These candied lemon slices make perfectly delicious citrus fruit treats. With just three simple ingredients – lemons, sugar, and water – you can transform ordinary lemons into a delectable citrus confection.
And even more than that, these treats make the most gorgeous decoration and lovely garnish for your cakes, cupcakes and other treats.
This post is an extension of my candied lemon peels recipe, where I share my method of making candy out of just the lemon peel. It's a great way to use up the lemon peel which we often discard after juicing lemons.
This candied lemon recipe is pretty similar to that one, except that I use whole lemon slices for this recipe. The lemon slices are cut into thin round strips and cooked in sugar syrup over low heat until the lemon slices become translucent and deliciously soaked in thick sugar syrup. They are then left to dry overnight before they are ready to be enjoyed.
Unlike the candied lemon peels, I do not coat my lemon slices with sugar after cooking them in syrup. You can, however, always give them a coating of granulated sugar if you like.
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❤️Why you will love this recipe
- The candied lemon slices recipe is a great way to use up lemons when you have abundance of lemons at home.
- This is an easy recipe and uses very basic and simple ingredients.
- The candy is absolutely delicious with its sweet and tangy taste and are perfect for any lemon lover.
- These translucent and glistering candied lemon slices make a really beautiful edible garnish on any treats.
Like this easy lemons recipe? Here are my other lemon desserts you might want to check out:
- Lemon Curd Cheesecake - The Ultimate Lemon Cheesecake Recipe
- Lemon Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Old Fashioned Lemon Pound Cake
- Candied Lemon Peel - How to Make
- Blueberry Cake Loaf with Lemon Glaze
- Lychee Lemonade - Easy Lemon Lychee Iced Drink
- Moist Sour Cream Lemon Cake
- Butterfly Pea Lemonade
- Lemonade Popsicles
- Brown Sugar Lemonade
- How to Make Lemon Curd
📋Ingredients
- Lemon -use fresh lemons. Since we are going to use the lemons along with its skin, choose unwaxed lemons. Wash the lemons thoroughly before using.
- White sugar - this is used to make the sugar syrup in which the lemon slices are cooked. Both coarse sugar or granulated sugar will work fine.
- Water - similar to sugar, water is used to make the syrup. Use filtered water.
*Refer to the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and exact quantities. For best results, use a digital kitchen scale where applicable*
🧾Substitution and Variations
- To make sugar coated lemon slices, dip the slices in granulated sugar after removing them from the syrup and after letting them rest overnight.
- To make caramelized lemon, let the lemon slices cook in the sugar syrup over very low heat until the syrup starts to caramelize. Once you get the caramel to a light amber hue, turn off the heat and remove the lemon slices onto a parchment-lined tray. Do take note that once the sugar syrup starts to caramelize, it will darken very quickly, hence keep a close tab on the sugar syrup and the lemons after 30 minutes of cooking.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you do try, please let me know in the comments section below!
👩🍳How to Make
Preparing the lemons and making the sugar syrup
- Wash and dab the lemons dry. Place them on a clean chopping board and slice them into thin slices, about 2mm or 3mm thick. Remove the seeds.
- In a large saucepan or a large skillet, add water and sugar.
- Place it on the stovetop and turn on the heat to medium heat.
- Stir to dissolve the sugar.
Cooking the lemon slices in syrup
- As soon as the sugar is dissolved, add the lemon slices in, one at a time, making sure they do not overlap on one another.
- Turn the heat to low.
- Place the lid on the pan.
- Let the lemons simmer in the sugar water (syrup) for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take off the lid and turn the lemon slices over.
- Let them cook over low simmer again for another 15 minutes. At this stage, the lemons should have turned translucent. If not, let them simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes. At this stage, keep a close eye on the sugar syrup as it may caramelize.
- Remove the candied lemon slices, one by one, and place them on a baking sheet or parchment-lined tray. You can also place them on a wire rack first to let any excess syrup drip off, but it is not absolutely necessary. Place them apart and make sure they are not touching or overlapping as it will be difficult to separate them once the syrup sets.
- Let the candied lemons rest at room temperature (uncovered) overnight. I place them in the oven as it is the safest place to keep them uncovered. The left over syrup in the pan has a great lemon flavor from the lemon juice and rind and can be used as a simple syrup in drinks or other treats. Dilute with some water if it has thickened too much.
- To make caramelized lemon slices, let the slices cook in the sugar syrup until the syrup starts to caramelize. Once you get the caramel to a light amber hue, turn off the heat and remove the lemon slices onto a parchment-lined tray. Do take note that once the sugar syrup starts to caramelize, it will darken very quickly, hence keep a close tab on the sugar syrup and the lemons after 30 minutes of cooking.
🍽️Serving & storage
- Once set, the sugar syrup on the slices would have set, however, the candied lemon slices will still remain tacky.
- If not consumed or used immediately, keep them in an air-tight container. To avoid them from sticking to each other, place each slice in between parchment paper squares.
- The candied lemon slices are best kept refrigerated in an airtight container and can last for at least 3 to 4 months.
💡Expert Tips
- The key ingredient in this recipe is lemons. This recipe is best made with fresh lemons. You can use any regular lemons. Meyer lemons would work great for this recipe too.
- Since the lemons in this recipe are cooked with their skin intact, and with all the pesticides and wax being used on commercially produced lemons, it is important that they are washed well before using.
- For best results, slice lemons is with a sharp knife. You can also use a mandolin if you want. Whichever way, take note to ensure you slice them thinly, about 2mm to 3mm thick. Too thick slices will take a longer time to cook and soften, and too thin might leave you with nothing much to munch on. And, to ensure the slices cook consistently and uniformly, it is best that they are cut in the same width (uniform slices).
- Also, it is best that you remove any seeds you see in your lemon slices before cooking them. It is easier to remove the seeds while the lemons are fresh than when they are all cooked and syrupy.
- When cooking the lemon slices in syrup, it is best that they are placed in a single layer in the syrup rather than on top of one another. This will ensure they don't stick to one another and cook consistently.
- For this reason, a wide saucepan would be a better choice than a smaller one. If you are not able to find one that is wide enough such that your lemon slices end up overlapping, it is still ok. All you need to do is make sure you keep turning them around every 5 to 10 minutes so that all the slices get equal opportunity to cook on all sides.
- Also, when using a wide pan, the tendency for the sugar syrup to thicken quicker is high due to the larger area of the pan. Keeping the pan covered with a lid will avoid the syrup from thickening too soon and allow your lemon slices the necessary time to cook.
💭FAQs
I do not have this step in my recipe and it is not necessary.
In my candied lemon peel and orange peel candy recipes, I coat the peels with granulated sugar after cooking them in sugar syrup.
For these candied lemon slices, however, I leave them plain and that is because I like them that way. Plus, they look much prettier with all the shiny translucent centers and make excellent decoration for cakes and cupcakes.
Having said that, if you prefer your candied lemon slices covered in granulated sugar, you can always do so. After removing the slices from the syrup and after letting them rest overnight, dip them into granulated sugar.
Caramelized lemon slices are simply slices cooked in sugar caramel. To do this, you let the lemon slices cook in the sugar syrup until the syrup starts to caramelize. Once you get the caramel to a light amber hue, turn off the heat and remove the lemon slices onto a parchment-lined tray.
Once the sugar syrup starts to caramelize, it will darken very quickly, hence keep a close tab on the sugar syrup and the lemons after 30 minutes of cooking.
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📖Recipe
Candied Lemon Slices
For best results, use the metrics measurements. US customary measurements have not been tested and are only meant for guide.
Instructions
- Wash the lemon and dab it dry with a kitchen towel.
- Using a sharp knife or a mandoline cutter, slice the lemon into 2mm to 3mm thick slices. Remove and discard the seeds.
- Fill a wide pan with the water.
- Add sugar and place it on a stove.
- Turn on the heat to a medium flame and stir the sugar to dissolve it.
- Once the sugar is dissolved, add the lemon slices, one at a time. Make sure the slices are not overlapped.
- Turn the heat to low and cover the pan.
- Let the lemon slices simmer in the sugar syrup for 15 minutes.
- Turn them over and cook for another 15 to 25 minutes until the centers are completely translucent.
- Turn off the heat and remove the lemon slices onto a parchment-lined tray. Place each slice apart from one another.
- Let the candied lemon slices dry overnight, uncovered before consuming or using for decoration.
- To store the candied slices, place each slice between parchment squares. The slices are best stored in the refrigerator. Keep them in an airtight container.
Notes
- The key ingredient in this recipe is lemons. This recipe is best made with fresh lemons. You can use any regular lemons. Meyer lemons would work great for this recipe too.
- Since the lemons in this recipe are cooked with their skin intact, and with all the pesticides and wax being used on commercially produced lemons, it is important that they are washed well before using.
- For best results, slice lemons is with a sharp knife. You can also use a mandolin if you want. Whichever way, take note to ensure you slice them thinly, about 2mm to 3mm thick. Too thick slices will take a longer time to cook and soften, and too thin might leave you with nothing much to munch on. And, to ensure the slices cook consistently and uniformly, it is best that they are cut in the same width (uniform slices).
- Also, it is best that you remove any seeds you see in your lemon slices before cooking them. It is easier to remove the seeds while the lemons are fresh than when they are all cooked and syrupy.
- When cooking the lemon slices in syrup, it is best that they are placed in a single layer in the syrup rather than on top of one another. This will ensure they don't stick to one another and cook consistently.
- For this reason, a wide saucepan would be a better choice than a smaller one. If you are not able to find one that is wide enough such that your lemon slices end up overlapping, it is still ok. All you need to do is make sure you keep turning them around every 5 to 10 minutes so that all the slices get equal opportunity to cook on all sides.
- Also, when using a wide pan, the tendency for the sugar syrup to thicken quicker is high due to the larger area of the pan. Keeping the pan covered with a lid will avoid the syrup from thickening too soon and allow your lemon slices the necessary time to cook.
Variation:
- To sugar-coat the lemon slices, dip them in a bowl of granulated sugar after drying them overnight.
- To make caramelized lemon slices, let the slices cook in the sugar syrup until the syrup starts to caramelize. Remove from the syrup and dry as usual.
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