During the busy December days, one of the easiest things to make ahead is Candied Citrus. It can be used in other recipes or eaten alone all month long.
How would I use Candied Citrus?
- Fill a mason jar, or a beautiful decanter, to serve on its own, like a lovely bit of old fashioned candy. If you want to be really fancy, dip in chocolate.
- Garnish baked goods like servings of old -fashioned gingerbread, molasses cake or even sugar cookies, or lemon blueberry muffins or even baked into shortbread.
- Grind in a coffee grinder and serve on top of specialty coffees. I am picturing Coffee, Baileys, whipped cream and a garnish of candied citrus. Yum!
- Use the left- over syrup in iced tea, as flavoring in cookies or Christmas morning muffins.
- Add to a gift basket with a cookie mix or small bottle of Baileys.
The ideas are endless, candied citrus is one of those things that feels very decadent, but is cheaply and easily made.
Try this with lemons, oranges, blood oranges, tangerines. limes or even pineapple for different colours and flavors.
How to make Candied Citrus
- Wash and slice the citrus very thin, and remove any seeds. You can use a mandoline if you have one, but if not an old fashioned cutting board and a sharp knife will do the trick.
- Simmer in boiling water for 10 minutes. This step can’t be skipped, because it removes any of the bitterness from the pith.
- Mix in a second pan, 3 cups of sugar, and 1 cup of water, to make a very heavy sweet syrup.
- Once all of the sugar has dissolved, put the citrus rings into the syrup and simmer for 40 minutes or until the rind is slightly translucent.
- Remove and place on a cooling rack on a cookie pan. The excess sugar will drip, and be a nightmare to clean up, so make sure you have something underneath.
- Let dry completely. It may take a full 24 hours. You can shorten the period by putting in the oven for several hours at the lowest setting (around 150 degrees F.) or put in a dehydrator for a few hours.
Coat dried slices in sugar, chocolate, or roughly chop and store in a airtight container in your pantry. If exposed to air, they will get soft so expect to use them in the next few weeks.
DO NOT STORE IN THE REFRIGERATOR!!
