This is my favorite holiday treat. The recipe is adapted from one originally published in the mid-90s in Chocolatier Magazine. I’ve made it scores of times, and the results are always wonderful. For me and my family, the smell of candied orange peels is the smell of Christmas^[1].

Ingredients

• 12 fresh ripe navel oranges
• 1 gallon water (3,785 ml)
• 1 tablespoon salt (18 g)
• 4 pounds granulated sugar (1.8 kg)
• 1 quart water (946 ml)

Procedure

Phase 1:

• Combine one gallon of water and one tablespoon salt, and stir to combine
• Using a fork, thoroughly perforate the peels of each orange, stabbing through the peel into the flesh
• Using a sharp knife, divide each orange into quarters
• Using your thumb, remove the peel from the flesh of each orange
• Place the peels in the salt water, and use the flesh for some other purpose
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap to prevent the peels from rising above the surface of the salt water, and allow to rest for 8 hours or overnight

Phase 2:

• Combine four pounds sugar with one quart water in a large pot over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally
• Drain the orange peels
• Add the orange peels to the sugar syrup and bring the syrup back to a boil
• Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring frequently
• Remove the syrup and peels from the heat, and allow to cool to room temperature
• Cover the syrup with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 8 hours or overnight

Phase 3:

• Remove the peels from the syrup and place on baking racks over baking sheets
• Allow the peels to rest for 24-48 hours or until the excess syrup has drained

Storage

The peels will keep refrigerated for weeks, and will keep indefinitely in the freezer, although it is rare that they last very long at all before being eaten.

Applications

• Cut peels into strips, and dip into melted (ideally tempered) dark chocolate
• Chop peels into small chunks, and add to oatmeal cookies with white chocolate and dried cherries
• Chop peels into small chunks and mix into chocolate ganache with toasted nuts and dried fruit – refrigerate and cut into squares

Honestly, these are good in just about anything.

Notes

• The recipe easily doubles or triples if you have a big enough pot, and enough racks to drain the candied peels
• Select oranges for the thickness of their peels
• Since the finished product is vegan, gluten-free, and everything-but-oranges-sugar-and-chocolate-free, chocolate-dipped peels make great gifts for people with common dietary restrictions, unlike cookies
• If you accidentally stab your hand with the fork while you’re perforating the oranges, you’ll quickly realize just how much you liked not having fresh orange juice in a stab wound

^[1] If you ever wondered why the blog was titled “BI Polar” at least one reason is that the topics covered will swing dramatically from time to time. Please try to keep up.