Well, it’s been a busy and citrus-filled week here at A Month of Sundries—from fruit to zest to juice, to the main event, the candied peels— but I’ve got one more little bonus trick to make further use of those orange peels that we zested.
Once zested, the peels are no longer suited to candying, but that doesn’t mean they need be thrown away. They can be dried out and used for all sorts of creative applications. I know, I know, all week I’ve been saying things like “The pith is bitter,” and “Avoid the pith,” and now here I am suggesting that you preserve it. Well, yes. And yes. Fresh pith can make your face try to turn itself inside out, but drying mellows it, and it can impart a unique orangey flavor that is different than you get from the zest. And dried peels can also make a fragrant material for use in various craft projects, if you’re so inclined.
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These are un-zested wedges that I cut up for candying, but the procedure is exactly the same.
The first step (assuming that you have already-zested peels) is to cut them into wedges the same as we did for the candying process. (The astute observer might, in fact, notice that the peels in the above photo have their zest intact—they’re actually some that I was prepping for candying.) Starting with an empty and zested half-shell of orange, divide the peel into quarters by cutting it in half, and half again, then peel away the pulp. If you are wanting them to be in a particular shape for craft purposes (to be star-shaped, or to have holes for stringing in a garland, for example), now is the time to do that.
Spread the resulting wedge (or otherwise)-shaped pieces of peel on a foil-lined cookie sheet and place in an oven set to the lowest possible setting. I set mine to “Warm”; if your oven doesn’t have a very low setting, preheat it to around 350° and then turn it off before putting in the peels. If you use this method, you may need to reheat the oven periodically if the peels are not dry by the time the oven cools (I’d remove the peels until the oven is off again, just to be safe).
Leave the peels in for several hours, or until they are thoroughly dried out and crisp.
At this point, they can be coarsely broken, for applications such as potpourri…
Or ground more finely to be used as a flavoring.
I used my mortar and pestle for this, but it took a fair amount of elbow grease. A spice grinder or food processor/blender would probably make quicker work of it.
Stored in an airtight container, dried orange peel will impart a unique orange flavor and pleasing crunch to things like shortbread cookies. It can be stored already ground, or you could store it in wedge form and grind just before using for a more intense flavor.
And speaking of shortbread cookies…
Orange Shortbread Cookies
(Based on Scotch Shortbread cookies, from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
1/2 lb. butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. ground dried orange peel
Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating until smooth. Combine flour, salt and orange peel and add to butter mixture, stirring until thoroughly incorporated.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Roll or press dough into a rectangle about 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick; cut into squares or other shapes. Place cut dough on a cookie sheet and prick with a fork. Bake for 10 – 12 min. or until just starting to brown at the edges.
A Month of Sundries 
thanks for the recipe!! would the taste be stronger than using zest?
You’re welcome!
To me, the dried peel and zest seem to be of similar strength—both give off a very definite orange aroma, but they are two distinctly different orange aromas, if you compare them. (And I’ve just been standing in the kitchen comparing them, trying to think how to describe the difference…)
The best I can come up with is that the zest has a brighter, purer flavor, where the dried peels are more complex, with an almost ‘nutty’ element to them.
The dried peels also add more of a texture, as something like seeds or ground nuts would (although the peels can be ground more finely to lessen this). I think the dried peels work best in dry applications, especially if there is a crunch to the finished texture.
If I were going to substitute zest in the shortbread cookies, I think I’d go with 1 tbsp. of zest for the 2 tbsp. of dried—the zest is more compact, and its flavor spreads more readily, where the dried peel’s flavor is somewhat more contained in the pieces.
-MJP