Candied Orange Peels

I can't think of which show I saw these on to save my life!  They were talking to this woman who makes them in her Bed & Breakfast I think, or was it her cafe'?  I have no idea.  But I remember thinking, as I always do, I can do that!  Yes.  Yes I can.  I did. 

During that show I remember her saying that she soaks them over night, and she does it twice.  Well, when it came time to make these I couldn't remember what she did twice and what she did overnight.  I looked up recipes for Candied Orange Peels but couldn't find any that said to soak in the sugar syrup overnight or to boil them twice in the sugar syrup.  So.  I did both!! 

First, you take the peels off the citrus fruit. Orange, Lemon, Lime, even Grapefruit.  I did Orange, obviously and I wanted to try Lemons.

 The way I did it I quartered the fruit, then with my thumb I got underneath the fruit, inbetween the peel and the fruit.  When I have a chunk of the fruit free I pulled it off the peel.

Next I sliced the peels.

Placing them in a bowl.

You must blanche the peels several times to get the bitterness out.  I did that twice for the oranges and three times for the lemons.

Next you will place them in a sugar syrup.

Cooking until tender and transparent - approximately 40 minutes.  This is where I actually made the sugar syrup then left them in the pot overnight.  In the morning I boiled them until done.

After they were finished in the sugar syrup - I learned from the last time not to take them out too early because they will dry too fast to roll in the sugar.

Instead of transferring the orange peels to a rack I wanted to see what happens when I transfer them immediately into a bowl of sugar. Toss to coat with sugar.

Transfer to a rack to dry.

They look like french fries.

Melt the dark chocolate and put in a container that will be deep enough to coat half a peel.

Then start dipping!

My mother-in-law came over for dinner and was helping me dip some peels!!

Its the only way to get the action picture!!

Transfer to parchment paper to dry.  I tried drying on a rack but the chocolate gets stuck to the rack and it makes it hard to get the peels off the rack in one piece.

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I'm taking extras to my sister, took some in to my hair salon and we ate some!  I keep forgetting to take pictures of the final product!!!

Yum!!  My mother-in-law went with me to Seattle to go to the Chef Shop where I get my salt and cocoa.  There was a bag of....Candied Orange Peels from France.  Well there was more than just one bag but you get the idea.  Anyway I asked how much they were.  For 7 ounces it was $11.99.  Hmmm maybe I should develop a french accent?  Oui?