Today I’m going to teach you how to make lovely dried orange slices for your Christmas decor!
These oven dried orange slices are super easy to make, smell amazing, and can be used in so many fun ways during the holiday season! From Christmas garland, to tree ornaments, table decor, food garnishes, or even tied to a gift to take your wrapping to the next level.
Dried fruit was a very traditional way to decorate for the holidays up until about the mid-1800’s when glass ornaments became popular, and so using dried orange slices is a lovely and cost effective way to bring an old fashion feel into your Christmas decor. I love doing an old fashioned “Little Women” inspired Christmas, and these oranges are perfect for that.
How to make dried orange slices:
To start, Preheat the oven to 200°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Supplies:
All you need to make dried orange slices is oranges, a sharp knife, parchment paper, a cookie sheet and your oven!
Using a sharp knife, slice the oranges very thinly (about ⅛ to ¼ inch). The thinner the slices, the quicker they will dry out.
Gently blot with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. This will help the oranges dry out faster.
Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and arrange the oranges with a little bit of space between each one.
**EDIT** I made one change this year and it really improved the process. Place a rack on the parchment paper and then lay your oranges on the rack, they dry faster and you don’t have to flip them!
Bake at 200°F for 2-4 hours, flipping every 30 minutes. This helps dry the orange slices while keeping them from burning.
Make sure to keep checking the orange slices every time you flip as some will dry faster than others.
If your slices begin to brown but don’t feel dry, then your oven is too hot.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack is you have one, or on the parchment paper.
String using twine or floral wire and get decorating!
Natural looking Christmas tree. Wicker tree collar. Natural looking evergreen garland. Eucalyptus garland. Flameless candles. Velvet ribbon.
As I said above, you can use the dried orange slices as ornaments for an old fashioned tree, or place them in your mantle or staircase garland. Dried orange slices are beautiful in wreaths, and tied to ribbon on a Christmas gift. Or lay them out in the middle of your holiday table mixed with some evergreen sprigs. The smell will be amazing and the table will be beautiful
Find the best most natural looking faux Christmas trees here.
I rounded up beautiful garland here.
