My Taste of the South magazine had 3 good ideas for candied fruits to serve with desserts. I had all of these fruits leftover from Thanksgiving so what the heck I decided to try it. They are sweetened cranberries, glazed citrus and candied kumquats.
I guess I should explain – I first made this fruit back in 2013, not last year (from my pictures) so this is an old draft I obviously forgot about. I do have some recipes to use them in a dessert or as a pretty decoration on top of a chocolate cake or tart. I was not happy with my pictures and a post that was half finished but decided to publish it “as is” and clean it up later.
Sweetened Cranberries
These turned out very nice and rather sweet.
- 2/3 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- 6 tbsp. water
- 1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sugar, divided
Bring the cranberries, water and 1 tbsp. sugar to boil. Reduce heat and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 1 tsp. sugar and let cool.
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
Glazed Citrus
Glazed Citrus:
- 3 cups sugar
- 3 cups water
- 3 oranges, thinly sliced (I used tangerines)
- 3 lemons, thinly sliced
In a large saucepan bring the sugar and water to a boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and add the fruit slices. Simmer until translucent, about 2 hours. If the slices are too thin they will break down and fall apart. It only took 1 hour for me. Remove slices and let drain on a wire rack. Store between layers of parchment paper until ready to use. Very pretty and very sticky!
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
Candied Kumquats
They suggested candying the whole kumquats but I decided to slice them instead.
- 1 pint kumquats
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 vanilla bean split lengthwise and seeds scraped
- few sprigs of thyme
Bring the sugar and water to a boil and cook until sugar dissolves. Add the vanilla bean and seeds, thyme and kumquat slices. These only take about 45 minutes to become translucent. Rich chocolate really highlights the sweet rind and tart flesh of the kumquats. My favorite of the three fruits!
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
In another magazine (Martha Stewart) melted chocolate (semisweet or dark) on parchment paper and scattered citrus pieces from the slices on top and refrigerated it until it hardened. To serve, break the bark into easy shards. Good idea and how easy is that? Note the new Weight Watcher’s dark chocolate – only 3 points for 4 yummy pieces of chocolate.
Another recipe comes from Martha Stewart; place thinly sliced fruit on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously with sugar. Dry them in a 200°F, flipping once until the fruit is crisp. This could take up to 6 hours. Or you could dry them in a dehydrator.
Thanks for posting this, Juju. I’ve never made candied fruits before so it’s nice to have this to refer to. The kumquats look so cute! I might give that a try, although my husband and I are giving up sugar (plus French fries for me) for Lent. I think we’ll have them on Sundays only, then 😃😃
Thanks Angie – I am trying to give up sugar but for a different reason! The candied kumquats (not the whole slice) would be a cute decoration on top of your cookies – I am sure you will come up with something very creative 🙂 I am not sure why I bought more of them (they are so small and cute) I do have a couple of desserts I have been saving to use them with; a chocolate tart and a chocolate-hazelnut parfait!!!
This is gonna be a very useful recipe for me. Saved it. It would be so good that we can use it on cakes or desserts.
Perfect thing to do with them Sadia – I especially like the small kumquats on top of a chocolate dessert – yum 🙂 The cranberries would be pretty too!
Love this trio of recipes! I’ve never made candied fruits before…thanks to you, I’ve discovered it’s not as difficult as I imagined. My mind is already racing thinking of all the possible uses!! Thanks for sharing your recipes, Judi. 🙂
That’s why I decided to go ahead and post it now to share with everyone after reading Angie’s cookie post. Hopefully, people like you will come up with some great ideas and share too! I know you will Nancy – can’t wait to see 🙂
I think they would be a great adornment to a cocktail. How pretty.
I think they will be fun to use in all kinds of things Julie and why not a cocktail? Hmmm 🙂
Sad how my mind ran to the booze so quickly. 🙂
LOL – not at all Julie as I like that idea. Ask your son to come up with another unique martini 🙂
Great idea!
I have never tried making candied anything. This is a great reference for me. Thank you. 🙂
Thank you Fae – that’s exactly why I wanted to share this post now. I just need to use them in some desserts or at least for decoration 🙂
The tree recipes look superb, Judi 🙂 In my culture we work a lot with candied fruits. Always presented on the table or as a decoration on desserts. Last time I posted Orangettes http://lapetitepaniere.com/2013/12/24/orangettes-and-stuffed-almond-paste-dates/ . Have a nice day!
Thanks Linda – I will check your post out as mine turned out so pretty. I can see why anyone would love these as a decoration 🙂 What a lovely post and I do not remember seeing it. This is fun to share all the things we have made!
ooooh, the kumquats looks fantastic!!!
Thanks so much – they are my favorite 🙂
Perfect! I have been thinking about making candied fruit, lately! It’s great to have a recipe! Thanks so much, Judi! 😀
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