Craft this! Candied citrus peels

Oh yeah, Lisa!? You think you can have all the crafty goodness to yourself!? Well, I'm here to tell you something, sista! You may have a crafty life, but once in a while...I have a crafty day. Maybe even a week if I'm feeling especially energetic. And that week is this week! So watch out, cuz I'm bringing the craft!

Naw, jk, Lisa! You totally dominate craft land. And my crafty week has partially been inspired by you and all your awesome DIY Christmas gift ideas!

Today, I'm sharing one of the things that I will be making. It's going to serve as a hostess gift, a stocking stuffer, an office acquaintance gift, and the some extras for me and the beau to enjoy!  (Note: when making delicious gifts, don't forget about some extra for yourself!  Otherwise all those gifts will end up just a little bit smaller...)

Candied Citrus Peels
I originally found this recipe on M.Stew's site, but there are a million out there. They are generally all the same, though, with just little tips here and there.

To make these candied peels, you'll need two things.  1) citrus fruit  2) sugar!

Step One:  Cut each piece of citrus into fourths and then peel each, keeping the peel as intact as possible.  Leave as much pith (the white fleshy stuff) as you can on the fruit and scrape off as much pith as you can from the peel.  (The pith will add a bitter taste to your peels.)  Slice the peels into strips, approximately 1/4 - 1/2 inches wide.
Step Two:  Place peels in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil.  Let simmer for 10 minutes.  Strain the peels and repeat the process twice more.  This will remove more of the bitterness from the peels.
Step Three:  In pot, combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar per two cups of peels.  Bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved.  Add peel to this and let simmer until syrup has thickened
Step Four:  Strain the peels and set out to dry for 1 hour.
Step Five:  Once cooled, toss peels in sugar to coat.  Let peels dry overnight before packaging.

Notes:
- To store, keep in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 3 weeks. 
- One strategy I saw for removing pith was to boil peels, which softened the pith and made it easy to remove with a melon baller or spoon.
- Also, some people then dip the peels into chocolate for added schnazz.

Hope your holidays are all shaping up to be fantastic!

Cheers,
Jen


Photo from M.Stew