Candied Citrus Peels
We love making candied citrus peels. In our last couple dessert posts we finished off the desserts with a couple different candied citrus toppings. Candying citrus is a great, very easy way to “classy” up a dessert. Give it a little eye appeal.
candied citrus peels recipe
You can use whatever citrus you like, grapefruit peels, mandarin peels, orange peels, lime peels. Most times we will use the same fruit that is in the recipe, but occasionally will use something that will give a bit of contrasting pop in color on top of the dessert.
It doesn’t matter if you are candying the peels of zest or slices of citrus, the candied citrus peels recipe technique is basically the same. The only change is if we are candying citrus slices, we will cook them for just a bit longer. Everything keeps quite nicely, so you can make them days ahead of time, or make more than what you will immediately need, then save the rest for another purpose.
They are best after a few hours of drying, but in pinch you can use them almost right away. As an added bonus, you are left with a delicious citrus syrup that you can save and use for brushing your sponge cakes, in cocktails or to top off a batch of morning muffins. Have fun with these candied citrus peels!
What Citrus Can You Use for Candied Peels?
You can use almost any citrus. Our favorite are orange, lemon, tangerine or mandarin. It’s a great way to use up the whole fruit! Rather than waste the rinds, put them to good use!
Cut the citrus peel swaths into 1/4″ strips.
toss with sugar
Candied Citrus Peels Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Oranges or other citrus of your choice (you can do more than 1 kind at once)
- 2 cups Water
- 2 cups Sugar , plus more to coat finished peels with
Instructions
- With a vegetable peeler, peel length wise in a continuous strip, the rind from the citrus. Remove any white pith from the inside of the peel (we scrap with a knife blade for this.)
- Bring 1 part water to 1 part sugar to boil in a saucepan (for zest of two oranges we’ll use 2 cup water, 2 cup sugar.)
- Add citrus peels and boil over medium for 30-45 minutes. Strain, reserving liquid (now a tasty citrus syrup for other culinary delights.)
- Pour about 1 cup sugar in a bowl. Toss candied peels in sugar, then separate and allow to air dry on a sheet of foil.
Joy – Too much fun indeed.
Hélène – Thank you very much.
Heather – Thanks!
Simply…Gluten Free – Thanks Birthday girl!
Asianmommy – It’s a nice little eye candy that tastes good too.
susan – Next time! Thanks for the compliments.
Thanks for visiting everyone! Sweets and treats for all! Todd.
i used up a few citruses the past weekend. i should have saved the peels for this! love the photos.
Thanks! What a nice way to spruce up a dessert.
Oh I just love to come here and visit, just a treat for my eyes!
SO GORGEOUS!
As always, your pictures are a feast for the eyes. Love coming here.
I love these! Every time I make them they never actually make it to the dessert they’re intended for. They’re just too much fun to snack on.
Rebecca – Yeah, they’re kind of like grown-up gummy worms.
Jaden – Thanks. The lemon was a total diva, all drama!
Victoria – Ahhh, a whiskey sour would be so nice right now. Cocktail for tonight for sure. Making our own cherries is another thing on our to do list. Thanks for the reminder. I’ve always wanted to know how much better a homemade one could be.
Shar – Thanks! It was great meeting you too. To bad we didn’t have more time to spend together, but we’ll just have to get together again. The recipes will be on their way soon. With no no-boil mac & cheese one too. You guys have such a great family, it was our pleasure to try and spoil everyone.
Layla – Thank you. Definitely by being economical it has helped expand our cooking and made us better in the kitchen.
Kate – We usually remove the pith because it lends a bitter taste to the peels, but it is really a personal preference thing. The texture can be adjusted by changing cooking times, as well as a thicker peel will cook for a different amount of time than one that is thinner. After doing it a few times you start to get a feel for when they are the texture that you prefer. Good luck on the next go-round. – New updated knowledge- The pith can be left on, but usually people will blanch the peels several times to help remove the bitterness. We found this out through Jen at UseRealButter. She posted about candied orange peels back in Oct. ’07.
Allen – Great way to finish them off with the chocolate. Tasty!
Phoo-D – Now we have a dilemma! Martini with the peels, or Victoria’s Whiskey Sour. Maybe one of each tonight!
Gastronomer – Sweet and simple. Those are our favorites, too.
Passionate Eater – They don’t melt in the hand either!
krysta – I seriously think we are psychologically linked. It must be ESPN or something 😉 You’ve been putting up stuff on your site that is exactly in line with some of the stuff we’ve been doing or have wanted to do at home. Scary. But I like it!
Angela – Grab the citrus by the pith and candy it baby! It’s easier than pie (which at times can actually difficult depending on the pie!) Seriously, these are sweet and simple.
Thanks for visiting everyone. Happy sweets to all! Todd.
I’ve always been intimidated by candy-making. But these look so easy and utterly delicious; thanks!
oh man we must be on the same brain wave… i just made a whole bunch of candied lemon to go on my lemon cake.