How to Dry Oranges

Now that the Halloween decorations have been packed away, it’s time to start decorating my house for Fall/Thanksgiving.  Dried oranges are a great addition to any fall/Thanksgiving/Christmas decor. We do Friendsgiving each year, a couple days after Thanksgiving.  I  keep adding more and more fall decor and this year I want to make dried orange garlands, plus I love to sneak some in my potpourri simmer pot.  The oranges do take quite a while to dry (around four to five hours) so they are perfect to make on a lazy, rainy day.  Take my word for it, you don’t want to rush the drying time by turning up the oven temperature…my first go-round turned out quite brown and ugly.  So, put your oranges in the over, cuddle up on the couch with a good book or a couple movies and enjoy the wonderful orange smell wafting from your kitchen.

HOW TO DRY ORANGE SLICES

1. 1. Heat oven to 170F (The lowest that my oven would go.  If for some reason yours doesn’t go this low, leave the door cracked a tad.)
   2. Slice oranges (The amount you slice depends on what you plan on using them for.)
   3. Arrange orange slices in a thin layer on a kitchen or paper towel; leave for at least 30 minutes to soak up any juices.
   4. Place slices on wire cooling racks (They can also be placed directly on the racks in your oven.)
   5. Place in the oven for four to five hours, turning every hour so they do not stick to your racks.  Depending on the thickness of your slices, you might need a shorter or longer cooking time.

Now that I have my dried oranges, I’ll be making a couple different projects with them.  As soon as I have them done, I will post those. If you guys give this a try, I would love to see what you do with your dried oranges; leave pictures of your projects in the comment sections.