Candied Citrus Peel
Medically reviewed by Christiana George Updated Date: June 8, 2023
As a kid, I had a voracious appetite for, among other things, Nancy Drew mysteries, complex role-playing games (in sixth grade, my friend D’Ann devised a fantastical game for our group where each of us played a different warrior princess complete with our own unique personality [I was the spunky one], wardrobe [I wore all green], and weapon [mine was the rapier]—yes, I’m aware this is sounding suspiciously like LARPing, but our game came before all of that, plus we spent most of our time preening ourselves in our imaginary dressing room as opposed to, say, fighting evil), and candy.
Nothing, however, could’ve compelled me to eat candied orange peels. It was the equivalent of candy for old people, and therefore not sufficiently sweet. I liked greater hits of sugar, super-sugar if you will, the kind found in the cheapest milk chocolate bars, sour strips, and (I’m shuddering thinking about this now) Airheads.
Fast forward fifteen years, and I can’t say I’ve come around much. I actually don’t think I’ve given candied orange peels a single thought until the moment, a few days ago, when I decided I wanted to make panetonne. Which necessitated me making my own candied citrus peels of course.
I wasn’t even planning on sharing this recipe at all, hence no process photos, but it occurred to me you might enjoy candying your own candied peels? Yes? They’re quite good, much fresher than their storebought counterparts. I ended up candying the peels of two navel oranges and a grapefruit, and holy cow, the grapefruit tastes really good! Maybe that was the missing link this entire time.
Anyway, enjoy! If my panetonne goes well, I’ll be sharing it in this space. If not, happy happy holidays and I’ll be back very soon!
CANDIED CITRUS PEELS
Adapted from Remedial Eating (whose recipe is her mother’s!)
Makes quite a lot (enough for panetonne, plus more for snacking, or turning into orangettes!)
Ingredients:
2 grapefruits, or 4 navel oranges, or 6 lemons (I hope you get the idea—I settled on 1 grapefruit and 2 oranges. Just be sure to prepare different fruits separately or their tastes will become muddied.)
2 cups water
2 cups sugar, plus more for coating the strips
Directions:
Peel off the outer layer of the citrus and cut the pieces into thin strips. (You can cut them into thick strips too, but you’ll need to adjust the amount of time they simmer in the sugar water.) I peeled vertically, you can peel horizontally, just cut them into whatever shape you’d like. Slip the peels into a medium pot, cover them with cold water, and bring the water just to a boil on high heat. Drain. Repeat: cover the peels with cold water, bring it to a boil, drain. Repeat once more. Once they’ve cooled a little, use a sharp paring knife or small spoon to remove as much pith as you can. Set aside.
Using a pot that will slightly crowd the peels (I know this goes against conventional wisdom, but I boiled my orange peels in a pot that was too big and the sugar water boiled away quicker than I would’ve liked), add the water and sugar and turn the heat to low. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then add the peels. Let them simmer for about 30 to 60 minutes until the peels are translucent and the syrup thickens. (A thermometer will register the syrup at 220 to 222 degrees F.)
Strain the finished peel and spread it on a single layer on a cooling rack to cool and dry, 1.5 to 2 hours. When it’s no longer wet but still sticky, toss the peels in a bowl of granulated sugar until thoroughly coated. Let dry overnight, then transfer to an airtight jar to store.
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Churro Puff Pastry
I am still looking for Spring. We saw it peek it’s head out a week or so ago, but not it has disappeared again. Today was windy and chilly. The skies were cloudy all day. All I want it some warm weather so we can spend some time outside for a change. I hate being trapped in the house. But I supposed the only good thing to come out of this, is more baking for me. Last week I made six jars of dulce de leche. I had some recipe testing to do. The first two recipes didn’t go so well, but this one came out just right.
I had never used puff pastry before, so I thought I would try something new. The instructions on the box seemed fairly easy. Just unfold the dough, thaw it for 40 minutes at room temperature, then bake and decorate.
I sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on the dough before baking. I always keep a jar on hand. It’s great to sprinkle on french toast, crepes, waffles, cupcakes, etc.
The dough only takes 15 minutes to bake. You can whip up your cream for the filling while the dough cools.
Then comes the best part, the filling. I used my homemade dulce de leche (but you can use store bought) and made some whipped cinnamon mascarpone frosting that I also used for my Churro Cupcakes, Cinnamon Chocolate Cake, and my Pumpkin Spice Crepes. It’s great as a frosting or filling. I love it!
The pastry dough it so light and flaky. The mix of the dulce the leche with the cinnamon mascarpone frosting tones down the sweetness of the dulce de leche. Overall, it’s like eating a cloud. A soft, fluffy, sweet cloud. You don’t feel heavy or guilty after eating this. But it tastes superb. I am going to have to make some more desserts with puff pastry now.
Churro Puff Pastry
by The Sweet Chick
Prep Time: 1 1/2 hours
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Keywords: bake dessert snack dulce de leche mascarpone cheese puff pastry cinnamon Cinco de Mayo puff pastry
Ingredients (6 servings)
For the puff pastry
- 1 box ready to bake puff pastry sheets
- 8 tablespoons dulce de leche, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar (see recipe below)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 4 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
- 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
For the cinnamon sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
For the puff pastry
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Remove 1 sheet of puff pastry and place on a plate. Thaw at room temperature for about 30-40 minutes, or until it is pliable.
Unfold pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and cut into 3 strips at the folds. Sprinkle the strips evenly with 1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar.
Place the strips on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
Carefully remove the puff pastry from the baking sheet and place on a cooling rack and prepare cream filling.
With an electric mixer or stand mixer on medium speed, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to overbeat, or cream will be grainy).
In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone, cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated.
Now that the puff pastry has cooled, cut each into 2 layers lengthwise, for a total of 6 layers.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon sugar onto the three bottom layers.
Then spread 2 tablespoons of dulce de leche on four of the layers (keep 2 nice looking pieces for the tops). And spread the mascarpone filling evenly over the dulce de leche.
Next begin layering. You are making two “sandwiches”, so each “sandwich” should have a bottom puff pastry and a middle one with filling, and the top one which is bare.
Place the two desserts in the fridge for a 1/2 hour to an hour to set before cutting.
Once set, cut each dessert into three squares with a wet serrated knife, for easier slicing. Top with strawberries or fresh whipped cream. Enjoy!
For the cinnamon sugar
Mix together the sugar and cinnamon until well blended. Keep remaining mixture in an airtight container and use to sprinkle on french toast, oatmeal, yogurt, waffles, crepes, etc.
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