How To Make Candied Orange Peel and What Do With It (Amaranth Wafers)

In the 1st edition of EveryDayCook the recipe for making candied orange peel is a side bar in the recipe for Amaranth Wafers. This is the amended recipe that was published after complaints about the short version of the directions, it also contains double the amount of oranges.

"Candied Orange Peel 2.0
Ingredients
4 ripe oranges (Navel will do just fine)
2 cups sugar
4 cups water
Instructions:
Place a cooling rack over a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. If you don’t have a pan, just put the paper on the counter, but don't skip the cooling rack.
Using a vegetable peeler, remove the outer peel of each orange working from stem end to blossom end. (I'd say "longitudinally," but who thinks about oranges having lines of longitude?)
When all the peeling is done, lay each piece on a cutting board, pith side up (that's the white stuff) and use a paring knife to scrape off as much of the pith as possible. Don't go crazy, but the more you get off the less bitter it'll be.
Place the peel strips in a medium saucier or saucepan (I use a three quart saucier so that the liquid will pool in the bottom as it reduces). Add two cups of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then drop the heat to maintain a simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and return the peel to the pan.
Add the sugar and the last two cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and stir every few minutes until the sugar dissolves. A silicone spatula is absolutely the best tool for the job.
When the syrup hits a boils, drop the heat and maintain a simmer for approximately 1 hour. Since the syrup is going to slowly concentrate, you'll need to drop the heat every now and then to just maintain that simmer. Remember this isn’t just about creating a sugar crust, it’s about actually getting some of that sugar into the peel and that takes time. Stir every few minutes to help insure equal coverage and cooking.
After 50 minutes a majority of the water will have evaporated and the remaining syrup will thick and there will be a lot of bubbles. You'll know you're close to done when you feel grit at the bottom of the pan when you swipe the spatula across it. That means the syrup is “concentrated” and the sugar is falling out of solution. At this point use an instant read thermometer to start checking the temp.*
When the syrup hits 250 degrees F, immediately remove from the heat and pour the orange peels onto the cooling rack, separating and straightening the pieces as quickly as you can with the spatula or a couple of forks. Once cool, shake off any excess sugar and cover lightly with paper towels or a clean towel overnight.
Seal the candied peel in a glass jar and store at room temperature for up to 3 months. If making in the summer, consider adding a food grade silica desiccant pack to the jar to absorb humidity. (Yes...the interwebs has them.)

Note: I don't like waste so I return any syrup and surplus sugar from the paper and rack to the pan. I add a cup of water, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. The resulting syrup can be used in beverages...like tea and cocktails. Sealed in a jar and refrigerated it'll keep for months.
Oh yeah...don’t forget to eat the oranges."

Making this recipe requires commitment. It took me around 2 hours to make the candied orange peel, which then needed to cool overnight.

Skinned Oranges, Cooking is a Violent Sport

Candied Orange Peel 2.0

When you are ready to make the cookies it goes in, first you need to pop the amaranth berries. I did not know you could make tiny amaranth popcorn, but you can. It takes patience because it's best done in small (a tablespoon or less) batches to keep the layer of berries even on the heat and prevent burning. I may have slightly over-toasted some of the earliest attempts, but nothing burned beyond redemption.
Mixing the dough is pretty straightforward, but it does need to chill before you shape it. Even chilled the dough is pretty crumbly, and the cookies are fragile coming out of the oven so they do need to sit on the baking tray to finish firming up.

Crumbly, But Workable

I served a couple of them with freshly squeezed orange juice, because that appropriate to the theme of the recipe. They are nice little crunchy bites.

Hardcore From Scratch Snacking

Difficulty Level: Complex
Will It Get Made Again? Realistically no. These have a high time/effort investment and while they're good, I would need a really, really good reason to go to the trouble again.