The Sweet Magnolias Cookbook (47 page)

6 large oranges

Cold water

3 cups granulated sugar, divided

Wash oranges. Using an orange peeler or knife, score orange into quarters. Remove orange peel, keeping peel intact. (Save oranges for another use.) Slice peel diagonally into thin strips.

Place in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Fill pot ¾ full with cold water. Bring to a boil, and boil for 1 minute. Drain oranges.

Return orange peel to pot, and repeat procedure 4 more times. (This removes the bitterness from the peel.) Have ready baking sheets lined with paper towels.

Bring 2 cups granulated sugar and 1 cup water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

Add drained orange peel to syrup. Cook orange peel in syrup about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. The peel will absorb most of the syrup.

Drain off any remaining syrup. Using tongs, transfer candied orange peel to prepared baking sheets, arranging in single layers and allowing a bit of space between each piece. Dry at room temperature at least 4 hours.

Coat candied peel in remaining 1 cup granulated sugar, shaking off excess. Store airtight at room temperature up to 1 week or in the freezer up to 2 months. Use in recipes calling for candied orange peel.

Note: Although time consuming, this recipe isn't hard to make and is well worth the effort. For a special Christmas treat, take the candied peel (but not sugar coated), and dip the pieces in melted dark chocolate. After letting the chocolate harden on the candied peel, store airtight at room temperature for up to 1 month.

1 stack saltine crackers

1 cup unsalted butter

1 packed cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

1 (8-ounce) bag brickle bits (Heath bar toffee chips)

1 (12-ounce) bag milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Completely line the interior of a 15"×10"×1" jelly-roll pan with aluminum foil. Smooth out all wrinkles, and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place saltines in pan side by side.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar and pecans. Bring to a boil. Stirring occasionally, let mixture boil 5 minutes only.

Remove from heat. Pour mixture over saltines. Bake 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, and place on cooling rack. Immediately sprinkle half the bag of brickle bits over hot toffee. Evenly distribute chocolate chips over hot toffee. Let stand several minutes.

Using an off-set spatula, spread chocolate over toffee. Immediately sprinkle remaining brickle bits over melted chocolate. Cover tightly with foil, and let cool until firm. (Note: You can speed this up by placing in the refrigerator; just make sure that it is tightly covered with foil so it doesn't pick up any humidity.)

Remove from refrigerator, and break into pieces like peanut brittle. Store airtight at room temperature.