Lebkuchen, step one: Candied orange peel

Candied orange peel
good by itself,
dipped in chocolate.
or flavoring lbekuchen

Can't help myself -- I've just got to bake lebkuchen, a traditional German cookie, for Christmas. Yesterday I took the first step -- candied orange peel. I used a slightly different recipe from the one I posted a couple years ago. Right off, I can't really tell the difference, except this one is a little easier. Most of this will go in the cookies, and any peel left over will get dipped in melted Belgian chocolate. Truly, that is as delicious as the lebkuchen. But Christmas will not happen without lebkuchen.

Candied orange peel

2 large oranges (I used navel oranges, and I used three, since they weren't that big.)
4 C. sugar, divided
3 C. water

Cut 1/4 inch from the top and bottom of the oranges. Cut the peel down to the flesh in half, then in half again. Remove the peel, pith and all.  You will have four pieces per orange. Cut each into quarter-inch-wide strips. Cook the peel in boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain it, then rinse it and drain it again.

Bring 3 cups of sugar and 3 cups of water to a boil and cook it until the sugar dissolves. This won't take long. Put the peel in and boil it again. Reduce the heat and let it simmer until the peel is soft; 45 minutes worked fine for me.

Drain the peel. Put a cup of sugar onto a rimmed baking sheet. (I use the large crystals that you can find in the baking department of fancier grocery stores. It adds crunch. This time I didn't have quite enough, so I mixed it with regular sugar.) Toss the peel in the sugar. The peel will be limp, but don't worry.

Transfer the peel to a sheet of foil. Make sure it is not bunched up. Each strip of peel should have a little air around it. Let it stand until dry. This could take two days, depending.