The first time I made this was my senior year at Principia Upper School. I was doing a cooking class that wasn’t an accredited, but after 4 years of boarding school I needed to cook so I was willing to do this class. My aim was to start off cooking foods I had grown up with but never made. Eventually I wanted to try making foods from around the world (um, yeah, that backfired – peanut butter & eggplant do NOT belong together in my book!! YUCK!) One of my good friends had talked about a candy she remembered her mom making when she was younger & it just sounded like it would be so delicious. I didn’t realize how much work would go into it, but when I was done, I realized it wasn’t terribly hard at all & the reward was well worth it! Thank you Megan!
Ingredients:
- 5 Oranges (if you have x-ray vision, make sure you get the kind with thick rinds!)
- 1/4c water for every cup of orange peel
- 1/2c sugar for every cup of orange peel
- Powdered sugar, enough to roll the boiled peels
- Melted chocolate – I do a short cut & use the chocolate cups where after 2 minutes you suddenly have melted chocolate 😉
Directions:
Grate the outside of the rinds to roughen them up. Carefully peel the rinds off the oranges keeping them in-tack as best as possible – this is what you are going to use for the candy (enjoy the orange insides or make some juice). Cut the peels into wedges. Put in water, enough to cover with an inch over the peels & bring to a boil for a minute, then drain. Repeat this process 4-5 times (this gets rid of the bitter taste).
Once you are satisfied you’ve boiled out enough of the bitterness, combine the water & sugar & pour over the peels. Boil until absorbed, stir constantly. Roll in powdered sugar right afterward & then place on a cooling rack. Let they dry for 24 hours. Once the peels are dry, dip them in melted chocolate & place them back on the rack to cool/dry some more.
**These might make a nice gift this coming Christmas or just to enjoy for a party 😉
family junk drawer 