I like candy.

With the snowy, frigid weather, I was inspired to make some treats. These are a wonderful combination of sweet and tart, and somehow Christmas-ey (and in my opinion, much tastier than these). I suggest using organic oranges because conventionally grown oranges are sprayed with pesticides, although the organic oranges at our grocery store looked like they'd been rolled all the way here from Florida. I also suggest using a high quality chocolate (I used Callebaut) because your finished product is only as good as the ingredients you start with. This makes quite a few candies, four oranges resulted in about 4 cups of candy. 

Candied Orange Peel

(Recipe originally from Use Real Butter)

Peels of 4 Oranges 

3 Cups sugar

1 Cup water

1 Cup sugar for rolling peels

8 oz+ chocolate

Slice off navel and stem ends of oranges, then cut into quarters. Peel the orange, being careful not to tear the quarters. (I kept the orange wedges for a snack, but it'd be a great addition to a fruit salad, if you're so inclined.) Some recipes suggest scraping out some of the white pith with a spoon, but I don't think it's necessary.

Cut the peels into 1/4 inch slices. Place the peels into a large pot and cover with cold water. Heat the water on high, and once it boils pour off water. Repeat boiling process twice more - this helps remove some of the bitterness from the peel. 

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat until the temperature reaches 230F (a candy thermometer would be a great help here). The sugar will be boiling rapidly and have a slightly golden tinge. Add orange peel and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer until peels are translucent, about 30 minutes.  Remove peels from syrup with a fork or tongs, and set on a rack to dry for several hours.*

Once the peel is dry, roll each in sugar; this will remove any residual stickiness. They're delicious as is, or you can enrobe them in chocolate. Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Dip each peel in dark chocolate, and place on a sheet of parchment or wax paper to dry (roughly 15-30 minutes). Enjoy.

*I tried eating one of the orange sticks just after it had been boiled and was cool enough to eat. The flavor was still VERY intense.  After they dried overnight, the flavor was mellower, so don't despair if they start out too strong.