How to Dry Orange Slices in the Oven for Holiday Crafts

How to dry orange slices in the oven for crafts and decorating for the Holidays.

I’ve always wanted to try drying orange slices and I figured this year would be a great time to do it because, like many people, I’ve got a bit of time on my hands. They’re so beautiful used in wreaths and other crafts and they were a lot easier then I thought they would be.

Dried orange slices or any citrus for that matter, are so pretty, and they smell amazing when they are in the oven.  Here’s what you will need to make dried orange slices:

1. Oranges
2. Knife
3. Cookie sheet(s)
4. Parchment paper
5. Paper towels
6. Cinnamon

Steps to make dried orange slices.

1. Preheat the oven to 215 degrees f.
2. Wash and dry the oranges.
3. Cut them into slices that are about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch thick. This is thicker than most people say but I wanted them to be a bit hardy. I I used a knife with serrated edges to give a very clean cut and smooth edges on each slice.

 

 

4. Dab them with paper towels to absorb some of the juice before they go in the oven.

5. Choose how you would like to put them in the oven. Some people will say to put them directly on the oven rack but I was concerned that the juice might       run. I actually tried two different ways to see which one worked better.  I put one batch on a cookie tray with parchment paper and one batch on a cooking     rack inside a roasting pan.

 

 

 

6. Sprinkle a few with cinnamon. I wanted to have some a bit darker for variation in my projects so I only put cinnamon on a few. Plus, I wanted that amazing smell. My kitchen smelled sooo good!

7. Heat them in the oven for 4-5 hours turning them over every 45-60 minutes.

8. Once they start to get hard, the peals are a bit “leathering” and the centers are mostly dry, let them cool off on a cooling rack.

I found the ones that I did on the parchment paper were done sooner probably more like 5 hours and they turned a very pretty dark orange.

 

 

The ones on the wire rack took longer and they are a lighter color.

 

 

I also tried drying some of them in the microwave. You’ll need to layer 4-5 paper towels on the plate, place the slices on the paper towels and cover the slices with a couple more paper towels. Microwave on high for 6-7 minutes. Flip the orange slices over and repeat this process a few times until they seam done. I did it about 5 times. It’s more tedious than the oven but takes less time overall. They also come out a bit less “cooked” looking.

 

9. When they are cool, they are ready to use.

 

What to do with dried orange slices.

Here are some of the ways you can use dried orange slices to decorate for Christmas.

1. Dry orange slices for potpourri,

 

Atta Girl Says

 

2. use dried orange slices in wreaths,

 

Cutout and Keep

 

3. Use them in gift wrapping.

 

Pinterest

 

4. Make a dried orange slice garland.

 

Hearth and Vine

 

I used mine in my Thanksgiving centerpiece…

 

How long to dried orange slices last.

They should last up to two years if they are kept in a air tight container. I will use labeled baggies with the year they were made to store them individually and anything made with them will be wrapped or sealed in a container.

 

Pin it for later…

 

 

An easy project you can do so much with. Do you have a project in mind for dried orange slices?

Happy holiday DIY’ing!

Col

 

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