Now I’m starting to think about Christmas gifts … Actually that’s a lie I’ve been thinking about it for agessss but I’m starting to plan all the homemade edible gifts now!

This recipe is for candied peel, something I’ve always enjoyed eating but never considered trying until I had a few too many clementines leftover this week and thought I would give it a whirl. Most people use orange or lemon peel but clementine certainly works well in my opinion.

Candied Peel

You will need:

6-8 clementines, peel removed carefully in long pieces
300grams of granulated sugar (approx)
Boiling water

Slice the peel into long strips and place in a pan of water. Bring to the boil and then drain the water and add more to cover and bring to the boil again then simmer for 30 minutes. Now drain away the water into a jug and measure it before returning to the saucepan. Add 100grams of sugar for every 100ml of water and heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the peel to the pan and simmer for 30 mins. The peel should be changing colour a little ( becoming slightly translucent) and be soft. Leave to cool in the pan.

Once cooled place on a wire rack over a tray and place in the oven on the lowest setting for 45 minutes. Remove, cover with sugar and leave to dry/cool for about an hour before bagging/packing.

You could dip these in chocolate once dried for extra indulgence – I’m definitely going to do this next time. I think a dark chocolate would work well.