This Cointreau Orange Marmalade with vanilla is pleasantly bitter, moderately sweet, and simply beautiful. Make a large batch, pack into small jars, and it will be a great edible gift for your family, friends, and colleagues.
Jump to RecipeHey folks, how are you doing? Enjoying December so far?
Are you still thinking about what to present to your family and friends? What about edible gifts that you are going to make yourself? If you love to cook or bake, then this might be an amazing opportunity. For those who don’t really enjoy cooking, well, you may still have fun.
Some excellent ideas for your Christmas gifts could be cookies, truffles, chocolate barks, and even jams. Personally, I have never presented jars with jam, but I am considering this option this year.
Cointreau Orange Marmalade
You will need some time and effort to make this recipe (plus some time for cleaning the mess!) But it will take about one hour and a half from start to finish. That is not too bad for a large batch of delicious marmalade! And most of the time, it will be simmering without too much of your attention.
If you like bitter orange marmalade, you will like this recipe then! And the addition of orange liqueur not only makes it boozy, but also accentuates this bitterness even more. Plus the sweet aroma of real vanilla seeds.
This is not an overly sweet marmalade, either. The similar recipes call as much as 4 cups of sugar for the same amount of orange juice. I used less than 2, and it turned already quite sweet (keep in mind the sweetness from orange liqueur.) Using of 4 cups of sugar would make this marmalade extremely sweet – and that is absolutely unnecessary!
Sugar is important to make natural pectin work. And while oranges have a lot of natural pectin, using less sugar means a runnier marmalade. Hence, this recipe calls for more additional pectin from package. Please use classic pectin, not so called “low sugar pectin”.
More Recipes for Christmas Gifts
Looking for more recipes that would be perfect for Christmas gifts? I hope you can find some.
Cranberry Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
Chocolate Dipped Dried Oranges
Orange Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
I hope you like this Cointreau Orange Marmalade, and you will give it a try. If you make it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share you photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen.
Cheers!
Cointreau Orange Marmalade
Course: Jams u0026 Preserves12-18
servings15
minutes1
hourThis Cointreau Orange Marmalade with vanilla is pleasantly bitter, moderately sweet, and simply beautiful. Prefect for holiday season, too!
Ingredients
8 medium oranges (~225 gr. each)
1 lemon
~2/3 cup (180-190 ml.) orange liqueur such as Cointreau or Triple Sec
1 and 2/3 cups (~330 gr.) granulated sugar
1 package (57-60 gr.) classic pectin (not low-sugar pectin)
1/2 – 1 vanilla bean, seeds, optional
1 cinnamon stick, optional
1 star anise, optional
Directions
- Wash the oranges and lemon, thoroughly scrubbing the peels. using a vegetable peeler, remove the rind. Using a peeler ensures that you will not also remove too much of the pith – white part under the skin that will also make your marmalade bitter (but some of the pitch is totally fine.)
- Â Use a sharp knife to julienne the rind into long thin strips (match-like). Set aside (until step 4).
- Cut each fruit in half. Squeeze and remove as much of the juice and pulp as possible, discarding any seeds and white stem parts; orange membrane is fine. You can use any available juicer or simply use a small spoon; I’d suggest doing this under a large bowl as it’s quite messy process! Set aside (until step 5).
- Place the julienned orange rind into a medium heavy-bottom pan / saucepan. Fill with water to fully cover the rind and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil over medium high heat for 10 minutes. Drain the water from the pan. This process ensures that excessive bitterness is removed. No worries – the marmalade will still be pleasantly butter, especially once the orange liqueur has been added. But if your orange rind is super bitter, you can repeat this step (after changing the water.)
- Return the rind to the saucepan along with the extracted orange pulp and juice. Add 1/2 cup of the orange liqueur, sugar, and if using – vanilla seeds, cinnamon stick, and/or star anise.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low so that the mixture is simmering. Cook the marmalade for 40-45 more minutes, giving it a nice stir every 3-5 minutes.
- Stir in another 1/4 cup of orange liqueur as well as the pectin, stirring constantly (make sure to check the package instructions as they could wary.) Most pectin crystals call for a few minutes of cooking time, but I simmered it for about 5 minutes.
- Off heat. Let the marmalade completely cool. Once cooled, it should significantly thicken up. If it is not thick enough to your liking (amount of juice, pectin quality, etc. can be different), then add 1-2 tbsp. of more pectin, bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer for a few minutes. If the marmalade is too thick to your liking, a few extra splashes of orange liqueur will help, too!
- Keep refrigerated in an air-tight container or jar. As it contains alcohol, it should be fine up to 2 weeks (or even longer, but we always consume jams within 10 days or so.) Enjoy!
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
This is a wonderful recipe for Cointreau Orange Marmalade! It sounds like the perfect balance of bitter and sweet, with the vanilla and orange liqueur adding a unique and delicious touch. I especially appreciate that you included tips on using less sugar and substituting classic pectin for low-sugar pectin.
The less sugar, the more tasty in my book :)
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Brandy Alexander
Love how you’ve spiced up this marmalade! Definitely better than what you can find in the store!
Thank you Michelle!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Brandy Alexander
This is my kind of marmalade as I don’t like it to be too sweet.
Tandy | Lavender and Lime recently posted…Roasted Sesame Sauce
Yay to moderately sweet marmalades :)
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Brandy Alexander
That sounds and looks absolutely lovely..so much better than the storebought one with orange liqueur.
angiesrecipes recently posted…Lamb Meatballs with Sweet and Sour Harissa Sauce
Thanks Angie!
Ben | Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Brandy Alexander