Candied Oranges

Candied oranges are so good and so versatile! By slightly tweaking the amount of water and sugar, you can get beautiful candied oranges that can be used as add-ins for a variety of baked goods, as beautiful garnishes, or dipped in sugar and chocolate and served on their own! So beautiful. So easy. So delicious.

Note: depending on how you’d like to use your oranges (and their various by-products), change the amount of water and sugar you use! If you’d like oranges that are a bit less sticky for use as a garnish in salads, use more water and sugar to boil your orange slices (and you’ll get a Simple Orange Syrup by-product that you can use in cocktails – fun)! If you’d like to make a by-product of an Orange Syrup that works a lot like corn syrup (and thus is very, very yummy in my Dark Chocolate Orange Fudge Ganache), use less water and sugar.

Ingredients (Simple Orange Cocktail Syrup Version)

• 1 1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 5 – 6 slices of a medium (baseball sized) orange
• *Extra sugar for candied orange option
• *See below for Chocolate Dipped Candied Orange option

Ingredients (Orange Syrup Version)

• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• 5 – 6 slices of a medium (baseball sized) orange
• *Extra sugar for candied orange option
• *See below for Chocolate Dipped Candied Orange option

Tools and Timing

• Medium pot – see notes
• Heat-proof whisk
• Tongs
• 1 hour  and 35 minutes total if using oranges in a baked good;  12+ hours for candied oranges (make them a day early)!

Background

I first learned how to create these delectable garnishes by reading “How to Make Candied Orange Slices” from Taste of Home. I was drawn to this recipe because it was simpler than many other candied orange recipes I’d read as it avoided the ice bath. I also wanted a smaller recipe, so I experimented with modifying the original recipe. Now, I’m sharing the small batch recipe results with you!

This recipe is adapted from Taste of Home

Step-by-step

1. Prep your orange: remember, you’ll be eating the peel, so wash your orange well. I use a soft bristle scrub brush and cold water. Wash and dry your orange, then slice into circles so the rind is about ½ inch (remove any seeds). Throw out the slice with the stem, but use the bottom.
2. Measure water and sugar into medium pot. Stir and turn to medium-high heat. Bring to a boil (about 3 minutes), whisking frequently to ensure sugar dissolves.
3. Once mixture is boiling, reduce heat to medium.
4. Add orange slices one at a time – you may want to use tongs to avoid splashing! Oranges can overlap slightly.
5. Simmer (gently rolling bubbles) for 10 minutes.
6. At 10 minutes, flip oranges and simmer for another 10 minutes
7. After 20 minutes total, flip oranges again and reduce heat to medium low or low, depending on your stove and pot (you want a soft, rolling simmer). Cook another 10 minutes, flipping one more time at the halfway mark (after 5 minutes).
8. Remove oranges to a drying rack set over wax paper to catch any drips.
9. *If using these oranges to add to baked goods (like my Cranberry Orange Muffins) or using as a garnish for cakes or cupcakes, let cool for at least 60 minutes; if you want to candy the oranges, you’ll want to let them dry for at least 12 hours (and up to 24 hours) before dipping them in sugar.
10. *This small batch recipe yields a by-product of an orange syrup that can be used in my Dark Chocolate Orange Fudge Ganache, or to give my Dark Chocolate Mousse Domes, or my Simply Sinful Dark Chocolate Mousse Cups a hint of orange flavor. If using the orange syrup , let cool for 15 minutes before adding to a recipe.

*You can store these in the fridge for 3-4 weeks…but I tend to use mine up much sooner!

Uses and Serving Options

Use as a beautiful and delicious garnish on chocolate cakes, cheesecakes, and brownies; snip into small chunks and use for my Cranberry Orange Mix It Up Muffins or other baked goods.

Let dry and snip for use on salads.

Candy them and dip them in chocolate.

Sugared Candied Oranges

You can dip them in sugar for a more ‘candied’ experience; however, sugared oranges tend not to pair as well as garnishes because of their grainy texture!

1. If choosing to sugar your oranges, allow them to cool and rest for at least 12 hours (or up to 24 hours).
2. Place ½ cup of sugar on a plate or dish with a flat bottom and sloped edges.
3. Place oranges into sugar – press down to ensure that the sugar really coats the first side. Flip and repeat. Now, roll the edge in the sugar.
4. Place on wax paper and let dry.

Chocolate Dipped Candied Oranges

You can do this with whole slices, or snip them in pieces. You can choose to dip sugared or non-sugared oranges!  If dipping non-sugared oranges, allow the oranges to rest at least 12 hours before dipping (they can rest up to 24 hours; do this is you’d like them to be chewier).

Ingredients

• 2 ounces of white dipping chocolate
• 3 ounces of semisweet or dark chocolate chips

Step by step

1. Chop the white dipping chocolate then combine white dipping chocolate and chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. Microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval for 10-15 seconds. Continue this process just until chocolate is smooth; careful not to over-microwave…we don’t want burnt chocolate. (This took me a total of 90 seconds).
2. Dip each slice – I use a tablespoon and paint each side of the orange in order to fill all of the crevices! Place on wax paper  to dry.
3. Store in airtight container.

*To make chocolate dip, blend white dipping chocolate and semisweet or dark chocolate chips using a 2:3 ratio (this means that I use 2 ounces of white dipping chocolate and 3 ounces of the chips). Blending white dipping chocolate (sometimes called candy coating or melts) with semisweet or dark chocolate tastes much better than chocolate flavored dipping products – trust me! I used Guittard Extra Dark Chocolate baking chips, and the result was fantastic.

Notes

When I use my stainless steel pot with a copper bottom, these cook at a lower temperature at the end and the rolling boil is more even. When I use my aluminum pot, I have to have the heat a little higher at the end to achieve a continual, gentle simmer.

The original recipe calls for a Dutch oven, but mine is too big for a reduced recipe…so, depending on your equipment, watch your oranges on the last step and adjust the heat accordingly!

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I’ve made this recipe two ways, and the resulting by-product of my experimentation was delightful: while the candied oranges themselves will be only slightly more sugary, reducing the recipe for fewer oranges will produce a thick orange-flavored syrup that can be used as a base for making my Dark Chocolate Orange Fudge Ganache or used to lend a slightly citrus flavor to my Dark Chocolate Mousse Domes or my Simply Sinful Dark Chocolate Mousse Cups. If using my second experiment, the by-product is an orange-flavored simple syrup that can be used in cocktails.