Here Comes the Holidays!

My parents have a big lemon tree in their backyard that produces the biggest, most beautiful lemons all year long. And best of all, they are 120% organic! While their clementines are what I miss the most about California, these are hubby's favorite. In the past, we only used the juice. Even though I felt extremely wasteful and guilty to throw away those plump lemon peels, I had no other use for them.

That is until I started making the Christmas presents last year. (Yes, I realize it's a little late to be writing about what to make for Christmas gifts, but I really didn't want my friends to find out what they were getting. Doesn't everyone love surprises?! =) In 2009, when I started reading food blogs, I fell in love with the idea of home-made Christmas gifts. So I cooked and baked, and cooked and baked some more, and gave everyone a box containing jam, cupcakes, crackers, candies, cookies, etc. totalling 9 varieties! While it was enormous amount of fun, it was also exhausting, and on top of that, I had way too much sweets left in the house. (Hubby and the kids didn't complain a bit! =) So last year, I decided to make something a little simpler but just as festive - panettones. And home made candied lemon peel is the perfect way to use the peels of the last couple of lemons from my parents.

For the panettone itself, I tried a number of recipes. Some got too hard to knead that the butter and dried fruit couldn't get mixed in evenly. Some were too crumbly. My final version is built on Joy of Cooking's "No-Knead Yeast Coffee Cake or Panettone" recipe. It's not perfect, but it is very good, if I do say so myself. To make it more buttery might require more butter than I'd like to consume. =)

Panettone

1 cup of water 105 - 110 F
2 packages (1 ½ tbsp) active dry yeast
2 cup (240 g) all purpose flour
2 ½ (300 g) bread flour
½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon rind
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp candied lemon peel, cut into tiny pieces (recipe below)
1 ¼ cup mixed dry fruit (golden raisins, raisins, craisins, apricots, mangoes, etc.)

Cut up candied lemon peel, and large pieces of dried fruit such as apricots and mangoes. Set aside.

Sift together 1 cup (120 g) of all purpose flour with the bread flour. Set aside.

Mix the yeast with a generous pinch of sugar in a large bowl. Pour in the water, and let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup (120 g) all purpose flour. Cover this sponge with a towel. Let it rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes.

In the meanwhile, beat the butter until soft in a mixer. With the mixer running, gradually add the sugar, and beat till creamy. Beat in one egg at a time. Mix in salt, lemon rind, and vanilla extract.

Beat in the sponge when ready. Add the flour in 3 batches. Starting at the lowest speed, gradually increase the speed. When mixed in well, add the next batch. Switch to the dough hook after adding the last batch of flour. Let the mixer run for at least 10 minutes after the dough is mixed well.

Mix in the dried fruit pieces. Cover with a towel, and let it rise for 2 hours.

Cut a large piece of parchment paper to build a 7" tall wall inside a 7" springform cake pan. Grease the bottom of the pan. Punch down the dough, and transfer it to the cake pan. Tuck in the all the fruit. (Exposed fruit pieces might get burned.) Cover and let it rise for 30 minutes to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush the top with melted butter. Bake for 55 minutes or till a skewer through the center comes out clean.

Candied Lemon Peel

2 large lemons, washed
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar

Peel the lemons with a potato peeler to get strips of lemon peel. If there is too much pith on some of the peel, remove with a paring knife.

Blanch the peel in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse.

In a small saucepan, add water and sugar. Slowly bring it to simmer, whisk frequently, so that the sugar dissolves completely, and the syrup is clear. Add the peel to the syrup, and simmer for at least an hour till the peel is translucent and tender.

Remove from the syrup and dry for a day on a wire rack set over parchment.

Add some sugar in a small bag. Add a few pieces of peel at a time. Shake to coat the peel evenly with sugar. Repeat with the rest of the peel. Add more sugar when needed.