Candied Citrus Peel for Christmas by Zina Abbott

One ingredient that has been a staple in Christmas desserts for decades—if not centuries—is candied citrus peel. I know it was part of my maternal grandmother’s fruitcake recipe. In fact, because I associate candied citrus peel with her fruitcake recipe, I dedicated my upcoming book to her and my grandfather. Because it is so colorful, candied (0r sugared) citrus peel seems to be a staple in almost all Christmas fruitcake recipes.

 

Two years ago, on one of our infrequent trips to the San Francisco Bay area, my husband and drove across Pacheco Pass and stopped at Casa de Fruta, a large roadside attraction with stores to feature not only their produce products, but a host of other delights. I bought a candy made from sugared orange peel dipped dark chocolate.

Best… Candy… Ever. … Yum!

It became my favorite. When I returned to that store the following year, they no longer had that particular treat in stock. Since I have a dwarf navel orange tree in my back yard that produces far more oranges than my husband and I can eat or give away, I have decided to try to make my own dark chocolate-coated candied orange peel. Just dip the strips of candied peel in some of my melted 85% chocolate bars I love so much and place on parchment paper treated with non-stick spray to allow the chocolate to set. I am not a candy-maker, but that should work, right?

Candied citrus peel in a variety of flavors and colors is also a favorite in the German Christmas dessert, stollen. This was the dessert I chose to feature in my fifth and final Old Timey Holiday Kitchen romance, Stollen by Stella. Here is an excerpt from the story:

            Stella softly clasped her hands and smiled widely as she bent over the table to view the results of this morning’s labors. They turned out perfect! Upon hearing the front door open, she jerked upright and turned her gaze toward the front entrance. Please be Papa. Cleora was a nice town, and she had not heard from the neighbors of any problems with the railworkers and others to inspire the need to keep the doors locked. Then again, this was Saturday afternoon—payday.

            “Hello, sweetheart.” Eric entered and quickly turned to close the door. “It smells good in here.” He rapidly rubbed his gloved hands together. “Did you have a good day?”

            “I did.” From the smattering of white flakes on her father’s hat and shoulders of his coat, she guessed it must have started snowing. A quick sideways bend to peek through the window above the table confirmed her suspicions. Made it home from the mercantile just in time. “As you can see, I’ve been busy in the kitchen. Not only did I bake fresh bread, but I started on my Christmas project.”

            Erik finished hanging his overcoat, jacket, hat, and muffler on the pegs by the door and walked over. He studied the table draped in clean rags and topped with the two wooden racks Stella used to cool her pies and cake pans, plus a pair of spatterware plates. “Looks like you made that sugared orange and lemon peel your mama mixed into her stollen.”

 

            “I did, Papa. Candied lime peel, too. Thankfully, even though I checked with the postmaster yesterday, I decided to try again today. I finally received a letter from Christina. She sent the stollen recipe I requested along with detailed instructions—including how to make successful candied citrus peels. Since it is a little less than two weeks before Christmas, her letter came just in time.”

            “What do you mean? I would think you have plenty of time to bake your stollen.” Erik grabbed a slice of candied orange rind and bit it in half. “I love this stuff. It’s better than candy.” He chewed a second. “It is both sweet and tart with a strong citrus flavor. Your mother knew to make more than what she needed for the stollen so I could have plenty to snack on.”

            “I made some extra, Papa, but not that much.”

           “I would enjoy more—enough to last through Christmas, anyway.”

I did find a stollen recipe in an older cookbook. However, it did not include the directions for making homemade candied citrus peel. There are some excellent recipes online, a detailed one with beautiful illustrations you may find by CLICKING HERE. A basic recipe with a one-page pdf version you can save to your computer you may find by CLICKING HERE. The directions are ridiculously easy, so I will be making my own candied citrus peel this year.

 

Stollen by Stella is not on pre-order, but I will announce its publication next week. 

 

 

 

While you are waiting for Stollen by Stella to be released, my third book in the Old Timey Holiday Kitchen series, Vinegar Pie by Varinia is on sale through Sunday. 

My final three books in this series I wrote as a mini-series within a series.  Vinegar Pie by Varinia is the older Jewell daughter's romance. 

Lemon Cookies by Lisbeth features the romance of the youngest Jewell sibling. Both of these books are also available on Kindle Unlimited.

Stollen by Stella is the romance of the middle Jewell sibling, Thomas.