Candied Orange Peels

My plan for President's Day weekend was to try a new cookie recipe:

chocolate chip, pistachio, candied-orange cookies.

Mmmmm.

Taylor and I searched high and low but could not find candied orange peels anywhere in Dallas.

We tried Whole Foods and Central Market.

We asked in Tom Thumb and Kroger.

And we even looked up specialty food stores.

Apparently candied orange peels are a seasonal item.

Who knew?

Well you can't very well make 

chocolate chip, pistachio, candied-orange cookies 

without the candied orange peel.

So I decided to make it myself.

And just in case you are ever in need of candied orange peel, I thought I would share the recipe.

Ingredients:

A navel orange (or two or three)

Water

Sugar

Start by cutting the orange into quarters.

Cut off a small part of each end.

Then peel out the orange.

Chop the peel into long, thin slices.

Meet Mr. Peel.

Next, bring a pot of water to a boil.

While you're waiting, measure out 1/2 cup water and 3/4 cup sugar (this will be used after the next step).

Drop the peels into the boiling water and let them blanch for 1 minute.

Strain the peels and rinse them with cool water.

Pour your 1/2 cup water into the empty pot and let it heat up.

Stir in the sugar and mix until dissolved.

Turn heat to medium-low and put in the orange peels.

Simmer for 15 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using tongs, take out the peels and lay them on the paper.

Take lots of pictures because, believe me, you'll be impressed 

that you're making candied orange peels!

Take a picture from a different point of view to switch things up a little.

The peels need a few many hours to completely dry.

At this point you can do three things:

1. Let them dry and have plain candied orange peels

2. Sprinkle (or roll) them in sugar for very sweet orange peels

3. Let them dry a little and then dip them in chocolate for chocolate orange peels

I lightly sprinkled mine with sugar since they're going into cookies next.

And voila! Candied orange peels.

Stay tuned for the outcome of the chocolate chip, pistachio, candied-orange cookies!