chocolate dipped candied oranges
Hey hey friends! I had several requests over on instagram to share my “recipe” for candied oranges, and I’m very pleased to inform you that it is one of the easiest things ever! Basically all we’re doing is boiling water and sugar together to make a syrup, and then throwing in the oranges slices in with it to get nice and soft and sweet. And yes, the peel becomes soft and sweet too, and is meant to be eaten along with the rest of the orange!
You can use pretty much any type of orange you’d like! I was on the hunt for blood oranges, but alas I came up empty. I simply used navel oranges here, but feel free to experiment! And note that you can dip these in chocolate, drizzle them with chocolate, sprinkle them with more sugar so they aren’t sticky at all, or simply leave them be.
I love that this process makes your house smell heavenly, and the syrup that you cook the slices in is perfect to keep for drinks later on. That’s a win win in my book!
chocolate dipped candied orange slices
ingredients
1-2 oranges (I used navel oranges - but any will work here)
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup water
chocolate - optional if dipping
directions
Note: This recipe can be made as small or as large as you’d like. Keep the sugar to water ratio at 1:1 - aka: equal parts of each.
Also, the syrup that you have at the end is good to keep for mixing in cocktails! It will be an orange infused simple syrup, and should be kept in the fridge in an airtight bottle/container.
In a wide saucepan, whisk together the sugar and water, and bring to a gentle boil over medium high heat.
Meanwhile, wash the oranges very well and remove any produce stickers. Slice oranges thinly - about 1/8 inch is ideal. You want the slices to be as thin as possible, but for them to still be sturdy. Place orange slices into boiling water, and keep in a single layer. Boil gently for 5-10 minutes, then reduce heat to low and simmer 40-60 minutes, flipping every 10 minutes, until the peel starts to become translucent. This really is the key to getting a good candied slice! The center should start looking like stained glass. Remove from the saucepan, and place onto a metal cooling rack with parchment underneath the rack for the syrup to drip onto. Let oranges completely dry, overnight is best. They’ll still be a little sticky when done, and you can sprinkle on a bit of sugar if you’d prefer them not to be!
Note: exact cooking time will depend on the thickness of your orange slices, number of slices in the pot, water temperature, etc.
If dipping in chocolate: melt chocolate in a saucepan, and dip each slice in, shaking of the excess before laying on parchment to set. Sprinkle with flaked salt or coarse sugar if desired. Serve immediately, or keep in an airtight container in the fridge.