How to Make Oven Dried Orange Slices

Dried orange slices are easy to make and beautiful for Christmas decor and crafts. Learn how to make oven dried orange slices with this simple tutorial.

Every Christmas I love to spend time in the kitchen with my family making cookies and other treats. Some of our best Christmas memories are made in the kitchen!

Our Christmas traditions include making gingerbread houses, chocolate star cookies, and cinnamon ornaments.

This year we added dried orange slices to our list of Christmas traditions.

These are so simple to make that you’ll want to make them every year!

Supplies Needed for This Project

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• oranges
• wire cooling racks
• oven

How to Make Dried Orange Slices

Making your own dried orange slices in the oven couldn’t be easier.

Basically you’re just slicing oranges and drying them on a very low setting in your oven. You can also use a dehydrator, but I find it’s just as easy to use the oven.

As a quick note, you don’t need to use top-quality oranges for this project. As long as they’re still firm enough to be sliced, they should work fine.

Preheat the oven to 175 to 180 degrees F.

First, slice the oranges to make round slices. You want to slice them fairly thin, but you also want them to not fall apart. Most of mine ended up about 1/4 of an inch thick.

Some were a little thicker than this, but they still worked. The thing is, the thicker your slices are, the longer it will take them to dry.

Pat the oranges dry with paper towels. Don’t squeeze them, but remove as much excess moisture as you can. This also aids the drying process.

Lay the oranges on a wire cooling rack with space between the oranges.

Set the cooling rack directly on the oven rack in the preheated oven.

If your oranges are still moist, you can set the cooling rack on a cookie sheet. Mine didn’t drip in the oven at all, even though I placed the cooling rack directly on the oven rack.

Bake for 4-6 hours or until done, turning every hour or so to help aid the drying process. The time it takes for the oranges to dry will vary, depending on how thick your slices are and your oven temperature.

The oranges may still have some moisture in them, but they’ll continue to dry even after removing from the oven.

I left mine on the cooling rack for a few days to complete the drying process.

Oven Dried Orange Slices

Print Recipe

Dried Orange Slices

How to make dried orange slices in the oven for decorating for Christmas, crafts, or potpourri.

Author: Joy at Artful Homemaking

Ingredients

• 5 oranges (You can use as many oranges as you wish!)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 175 to 180 degrees F.
• First, slice the oranges to make round slices. You want to slice them fairly thin, but you also want them to not fall apart. Most of mine ended up about 1/4 of an inch thick. Some were a little thicker than this, but they still worked. The thing is, the thicker your slices are, the longer it will take them to dry.
• Pat the oranges dry with paper towels. Don't squeeze them, but remove as much excess moisture as you can. This also aids the drying process.
• Lay the oranges on a wire cooling rack with space between the oranges.
• Set the cooling rack directly on the oven rack in the preheated oven. You can also place the rack on a cookie sheet if your oranges are dripping.
• Bake for 4-6 hours, turning every hour or so to help aid the drying process. The time it takes for the oranges to dry will vary, depending on how thick your slices are and your oven temperature.
• The oranges may still have some moisture in them, but they'll continue to dry even after removing from the oven.

Ways to Decorate with Dried Orange Slices

There are so many different ways to decorate with dried orange slices. You can make a garland with them, or add them to a popcorn-cranberry garland. You could also just put a string through one and hang it on the tree.

I’ve also seen a single orange slice with a cinnamon stick made into a Christmas ornament.

Orange slices make such a beautiful handmade Christmas decoration!

You can also add them to potpourri and combine with cinnamon sticks, star anise, and maybe scented with some cinnamon essential oil.

I also love the idea of adding a dried orange slice to a gift wrapped with plain brown wrapping paper for a farmhouse Christmas gift wrap idea.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

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