HOW TO MAKE CANDIED LEMON SLICES: Candied Lemon Slices are SO EASY to make! They make beautiful edible garnishes for baked goods and can be enjoyed as a treat, as well. Such a great way to use up lemons!
Did you know that lemons in their entirety, peels and all, are edible? With a little bit of cooking magic, you can learn how to make candied lemon slices. This process turns them (or any citrus fruit) into candy! And beautiful decorations for baked goods!
It’s a magical secret unknown to most. This trick applies to any citrus fruit. Oranges, grapefruit and limes transform into delicious candied citrus fruits, as well!
Start out with 3 large lemons because, unless you are very adept at using a mandoline or if you are an expert at cutting consistently uniform slices with a knife, you will want to leave room for error. I used my mandoline to slice my lemons and I had a culling rate of approximately 30-35%.
These beauties adorn baked goods so beautifully! I have put them onto cakes, cupcakes and cookies and they make people swoon every single time.
HOW TO MAKE CANDIED LEMON SLICES
STEP 1
Grab 2 to 3 fresh lemons. Using a mondoline or sharp knife, cut lemons into thin slices (approximately 1/8-inch thickness).
In a large saucepan, combine 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup water and 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer over medium-low heat and add the lemon slices in a single layer when the sugar is dissolved.
STEP 2
Simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, gently flipping once or twice during the cooking process. When the lemons are slightly translucent, they are finished cooking.
RECIPE NOTES
- If you love lemons and have a lot of them on your hands, make an extra big batch of candied lemons and store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- Use 1 cup of simple syrup in place of the water and sugar in the recipe, if desired.
- Let the candied lemons sit at room temperature for up to 24 hours before storing in an air-tight container.
USES FOR CANDIED LEMON SLICES
- Snack on them! Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. The lemon peel is edible, so eat up!
- Add them to the tops of Raspberry Lemonade Cookies from Cookie Remix.
- Garnish your next Lemon Blueberry Cake with them!
- Throw them onto your next batch of Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes.
IS LEMON A FRUIT
Because they have seeds, lemons are considered fruit.
CAN DOGS EAT LEMONS
NO! They probably would prefer not to eat them because of their sourness, but lemons are toxic to dogs and should not be consumed.
BEST LEMON DESSERT RECIPES
Don’t limit yourself to candied lemon slices! If you or anyone in your life loves lemon desserts as much as I do, consider making one or more of these delicious sugary concoctions:
Lemon Curd is a fresh, light and lemony filling or topping that goes great on cakes, cookies, cupcakes or any baked treat!
Lemon Ice Box Pie – The perfect compliment to the zest of lemon is the graham cracker crust. A citrus flavored cream pie is delightful and so delicious. A small slice goes a long way in flavor, it’s the perfect summer treat!
If you have a lemon lover in your life, you are going to want to add these Lemon Bars to your baking list pronto! A lemon curd filling tops a perfectly baked shortbread crust, making the most delicious lemony dessert you will ever taste!
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars – Simplify cheesecake and pack it full of two delicious types of fruit!
How To Make Candied Lemon Slices
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2-3 lemons sliced to 1/8-inch thickness
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer (med-low) and add lemon slices in a single layer.
- Simmer over medium-low (uncovered) for 15 minutes, gently flipping once or twice during the cooking process.
- Transfer the lemon slices to a wire cooling rack or waxed paper and let cool.
Notes
- If you love lemons and have a lot of them on your hands, make an extra big batch of candied lemons and store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- Use 1 cup of simple syrup in place of the water and sugar in the recipe, if desired.
- You can stir the sugar in the water occasionally as it simmers.
- Let the candied lemons sit at room temperature for up to 24 hours before storing in an air-tight container.
- Candied lemons will be sugary and tacky even after drying.
- They freeze well and can be frozen up to 2 months.
Hi Megan,
I was just wondering if you would know if this recipe would work if I used Splenda sweetener instead of regular sugar? I’m planning on making a lemon cake to put these candied lemons on, and a few family members are diabetic so ill be replacing the sugar in the cake with Splenda. I was hoping I can do the same with the candied Lemons. Thanks.
Hi Megan, That’s a good question. I haven’t tried it. I know that when I tried lemon bars with a sugar substitute they were edible but didn’t turn out because the consistency was so different, they didn’t set the same or thicken like lemon bars do. So I think it’d be worth a try but I can’t speak to it. Let me know if you do!
I’ve replaced sugar by honey.. delicious!! ☺️ thanks!!
So easy and quick, just what I needed
So glad it was a hit! Thanks for sharing Nicola.
Made three batches of these candied lemons today (6 Calafate lemons originally intended for a recipe needing lemon juice). First batch with a single layer of slices cooked 15 minutes & turned out very bitter in the rind. I think the slices were too thick (definitely >1/8″; hand cutting is difficult!) so the rinds didn’t cook enough. I’ll coat them in granulated sugar & eat them but not give these to friends.
Second batch used the same liquid & I added twice as many slices so that some were forced under & the rinds cooked better. Gently stirred/flipped frequently & upped my simmer to passive aggressive. 30 minutes cooking helped a lot but not entirely with the rinds/bitterness. Maybe my lemons were lousy to start. But as the slices were too thick, most of the centers actually stayed together! Small wins. These’ll get sugar coated & eaten in-house too.
Third batch I added a 1/2 cup sugar and water to the liquid and used it again because I’d ran out of sugar to start from scratch. That didn’t help with getting rid of the bitterness at all LOL and things started to caramelize after about 15 minutes. These were literally the stickiest things I’ve eaten in years (like go to the doctor because my teeth are glued together sticky) and still slightly bitter on top of NOT tasting like lemons and looking like dark brown orange slices. PLEASE take my advice and make a fresh batch of sugar water! Bleh. Probably throwing this batch out.
I wonder about blanching prior to cooking? That seemed to work well with a different recipe for candied orange slices. I’ll definitely try this recipe again but slice using a mandolin, blanch first, use better lemons, and have enough sugar on hand for a fresh pan per batch! May try a deep pot instead of a pan also to speed the process.
Toss small batches in a lidded tupperware with granulated sugar and shake like the dickens 😀 After dry(ish) and coating in granulated sugar, these stack gorgeously in a canning jar for holiday gifts!
Julie, I appreciate you documenting all that and sharing with us. It’s important to know we all have different experiences in baking/cooking and can learn from one another.
Julie, yes simmering them in water for 15 mins then drying on paper towel then simmering in the above recipe will make lovely candied lemons without butter rinds. 🙂
Hello, I saw you said wait 24 hours the lemons to dry before you put them I to an airtight container. can you eat them before then? I made them to put on top of my Lemon Loaf cake.
Thank you!
Yes! The drying would be more to make them dry to the touch but if you don’t mind putting them sticky, it’ll be just fine.
Thanks, these are great! Should you pick the pips out after slicing the lemons (before cooking)? Thanks!
Hi Lucy, I’m not sure what you’re referring to (pips) but if you meant seeds, yes, then you can remove those after slicing them.
thanks for asking!
Can the left over sugar/water/lemon mixture be used a lemon simple syrup for a lemon cake?
That’s a great use for it, Leah. Thanks for asking!
Just made a batch as garnish for a lemon tart tomorrow, hopefully I didn’t over shoot the temperature of the sugar.
Ooh, that’ll be very delicious. Enjoy the lemon tart and the lemon slices!
I followed this recipe, but dispute leaving them to dry overnight, they were super sticky and gummy. Any advice?
This recipe doesn’t focus on them becoming hard candy so I expect them to be gummy somewhat. I’m sorry that’s not what you were looking for.
I would think rolling them in granulated sugar after if they’re too sticky will probably help
That’s a good tip – thank you Pastry Chef Cynthia!
I read in another recipe for candied lemons that after you’ve candied them you can put them in the oven (on 200°F) for about an hour occasionally flipping them. I hope this helps have a good day 🙂
Thank you for sharing that Khloe!
I am using candied lemons for bar drinks at my restaurant. They came out really well as far as flavor and appearance goes. Do you have any advice to make it more of a hard crack candy?
Hi Alysa, I love that you’re sharing them on drinks! Great question on making them more candied but I haven’t experimented with. I know that when you get to the hard crack stage of making candy, the candy has to cook and reach about 300 degrees (approximately) before it hardens. I don’t know what the lemon and rind would do – if it would fall apart or not. If you try it, let me know!
Food dehydrator
Crush some hard lemon candy, disperse it around the surface of the candied lemon, and bake it in the oven (around 325f) till it melts. When it cools down I think it will be more of what your looking for.
Thank you, Justin! That’s a great suggestion. I’m sure others would love that feedback too, so thanks for the tip.
Simply lovely. My daughter has been asking to eat the lemons she collects during walks in our neighborhood, so I candied two Meyers. Not only did they come out perfect, but I am using the remaining syrup to make jam with berries and grapes.
That’s awesome you have fresh lemons available! So yummy! Love that idea of how to use up the remaining syrup. Thanks for sharing, Jamie!
I just make any lemons for the first time to go on top of my granddaughter’s birthday cake this coming weekend, we are also planning a lemonade stand within the next week. I was wondering if I could use the simple syrup that I cook them in as a starter for my lemonade?
A simple syrup is a great way to sweeten your lemonade. Check out my honey version as well as the traditional! https://pipandebby.com/pip-ebby/how-to-make-simple-syrup-using-honey/
My lemon centers just fell apart. I wanted to use them as cake decorations. I followed the instructions. Not sure what I did wrong.
Hi Darlah, I can understand your frustration. I have not experienced this. My first thoughts to trouble shoot this are: the fruit was not fresh enough to withstand the cooking process. Another thought, maybe they were sliced too thin? Or not let out to set long enough? If you are up for trying again, this is what I would focus on. Thank you for asking and I will update the information on the cards to consider these points.