How to Dry Orange Slices will get you started on making beautiful natural decor to add to your packages, make garland, create Christmas ornaments, or simply as seasonal accents for your home or the holiday season.
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We had several people in our Cozy Living group this year make dried orange slices to decorate their home for Christmas. This started a trend in our group.
The dried orange decorations completely transformed everything they decorated. They were simply magical.
That’s how the trend began. First it was packages decorated with a dried orange slice and some greenery. Then it was a dried orange garland. The big final was all the trees that were completely transformed with these jewel-looking ornaments.
One of the people that made the dried orange Christmas decorations used a recipe that was a family tradition.
I decided to make a post about how to make dried orange slices because there was conflicting information everyone found online.
“If you wait until you have enough money to decorate and make your home your own, it will never happen. If you wait until you can afford to buy everything new, you are missing the point. It is the old, the new, the hand-me-down, the collected, the worn but loved things in your home that make it your own.” —Stacy Risenmay, Not Just a Housewife
Why Should You Make Dried Orange Slices?
You know those people who are annoyingly perfect? Homes all in order. Children well-behaved at all times. They have pets are wouldn’t dream of ever doing anything wrong.
I’m not that person. I would take a guess and say you’re not that way either.
Making dried orange slices to decorate your home makes you seem like a “put-together-all-the-time” type of person that likes to do amazing crafts in his or her spare time.
Plus, they make your home look amazing. They look like little stained glass windows dancing on your tree’s branches. While you bake them, they also make your home smell wonderful.
No one needs to know you’re basically just slicing up oranges and putting them in the oven.
It will be our little secret. We are a little secret club of people that want the look of amazing, but don’t have the time or skill-set to do so – unless we have a few tricks up our sleeve.
This craft idea is one of those tricks.
Here are some some of the question they asked about dried orange slices:
The process for drying orange slices is the same for all the ideas listed below.
How to dry Orange Slices for Garland?
Dried orange slices make the most beautiful garland. There are several different ways you can make the dried orange garland.
You can simply add the slices of orange for pops of color on a greenery garland.
Dried orange slices strung alone or with cranberries makes a beautiful look hanging from a window or fireplace.
If you’re looking for instructions of how to make a garland, my friend over at Homestead Lady made a tutorial you can find here.
How to dry Orange Slices for Gifts?
I love how natural this package looks tied up with string. Add a touch of greenery and a woodland animal for that rustic touch.
Gifts also look beautiful wrapped up in burlap with a dried orange slice as the topper.
How to Dry Orange Slices for the Christmas Tree?
Adding a string your orange slices makes stunning ornaments for any type of tree.
One of the tips I found to make the orange slices look even more magical on the tree is to set clear fairy lights directly behind the slice of orange. By doing this, the whole ornament sparkles.
How to Dry Orange Slices for Wreaths?
Tuck a few dried orange slices in between the greenery, add some cinnamon sticks, wood ornaments, and a few small round Christmas balls and you’ve got a beautiful wreath to welcome your guests with.
You can also do an entire wreath filled with dried orange slices. To mix things up, add some dried lime and grapefruit slices for extra color.
How to Dry Orange Slices for Crafts?
There are endless amounts of crafts you can make with dried orange slices.
Here are just some of them: Tea light jars with dried orange slices and a flameless tea light inside a clear glass jar, use them as part of a gift, make herbal tea with them, and potpourri.
How to Dry Orange Slices for Potpourri?
Imagine all the different combinations of potpourri you can make with dried orange slices. You can select other items that go well with the citrus dried slices depending on the season.
Did you know that dried orange slices are also edible?
Eaten by themselves, dried citrus slices make a wonderful snack. To make them even better, just add chocolate.
Once your orange slices have dried, simply dip them in melted white, milk, or dark chocolate halfway.
Place dipped chocolate orange slices on a tray lined with wax paper and allow the chocolate to set.
Once the chocolate has set, you can place a few in a clear cellophane bag that you can find here on Amazon – and tie the top with a beautiful ribbon or string.
They make a beautiful gift.
How long do dried orange slices last?
They can last up to two years, if properly stored. What I do is after the holidays are over, I hang the dried orange ornaments on the trees outside and let the birds enjoy a tasty snack.
Making them every year is part of the fun and it makes a homespun tradition.
Cozy Living Group
Since you found this article on How to Dry Orange Slices, I’m guessing you like all things cozy living. I created a Facebook groupcalledCreating a Cozy Lifewith over 65,000 like-minded souls.
It’s a group where we share recipes, pictures of things that leave you in awe, and ideas on how to make your life just a little bit more snug. Join here to be part of the virtual cozy cabin.
Here’s How to Dry Orange Slices in the Oven:
1) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
2) Wash and dry the oranges.
3) Slice the oranges 1/4″ thick with a serrated knife.
4) Take out any seeds if the orange slices have them.
5) Arrange the slices of oranges in a single layer on top of a wire cooling rack that rests inside a cookie sheet and place in the oven. You could also use a sheet pan with parchment paper, but the wire rack lets the air circulate around the orange slices better.
6) Cook for 4 – 4 1/2 hours. Flip the orange slices every half hour. Check on them often so they don’t burn.
7) The oranges should be crispy when done. You don’t want moisture on the oranges because they will mold.
8) Allow the orange slices to cool completely before using them or storing them. If you will be storing them, place them in an airtight container and place in a cool, dark spot to preserve the orange color.
Here’s How to Dry Oranges Slices in a Food Dehydrator:
2) Wash and dry the oranges.
3) Slice the oranges 1/4″ thick with a serrated sharp knife.
4) Take out any seeds if the orange slices have them.
5) Set your dehydrator temperature at 135 degrees.
6) It takes about 12 hours at that temperature, depending how large your oranges are and how thick your slices are.
7) The oranges should be crispy when done. You don’t want moisture on the oranges because they will mold.
8) Allow the dehydrated oranges to cool completely before using them or storing them. If you will be storing them, place them in an airtight container and place in a cool, dark spot to preserve the orange color.
We’ve reached the end ofHow to Dry Orange Slices. I hope you enjoyed it.
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