The Anti Christmas Cookies Part 1 - Candied Oranges

I was not blessed with cookie making skillz.  My last attempt was about 6 years ago and it ended at 3am with the counter tops covered in a brick-like material pretending to be cookie dough, runny frosting dripping down the cabinets, and me in a heap of tears on the kitchen floor thinking "but Mom made it look so easy".  Never again.

Enter holiday food gifts that I am capable of creating without injuring myself or others.  Pickles!  Jam!  Apple butter!  And new to the rotation this year, candied oranges and peanut brittle.

Candied Oranges

I coated half of each slice with melted chocolate and sprinkled with sparkling sugar.  But for a summertime batch I would probably just dust with the sugar, or simply leave the slices alone.  You could also combine in jars with candied grapefruit and lime slices.  Or use as garnishes for some sort of citrus martini.

Ingredients:
6-10 navel oranges (Or however many you wish to make.  I can only fit 2-3 per batch.)
4-5 cups white sugar
2 cups water
optional - melting chocolate
optional - sparkling sugar

Materials:
food dehydrator
wax paper

Directions:
- Cut the ends of the orange off, slice down the middle, and then cut each half into slices about 1/4-inch thick.
- Heat up the sugar and water until all of the sugar is dissolved.  Bring to a boil.
- Plunk in the oranges.  Boil for about 15 minutes.  Flip the slices over (gently) and boil for another 15 minutes.
- Reduce heat until everything is nicely simmering and cook for another 30 minutes.  Flip the slices over occasionally to make sure everything is evenly cooked and softened.

- Carefully remove the slices with tongs.  They will be very delicate and pull apart easily.
- Place on a rack to dry out a bit.  Don't place on paper towels.  You will have a papery sticky mess all over the oranges.  I ended up using a clean lint-free dishtowel with good results.
- Put onto food dehydrator trays and let the machine do it's magic at 130°F for 4-6 hours, depending on how wet the slices are when you put them in.

Optional (chocolate covering):
- Melt chocolate on the stove with a double boiler (or two pots stacked on top of each other with boiling water in the bottom one, and the chocolate in the top one).
- Dip each slice half way into the chocolate.  Place on wax paper.  Dust with sugar.
- Let the chocolate harden.