Chocolate Dipped Candied Orange Peel Recipe

4.93 from 14 votes

Sweet, caramelized pieces of orange peels dipped in creamy chocolate is just the sweet treat you need to make it through the holidays!

Prep Time5

Cook Time1

Dry Time1

Total Time1 1 5

Course: candy, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 123kcal

Slice the orange peels into strips or bite sized pieces. Add them to a pot with boiling water and let them simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse well. This helps to reduce the bitterness. To reduce it even more, you can repeat this step.
Add the orange peels and 1 ½ cups of the sugar to a saucepan and cover with water. Stir to dissolve the sugar and bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer on low or medium low heat for one hour.
Thoroughly drain the peels. Let them sit for about 10 minutes to ensure all the water has drained off.
Spread the drained orange peels on a sheet of wax paper, large enough so all peels can be laid flat. Cover all the peels with the remaining sugar, and let sit for 24-36 hours.
Place them in a jar or covered container and store at room temperature for up to 3 months.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl with the coconut oil in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring in between until creamy and dippable. **Add more coconut oil if the chocolate is too thin.
Once the orange peels feel slightly firm to the touch, you can dip them in the chocolate. Heat the chocolate according to the instructions. Dip each orange peel in, leaving the top exposed.
Lay the chocolate dipped orange peels on the wax paper and let dry for 20-30 minutes. Place them in the fridge to dry faster, or if you're in a warm climate.

Be sure to clean the orange peels very well. Use a brush to scrub the outside. If you can, buy organic oranges.
You can adjust the quantities in this recipe if you want a larger or smaller batch of candied orange peels. Keep the ratio of ingredients the same.
To cover the orange peels in sugar, you can either dip each one in sugar individually (this is what I end up doing), or you can pour the sugar on top and shake the pan to make sure they are all coated. The first way is a little less messy, but more time consuming.
The chocolate is optional - these orange peels are also great on their own with no chocolate.
Store the orange peels in in an airtight container at room temperature for at least a month (usually up to 3 months). If you dip them in chocolate, you may want to store them in the fridge to keep the chocolate from melting (depends on how warm a climate you live in).
Substitute lemon peels, grapefruit peels, tangerine peels or lime peels for the orange peels.
You can freeze the candied orange peels before you coat them in chocolate. I don't recommend freezing them after they are dipped in the chocolate. To freeze, place in an airtight container and store for up to 3 months in the freezer.