From the kitchen of Stephanie Knewasser
Rinse:
4-5 oranges
Cut into quarters.
Peel oranges.
Set aside orange flesh.
Place peels in a large pan or pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil.
Boil orange peels for 4 minutes. Drain.
Use a spoon to scrape a little of the white pith from the peels.
Rinse peels and rinse pan with water.
Return peels to pan, cover with water, bring to a boil.
Boil orange peels for another 4 minutes. Drain.
Cut the peels into strips.
In a saucepan:
3 c sugar
3 c water
Bring to a boil, stirring to disolve sugar.
Add peels, reduce heat to lowest setting.
Stir to coat all peels. Don’t stir anymore- stirring will cause crystallization.
Simmer 40 minutes. Don’t let the pan go dry. If it gets too low, add water.
Drain, reserving liquid.
This liquid is orange syrup. See NOTES for uses.
- The flesh of the orange is not used in this recipe.
- The orange syrup that is made (the sugar and water the peels cook in) can be added to tea or coffee or brushed over cakes (straight out of the oven).
- The more peels used, the less syrup will be left over.
- The peels can be eaten as candy, but I like chopping them and adding them to baked goods.
What recipes can you use candied orange peels in? Think of them like raisins. If you could add raisins to the recipe, you can add chopped candied orange peels. Some suggestions: scones, muffins, biscotti, cinnamon bread, cinnamon rolls… They can aslo be used when using chocoalte molds. Chop and stir in as you would nuts or rice krispies.