Easy Candied orange slices: stunning dessert garnish

I’ve made candied orange peel for years, but when I started working on developing an orange bars recipe, I knew I wanted something a little more showy for the tops of the bars. These candied orange slices are just the thing. Whether you make these for the tops of desserts, a simple dessert on their own, or as a garnish for cocktails, these glassy elegant little slices will look great. That you can prep them in about 2 minutes and largely ignore them on the stove until they are finished cooking is even better.

If you love candied orange peel, the slices will win you over for their:

1. Beauty: Depending on what kind of orange you choose to candy will determine how bright and vivid your final candied oranges will be. The blood oranges I used here are a fun combination of pale oranges and deep raspberry colors. Cara Cara have a lovely peachy pink quality to them, and a standard navel orange are also pretty.
2. Ease: With just 3 ingredients and 4 if you want to chocolate them up, you can’t get much easier. Better still, they require very little hands on effort.
3. Versatility: Want to make candied grapefruit slices instead? You can do that. Got some limes for the top of a key lime pie? You can candy them the same way.
4. Giftability: Literally just dip the edges in chocolate, add a clear package and a bow and you have an almost instant gift that’s much easier to make than a collection of Christmas cookies. You can of course add it to your Christmas cookie selection for a no-bake option!
5. Instant glamour: Truly, top a box cake with these orange slices, and you’ve made it immediately classy without having to spend hours piping frosting.

What are candied orange slices?

Candied orange slices are thin slices of orange that are cooked slowly in a sugar syrup until they are tender and glossy. From there slices are set to dry on a non-stick surface such as a silicone baking mat or parchment

(Affiliate)

that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

Candied orange are different than dried orange slices in that they are softer because they still retain some moisture from the syrup. They should only be dried until they are not sticky to the touch and not so much that they become brittle as a dried orange slice would be. Additionally, they retain their vivid bright color, which is preserved by the syrup.

Candied orange slices are chewy, sweet, and slightly bitter all at the same time.

Step by step process for making candied orange slices

1. Mix: Mix sugar and water together in a 2:1 ratio in a small bowl just to moisten the sugar. Pour the moistened sugar into a wide skillet and heat over medium heat.
2. Slice: While the sugar syrup heats, slice the orange into 1/8″ thick slices. Remove any seeds or white pith at the center of each slice.
3. Cook: Once the sugar syrup is clear, place the slices in the syrup. Turn the slices over with a fork to coat them in the syrup. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cook, turning over the slices occasionally in the syrup. The slices are done when the rind is tender and the syrup has reduced so that the bubbles are thick and glassy.
4. Dry: Carefully remove the slices and place them on a silicone baking mat set in a sheet tray. Allow the slices to cool completely. They’re ready to eat when the sugar has set into a glossy shell and is no longer wet to the touch.

Turning candied orange slices into chocolate orange slices

Dip (optional): Microwave half the chocolate you want to use in a small bowl at 30-second intervals until melted. Once melted, stir in the rest of the chocolate and stir until smooth (this keeps the chocolate glossy). Dip the edges of the orange slices into the chocolate. Set them back on the silicone mat and let the chocolate set. You can set the slices in the freezer to speed up the setting process.

FAQ and troubleshooting

How do I keep my candied orange slices from being bitter?

Oranges have a natural bitterness to them in the pith (white spongy membrane around the orange) and seeds. Here’s how you can avoid having too much of that flavor in your finished slices.

1. Use ripe oranges: Unripe oranges like any other fruit will not be naturally more bitter.
2. Take out the seeds and interior pith: Remove any seeds and pith from the center of the slices. You can’t take off the rind because it holds the orange slice together during cooking.
3. Do not blanch: Unlike candied orange peel which must be cooked in simmering water to release the bitterness before cooking, the fragile flesh part of the orange won’t survive this pre-cooking. While it’s possible to simmer a whole orange and then cut it, I think it’s better to observe #4 as follows.
4. Embrace the bitterness: The inherent bitterness in an orange is actually a lovely thing. What makes flavors interesting is when there is a balance of opposing complex tastes. In this case, the pure sweetness of the sugar syrup gets tamed by the slight bitterness from the orange peel and the slight acidity of the orange flesh. Taste it once, and you’ll agree; the bitter is a good thing.

How to use your candied orange slices

• Top desserts and sweet breads: Lemon meringue bars, orange bars, lemon monkey bread, mini banana breads, etc.
• Garnish drinks: Make a slit in one side of a slice and slip it onto the edge of a glass. No need for alcohol to feel fancy here: these slices look just as lovely on a glass of cold sparkling water or kombucha.
• Eat them on their own: Just like candied orange peel, once you taste the bittersweet, you’ll want to eat these unadorned. It’s like less trashy candy.
• Pack them up: A few chocolate dipped slices in a tall cellophane package with a bow is a beautiful gift.

How to store candied orange slices

Once dry, slices can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 weeks. I store mine in a glass jar. If you’re in a humid environment, store them flat between pieces of parchment

(Affiliate)

.

You can freeze slices, though they can become sticky once thawed.

Throw away the slices if you notice any of the following:

• Fermented smell
• Visible mold or a smell of mold
• Excess moisture: if you notice this after a day or two of storage, set out the slices on a sheet pan to dry. Once no longer sticky, you can store them again in a clean container. If it’s been more than a couple days, the slices are probably on their way to molding, so toss them. Follow the classic adage of, “When in doubt, throw it out.”

Print