One last Treat - Candied Citrus Peel

Good morning! I wanted to share one last Holiday treat that I make every year. To be honest, this tends to be a favorite of the "older" crowd, but I will say that my 9 year old truly enjoys nibbling on these. My MIL says she really enjoys eating them while drinking her tea.

The 3 year olds aren't fans yet, but I'm sure seeing them every year they will come to at least appreciate if not love them.

I always make them the same way, but there are varieties on the recipe. Again, I always sugar them, but they would be just as yummy and pretty dipped in some chocolate too. My recipe is a Martha Stewart recipe that I copied years ago. I have no idea if its in the archives or not. You can also use any Citrus peels, but I honestly feel that Orange Rinds taste the best.

Ingredients

• 8 navel oranges (or any citrus fruit)
• 7 cups sugar
• 2 T light corn syrup
• 1 T grenadine (if I have it I use it, but I don't really can't see or taste the difference from year to year)
  

1. Slice oranges in half, place in 8-quart stockpot; fill pot with enough water to cover oranges. cover surface of water directly with a piece of parchment paper cut to same size diameter as the stockpot. bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours.
2. Remove oranges; place upside down on a wire rack to drain. Reserve parchment round. When cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh with a spoon (do not puncture orange skin). Discard flesh. Cut orange rinds in half, then cut lengthwise into 1/4" inch strips
3. Combine 5 cups sugar, corn syrup, grenadine, and 2 2/3 cups water in the stockpot; bring to boil over medium-hi heat, using a wet pastry brush to incorporate sugar crystals that form on side of pot. Add orange strips; reduce heat. Cover with reserved parchment round, and simmer for 2 hours, occasionally turning gently. Turn off heat; let cool in syrup until translucent, about 1 hour. Using a slotted spoon, remove orange strips from syrup. Spread on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet. Let dry for 30 minutes.
4. Place remaining 2 cups sugar in a medium shallow bowl. Working with 2 to 3 candied strips at a time, place in sugar and toss to entirely coat. Return sugared strips to wire rack to dry for 1 hour. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

This year, I did this in stages. I boiled the peel, let cool, and sliced and then I did the 2nd round the next morning. Its a bit time consuming but easy and well worth the effort.

Thanks for stopping by and MAKE SURE to come back tomorrow. I'm going to start all my Sneak Peeks for Clear Dollar Stamps January Releases. You are going to love them ALL!!!

Oh one more thing to mention too. Clear Dollar Stamps has a new gallery up too. I put it up on my side bar, but forgot to actually mention it in a post. All the DT's projects using the new stamps from December and all future stamp sets are all housed HERE together. So make sure to take a visit for some incredible inspiration!

Sketch, Challenge, Inspiration and Recipe - Edited to add recipe

Good morning! Wow, I didn't get to post at all this weekend, but we had a great weekend. First, it was absolutely beautiful weather the entire weekend and the kids spent most of it outside playing in the dirt of course :) Our yard is all mowed, edged and trimmed. Kevin did such a great job and it looks beautiful. I'm not much for landscaping or gardening, but it does look nice and tidy. I also got the house all cleaned up and it looks nice too. Its a great way to start the week.

I had a club meeting and a small get together with some crafting friends too and that is always fun. I had an idea that I wanted to put together as a small appreciation for my friends, but I ran out of time, but wanted to implement it anyway. Now, I'll at least have the measurements for the next time. I always make sugar cookies whenever I have people over and this time I had wanted to have a little something extra for everyone to take home, but alas...

This also seconds as my challenge project for the "thank you" challenge over at Stamp Something. I thought it was perfect. I essentially followed the concept of the nugget box, but changed the dimensions to fit my cookie.
I do have to add here that I LOVE my scor-pal. If you click on the nugget box link you will see all the dimensions for a variety of boxes that are specific to the scor-pal.

Ok, to finish up - I used my nestability die to cut the window for my box, stamped on the transparency and then stamped again with a glue pad, then added glitter to it. I added a little tag and ribbon and here it is. So next time, I'll get them finished on time :)

I do have to say that this months' Stamp of the Month from Close to my Heart is fabulous. There are so many sentiments on this set and they are a perfect size for a lot of projects. This is going to be one of my most used sets now.

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Berry Bliss (Papertrey ink), Stamps: Playful Flourishes, Say It In Style (Stamp of the Month), (CTMH), Boxes, Bags, Tags (Papertrey ink), Ink: Berry Sorbet (papertrey ink), Tsukeneko Glue Pad, Other: Glitter, Circle Nestability die, Ribbon (Papertrey ink), Circle Punch, SU! Scallop punch

***Edited*** Sugar Cookie Recipe

This is an incredible sugar recipe that I got from my friend Lisa. She makes the most awesome cookies and they are always decorated perfectly. I didn't have any clear chunky sugar crystals to add, but they look great on the cookies. I can't think of the brand name either so I'll add it when I find it. Here is a very close copy (and could be) of the cutter I used. I bought it at Michaels or Joanns and its about 3" wide. The icing sets up well, but is still soft to eat. The cookies are soft and make sure to not over bake.

You can make the whole batch and freeze what you don't use, or most times, I just cut the recipe in half.

Sugar Cookie Recipe with Icing Recipe: Oven 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes

2 sticks butter
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt

I just put all dry ingredients together, mix butter and shortening, add sugar, blend, then add eggs and vanilla. Roll out to about 1/4 " thick - looks thick but this is what makes the cookie so soft.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour

Icing:

1 lb powdered sugar
2/3 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk

Let me know what you and your friends think about the cookies when you make them :)

Also, the box that I made was based on a 3 1/2" square base. You'll just have to play a little depending on the size of your cookie.

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Beate's Weekend Sketch:

And here is my card for Beate's weekend sketch. My inspiration for this card were all the fruit trees that are losing all their beautiful blooms right now. I took this picture on our walk to school at the end of last week. And of course, when I think of fruit trees, I always think of Papertrey ink's Out on a Limb. I used all PTI products for this card.
Cardstock: Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, Stamper's Select White, Pink Patterns, Stamps: Say it in Style (CTMH), Out on a Limb, Ink: Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush, Sweet Leaf, Chocolate (CTMH), Other: Ribbon, Uniball gel pen

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!