Making Candied Lemon Peel is a way to practice the 'waste not, want not way' of life by transforming the lemon peel you would normally discard into an irresistible sweet snack!

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Years ago, my husband and I lived in a home that had these amazing mature orange and grapefruit trees.  It was like a citrus goldmine!  I would make tons of fresh orange juice for the kids and plenty of fresh grapefruit juice for my vodka. ;)

Even after juicing and juicing and juicing, we would always have some fruit left over.  We harvested way more oranges and grapefruit than one family could possibly need so, naturally, we shared with our family.

That's how I first learned about candied citrus peel.  My husband's godparents were in town during one of our harvesting times and we sent them back to Virginia with a trunk full of oranges.

A little while later I got a card in the mail from them with a picture of a bowl of candied orange peel.  They included a little note that said that they loved the oranges and, because they don't like to waste anything, they made candy out of the peels.

I was like, whaaaat?

Up until that moment, I had honestly never heard of candied orange peel.  I had to know more.  After all, I am a waste not, want not type of gal.

I did a little bit of googling and learned that lemon peel is so versatile!  You can use it to make lemon extract, lemon cordial, and this fabulous candy, too. Who knew?

The process is simple.  Cut up the peel, boil it several times to remove the bitterness, then simmer it in a sugar and water mixture until it is soft and sweet.  The icing on the cake, so to speak, is a crunchy sugar coating.

After a few hours of drying on a rack, the candied peel is ready to eat.  And eat and eat and eat!  Even my 8 year old loved it!  Her exact quote was, "Why can't lemon always taste like this?"

I also learned during my googling that you can make a killer household cleaner with citrus peel, so if you find yourself with citrus coming out of your ears, definitely look that up.

I'll be over here candying all the peels though.  Unless I've got way too much candied peel on hand already.  Foodie to the core, yo.

This surprisingly simple Candied Lemon Peel recipe is inspired by this month's Feast & Devour Cooking Club ingredient selection.  Viva la LEMON!

Here are more luscious lemon recipes from my foodie friends:

Lemon Ricotta Fritters from Bread Booze Bacon

Raspberry Lemon Layer Cake from White Lights on Wednesday

Lemon Sour Cream Sugar Cookies from I Heart Eating

Paleo Lemon Cheesecake from Cooking with Curls

Lemon Berry Napoleons from Home.Made.Interest.

Lemon Butter Cake from Sugar & Soul

Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake from Celebrating Sweets

Candied Lemon Peel from The Two Bite Club

Lemon Poke Cake from Liz on Call

Lemon Chewies from It Bakes Me Happy

Candied Lemon Peel

Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 20 MINUTES
cook time: 1 HOUR, 20 MINUTES
total time: 1 HOUR, 40 MINUTES

Making Candied Lemon Peel is a way to practice the 'waste not, want not way' of life by transforming the lemon peel you would normally discard into an irresistible sweet snack!

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INGREDIENTS

5 - 8 lemons
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut each lemon into eight sections.  Using a sharp knife, cut the peel off of the lemon sections, along with a small section of the white pith.  Cut each peel into three thin pieces.  Save the lemon for another use.
2. In a medium saucepan, cover the lemon peels with water and boil for 5 minutes.  Drain and repeat two more times for a total of 15 minutes.  Drain peels and set aside.
3. In the same saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups of the sugar and the water.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Add the blanched lemon peel, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The lemon peel is done when it begins to look translucent.  Drain the lemon peel, reserving the lemon syrup for another use.  
4. In a shallow dish, coat the lemon peels a little at a time with the remaining 1 cup of sugar.  Place the peels into a colander and shake to remove excess sugar.  Arrange the peels on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet.  Dry for at least 4 hours on the wire rack and store in an airtight container.

NOTES

The leftover lemon syrup makes the most amazing lemon drop cocktails!

Author: Becky Tarala

Nutrition data should not be considered a guarantee. Please see our full Nutrition Data Disclosure.