wanted to let you know that it is an awesome recipe.
oh, MY, I can tell by looking that I will be thanking you for this recipe again and AGAIN!!!
it looks delicious! I can't wait to try it!
this looks really yummy
These are so delicious and beautiful, and the syrup leftover from cooking the orange peels is heavenly! It's great to use like a simple syrup in tropical drinks.
These look amazing! I would only use organic citrus fruits though as the skin of traditional produce may be sprayed with pesticides or fungicides, not something you'd want dried and concentrated!
I made these yesterday but didn't get as far as dipping them in chocolate because they are SO good as is, and I'm lazy! Lol! I want to make them again ASAP and dip them in chocolate then.
My Dad has a tangerine tree, so I have tons of them. Some are as large as navel oranges. Can I use them in this recipe? Also, can I keep the peels for 3or 4 wks before making the recipe? If so… What is the best way! Will freezing them effect the outcome of the results? Thanks for any help….I want to give ad Christmas gifts. 🙂
Hi there! I'm trying out your recipe as we speak! I was wondering if there was any method to your chocolate melting for the orange peels. Do you just melt them over a bain-marie and then dip them, then wait for them to dry?
Also, was there any technique you used to make your peels straight instead of having them naturally curved?
I can't wait to try them!
Anonymous: Yes, I just melted the chocolate in a bain-marie, dipped in the candied orange peels and then let them cool on a cooling rack. The peels straighten a bit after cooking them. Enjoy!
Anonymous: Tangerines should also work well! I have never tried to keep the peels but the freezer would be your best bet. Enjoy!
I'm making these as I "speak" c: I hope they turn out delish and lovely!
This is what I consider a great Christmas sweet. You don't need to spend hours to make it, moreover orange and chocolate are a perfect match!
thanks for sharing.
We buy candied orange peel from a candy shop every christmas. I will have to try this and see if I can make them. Maybe a new tradition.
I live in central America… SO HUMID! Will this affect the "drying" process too much? Normally things get wet and soft when left out. Is there anything I can do to make it quicker? Baking them?? Help!
Anonymous: I have not tried baking them but you should be able to bake them at the lowest temperature that your oven will go for say 20-40 minutes, but check on them often.
I can't wait to try these!! I want to perfect the lime ones, because limes are my *FAV* maybe a dash of salt will help!! I bet the syrup could be added to plain yogurt or cream cheese for an awesome dip for fruit or cinnamon chips 🙂 or Cheese Cake!… Is there such a thing as a margarita cheese cake?… there I go….can't wait… CAN"T WAIT!!! 😉
Just a heads up to use organic oranges – commercially grown ones contain a lot of stuff you probably don't want to be putting into your body!
just a heads up to use organic oranges – commercially produced ones contain a lot of chemicals/pesticides you probably don't want to put into your body! Same goes with anytime you use zests..
Have not had these since I was a kid will definitely have to try this.
I want to try then but you don't say how much water to use when you boil the sugar and what do you have three separate sugar amounts for? Two cups to use in the water one cup to toss and what is the other one cup for?
Anonymous: When you boil them the first time it does not matter how much water that you use, enough to cover them and a bit of extra is ok. When you simmer them in the water the second time it is 2 cups of water to 1 cup of sugar. The second cup of sugar is for tossing them in and there is no third cup. Enjoy!
I am thinking of making these in big batches so I can hand them out as Christmas gifts to neighbors. The question I have is…do you think that it would hinder the cooking of the oranges if I boiled (maybe slices from 20 oranges) them all in one pot or smaller batches? Thanks!
Laurie Schilling: One large batch of 20 will work fine! Enjoy!
OK Kevin, I don't know if this is a very good thing or a very bad thing. I can spend a small fortune on dark chocolate covered orange peels… and now you are telling me I can so easily make them? Oh my…
Can you use day old orange peels? Or do they absolutely have to be fresh?
Laurie Randall: I have not tried with day old peels but they should be ok!
These are so delicious & easy to make. I freeze as much needed until I have enough. Then when I have the time I just take out as much as I need to make this wonderful treat. I make at least 2 big batches every winter. I have also made lemon & grapefruit. Some I dip in chocolate and som I dice to either snack on or add to cakes or garnish desserts as I did when I made your “Orange Chocolate Cream Cheese Mousse”
Once again thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes!!!
What’s the best kind of chocolate to use?
I like dark chocolate!
I’m made this second Christmas in a row! Everyone loves it. Thank you for this recipe!