Dried orange slices FOR THE WIN. They're ridiculously easy to make, last for years and make your Christmas tree look like it's covered in stained glass. Here's how to make dried orange slices.
You can take your seats and relax because this is probably the easiest and most effective Christmas decoration in existence. Unless you count setting out a box of After Eight dinner mints Christmas decorating. Which I do. So, let me rephrase ... this is probably the second easiest and most effective Christmas decoration in existence.
Shoot. I don't mean to get off track, but if you and I were to sit down and have a real heart to heart about easy Christmas decorating, I think we'd agree that putting fluffy socks and a Hallmark Christmas movie on might actually be number the number 1 easiest thing you can do. That bumps After Eights down to number 2 and orange slices down to 3.
They're sounding harder and harder aren't they?
Dried orange slices. Slice, bake, hang. Those are your instructions. That's it.
You might think with something so simple that the results would be mediocre. They are not. The results are spectacular.
Table of Contents
So what can you do with these dried orange slices?
You can:
- hang them on a tree
- set them in a bowl
- tuck them into garland
- make an ENTIRE garland out of them
- stick them on a wood skewer and use them in planters or windowboxes
The choice is yours because dried orange slices are incredibly accommodating. They'll give you no trouble at all.
There are really only three things you need to remember.
How to make dried orange slices.
- Preheat oven to lowest temperature.
- Cut orange slices to around ¼" thick.
- Set them on wire cookie racks, not a metal baking sheet (because they can stick and don't dry as evenly)
- Bake them at the lowest temperature your oven goes to for 4-6 hours or until no stickiness remains.
For me that was 150F.
TIP FOR ORANGE SLICES
I bought most of my oranges from the reduced produce section. They were bruised and weird, and yet they all turned out perfectly.
Let them dry until when you touch them they don't feel sticky at all. That can take from 4-6 hours depending on how thick the slices are and how juicy the orange is.
When they've finished drying just remove them from the oven, call yourself Laura Ingalls and look for a place to set them.
The oranges I had on the lower rack of my oven turned out darker than the ones higher up in the oven. If I'd checked on them more often I could have removed the lower ones so they didn't darken quite as much, but I actually like the variation in colours. You could also rotate your pans throughout the drying process.
As they age, they get darker anyway so don't worry about it.
How long will dried orange slices last?
Years! I've had these orange slices for 3 years and they're still in perfect shape, they've just become a bit darker.
They're a thing of beauty. And they took 12 seconds. O.K. they took 6 hours, but the prep time was 12 seconds. You slice an orange. That's it.
The magic happens when the tree lights come on. If you place or orange slices in the vicinity of a lightbulb they GLOW like stained glass. This isn't some sort of Photoshop magic, this is how the dried orange slices look at night with the tree on.
Don't they look delicious? I know your next question.
Can you eat dried oranges slices?
Yes you can. (Add that to the list of things you can do with them) I mean, I haven't actually eaten them, but the world on the Google streets is that dried oranges slices like this are delicious. Do them exactly as I outline or you can add a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg on top before putting them in the oven.
The peel is also edible but if you don't want to do that, crack them in half and eat around the rind like you would with an orange slice.
You can also use them for flavouring desserts, marinades and stir fries. And of course they'd make a beautiful and perfect accent to a chocolate dessert. If you don't like chocolate and orange together you might not be a real human.
Keeping dried orange slices in a mason jar in your pantry will also give you the look of someone who is all earthy and mixes potions and stuff. So like, a witch, I suppose.
These orange slices combined with my DIY tree candles has resulted in the most beautiful Christmas tree I've ever had.
Plus my tree will never catch a cold which is an added bonus.
Dried Orange Slices
A Christmas ornament for all of your senses. O.K. Maybe just your eyes and nose, but still.
Materials
- Naval oranges
Tools
- Oven or Dehydrator
Instructions
- Cut orange slices to around ¼" thick.
- Set them on wire cookie racks, not a metal cookie sheet (because they can stick and don't dry as evenly)
- Bake them at the lowest temperature your oven goes to for 4-6 hours or until no stickiness remains.
- For a DEHYDRATOR set the dehydrator to 135 degrees F and let them dry until they aren't sticky. It could take up to a day but check on them every few hours.
You could hang the oranges with ribbon or twine but I wanted the orange slices and only the orange slices to show up so I just shoved a regular hook for hanging Christmas balls through them. The hooks just disappear once they're on the tree.
THIS year if I get the time I'm going to do more of them to make an 8' garland.
Like I mentioned earlier, these are edible but after the box of After Eights you probably won't be very hungry anyway.
Laura Ingalls Gunn
This Laura Ingalls says "Well done half-pint!" Your tree is gorgeous.
Mary W
Your tree is a thing of beauty! I made orange slices in a dehydrator then made a huge wreath using them got glued to a grapevine. It was gorgeous. But, since I live in Florida, it was moldy in no time which even made a moldy ring on the wall which I had to paint. Next time, I will use them as you did - not next to a wall. Best part - just throw away after Christmas and make fresh ones next year! Can't wait to see your table decorations with this beautiful old fashioned flair. All that's missing is Clark's Good Old Fashioned Fun Family Christmas playing in the background.
Alexandra
That is a beautiful tree, Karen!
My mom makes the orange slices in the Kachelofen (I don't know if there is an English word for it, it's a wood-burning stove built out of bricks/stones/something and covered with ceramic tiles on the outside) and they turn out perfectly. Much better than in my oven, which is why I am going to email my mother as soon as I finish writing this, and I'll ask her to make me some new slices. :)
Peggy
Just a thought, Alexandra, but you might try lining the bottom rack of your oven with UNGLAZED tiles from a tile store - just measure your oven rack surface area and buy the size and number to mostly fill it; then the tiles will help absorb moisture and dry whatever is in the oven while you're baking. (Works well with bread too for a crispy crust, especially if you spray water into the oven when you put the bread it: crust galore! ) I keep a short stack of tiles handy - very inexpensive - we're talking under $10.
Sherry (BTLover2)
Beautiful, Karen. Wouldn't it be pretty with blood oranges, regular oranges, pink grapefruit, lemons, limes, etc? Love the concept and the various ways to use it.
Karen
Thanks Sherry! I was going to do a variety of citrus but for the kind of look I wanted thought one type would look better. But I'd love to see someone else do it. ~ karen!
Ev Wilcox
Your tree is stunning-it looks like a back-in-time tree. Well done Karen!
Karen
That's what I was going for. :) Thanks Ev. ~ karen!
Julie
Wondering if using my food dehydrator might work as well. The oven is not functional and I’m currently cooking all meals on the grill or (gasp!) the Instant Pot.
Beautiful tree!
Karen
Gasp! ~ karen
Nicole Sparks
I wonder if you could also package them with some spices and send them to friends as potpourri? Do they smell orange-y at all after baking? That'd be cool on a wreath at the door - a waft of orange every time you open it.
Karen
There's no wafting I'm afraid. They really don't smell at all. I even simmered the on the stove and ... nothin'. :/ They look good though! ~ karen
Sandra Lea
Wow, this is kismet. I have a bag of oranges sitting on my counter and just last night I was thinking I had to look up on the internet how to dry oranges. Done!
Miriam Mc Nally
I did this many years ago, and still have those oranges!
If they are really well dried (and they do continue to dry even more when hanging on the tree!), then wrap them in tissue paper and store wit your decorations for next year.
Also, you can make candied fruit in a similar way, at the same time, just chop the skins and add sugar, and bake! Not for too long- google will tell you exactly how long!
Catt-in-KY
Really beautiful!
Cyd
A few years ago I used my food dehydrator and dried oranges like the ones you did and added them to strings of dried cranberries, popcorn, and cinnamon sticks. I also hung some of the dried oranges on individual hooks, too. Looked pretty cool. No, really. It did!
Connie Bridgham
Hey Cyd, Did the food dehydrator give you the same results? I have one too and was wondering... Thanks in advance!
Cyd
Hi Connie. I would say so. Give it a shot! Try to keep the slices a uniform thickness within each batch that goes into the dehydrator.
Cheers!
Kiera
Yes - I did this in the dehydrator (about 12 hours at 135 degrees F). Worked great.
bruce
hoping you're single
not trolling,just hoping.
enjoying the posts,and the attitude.
expect this to be deleted.Yet would love to meet a woman such as yourself.
some age appropriate widower
bruce
Nancy Ann Page
Ah.... Karen, he sounds nice...did you say hello to him?
Amber
I have a mandolin slicer.
I have an orange tree (well, rangpur lime, but that is close enough)
I must do this.
TucsonPatty
Those are gorgeous! Do they smell of orange after baking? While baking? When the tree lights are near? I'll just spray the tree with citrus oil? I saw the grapefruit, and thought, also, that you were going to tell us to use grapefruit, limes, lemons, heck, even a kiwi or two. It looked like a good grapefruit to eat, instead. The tree lookd gorgeous. I love the DIY of it all. Next will be cranberries and popcorn? ( I've thad rid that and the popcorn breaks and the cranberries split...I don't know how they did it! Now that I think about it - stale popcorn would probably be a good idea. It is so dry here in Arizona that everything like that just shatters... : /
MaggieB
Ooooh! Aaaaaah! Gasp! Sigh! Firstly, brilliant photography skills, if I had to say favourite the shot down the counter, just beautiful composition. Secondly, tried doing this last year, thought the kitchen would smell amazing. Disaster and burnt marmelade aroma. Going to follow your instructions this year. Finally, thanks for the reminder about After Eights, on the shopping list, the originals, not those nasty shaped horrors they've tried to introduce - bah, humbug!!
An absolutely gorgeous Christmas tree, bravo!
Karen
Thanks MaggieB. :) What's funny is I tried simmering these in water with cloves afterwards thinking they'd smell up my kitchen nicely. Nope. They didn't smell at all, lol. At least they didn't smell like burned marmalade. ;) ~ karen!
Kat - the other 1
I may try studding the peels with some cloves, before or after slicing, not sure, but it'll smell nice drying!
Maybe sprinkle a tiny bit if cinnamon or something on too, but not sure how much the speckles will show up once dried. Maybe I'll just try that on a couple slices & see. Hmmm...
Karen Hamilton
Orange magic! I was just thinking it would be nice to put these on trees outside and maybe the birds will like them too! I'm going to try it!
Karen Too
Darla
Love that idea
Peggy Marchesani
Brilliant!
These edible embellishments are for the birds!
Brenda
LVE the subtle visual allusion to grapefruit (leading to Omg ... limes ... and ... holy crap - tomatoes, ooo-la-la against the green, and white mushrooms, etc) and that thing going on just under the surface of this post... aka the lead up to it ... vis a vis the whole thing with the candles first post ... YO the woMan! Ya! Ima gonna put some suga' on mine an' eat 'em ... with some 8 o'clock thin mints, and put my feet up and listen to Xmas muzak, close my eyes and pretend I got a tree goin' on in the background
Peggy
Do my eyes deceive me, or do I see a ruby red grapefruit on your cutting board? Did you do some of those, too, and how did they turn out? Might be fun to play with assorted citrus. Let's see... you could have orange, yellow, green and red.
I love this idea and it's so easy!
Thank you, Karen!
Karen
That is a grapefruit! I ended up eating it, lol. I got a package of reduced citrus to do this with (which worked out perfectly) and one of my oranges was a surprise grapefruit. I debated about drying it as well but like I said ... I ended up eating it. ~ karen!
Peggy Marchesani
Hey, Karen, what better end could a fine grapefruit have?
I'm gonna try some and see if I get the pretty rosy-stained glass look to go with some pretty limes! (I wonder if kumquats would work... lol!)
peggy
Karen
:) Limes would be great! Kumquats? Well ... lol. ~ karen!
Kitty McCarty
I'd never dry kumquats! they barely make it from my tree to my kitchen.
martina
Check out this wreath with all different dried citrus! Gorgeous.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/208646982/dry-fruit-citrus-wreath-with-orange
Lynn
Oh me oh my I am first 🎄🎄🎄👏👏👏
Brenda
clapping - so fun!
Lynn
Oh those are gorgeous Karen truly gorgeous. I have one question if you put couse salt on them first might it not have drawn some of the moisture out of the slices prior to putting them in the oven ?
Just wondering...
Karen
It might Lynn, but I don't think it would make much of a difference in terms of the drying time. Regardless it's going to take hours to dry them. ~ karen!
Kat - the other 1
But would the salt give them an even more glittery appearance??!