Candied Citrus

I was recently called upon to bake something for B's kindergarten class: St. Lucia buns. They are really a small, yeast leavened cake, the sweet, eggy dough tinted a bright, sunny yellow with saffron and flavored with slivered almonds, pale golden sultanas, and juicy bites of candied citrus. The feast of St. Lucia commemorates an early Christian martyr who is associated with bringing light to the dark (metaphorically and literally) days of mid-December. So, a yummy little cake filled with bright, sunny colors is a perfect way to celebrate the day.
One problem: I could not find any decent candied citrus. I refuse to use that nasty, artificially colored and flavored stuff sold in plastic tubs, whose ingredient list begins with high fructose corn syrup. The farm store, a haven of heavenly, hard-to-find ingredients (with correspondingly high, high prices) had not ordered any this year. It was too late to source any from the internet, or even drive to town for some of the evil, artificial variety. What to do?
I raided my fruit bowl for clementines and lemons and made my own. It really is so easy, and the results are so delicious. Once you try it, you will never buy another tub of day-glo franken-fruit again.

Recipe:

2 medium clementines
1 lemon
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus approximately 1/2 cup for sifting
1 1/2 water

1. Peel the clementines and the lemon, trying to leave as much of the pith (the bitter white stuff) behind. You may have to score the rind of the lemon in order to peel it successfully. Reserve the fruit for another use.

2. Finely chop the peel into small cubes. The size will vary depending on the final baked good and personal preference. I like little bitty dice, but larger dice are just fine.

3. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Immerse peel in the water until it returns to a boil. Once it has, remove the peel and drain, rinsing in cold, cold water. Repeat this procedure once or twice more.

4. Rinse pot and fill with sugar and water and stir until combined. Over medium heat, bring sugar syrup to a boil and add peel. Simmer over low heat for 45 minutes. (Keep the heat low! You do not want boiling sugar to become cemented to your stovetop!)

5. Drain the peel in a fine mesh sieve and let dry a little bit.  Cover the bottom of a small bowl (one with a lid!) with a fine layer of sugar. Add peel, and add the rest of the 1/2 cup of sugar. Pop on the lid and shake until each little piece is covered with sugar and no longer sticky.

6. Spread in a single layer on a clean towel and let dry--about an hour.

This is delicious right away, but will keep well in a tightly sealed container for a month or so.