It’s hard to ignore the current Christmas trend that is dried oranges — or dried orange slices to be exact! I first stumbled upon this idea for gift wrapping and have since seen it used to make dried orange garlands (to decorate a mantel or Christmas tree), DIY Christmas ornaments (looks especially fab when combined with timber beads) and as you guys told me — to garnish cocktails!
I shared a reel on my Instagram account showing how easy it is to make your own and it’s had tens of thousands of views. Loads of you have also tagged me in your dried orange making pics (which I LOVE) so I decided to share the tutorial on the blog as well.
Related article: 50 of the most beautiful Christmas gift wrapping ideas (with stacks of free printables!)
Related article: How to create a gorgeous grazing board
Items you will need to make dried orange slices:
- Oranges (blood oranges look amazing if you can get your hands on any or other citrus fruits, like lemons, also work well)
- Baking tray and baking paper
- Sugar (you can use any kind, I used raw sugar which gave a crystallised effect)
- Spices (I used cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg but ginger is also great)
Steps for how to make dried orange slices:
1. Cut an orange into the thinnest slices possible.
2. Place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
3. Sprinkle with sugar and spices (the combination of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg was delish!).
4. Bake in the oven for 3 hours at 95 degrees.
Tip: If you’ve tried making orange slices and they come out burnt, adjust your oven to a lower heat. It’s better to bake them for longer and at a lower temperature to get the best dehydration effect.
5. Once cool, use as to decorate or eat as you like!
How to use dried orange or citrus slices
There are so many ways you can use dehydrated citrus slices — especially at Christmas time — so many in fact the we wrote a whole article about festive ways to use dried orange slices!
Some of my favourite ways to use dried orange slices:
- Use it in your gift wrapping: place a dried orange slice into a pocket of your gift wrapping or thread a piece through ribbon or twine.
- Turn it into a Christmas ornament: just add some sweet ribbon, perhaps a cinnamon stick or some timber beads and you’ve got yourself a stylish, sustainable and scented Christmas ornament!
- Garnish a cocktail: I love that when I first shared this tutorial, most of you immediately thought to use these for cocktails. If you’re looking for a new cocktail to try, this citrus trio recipe sounds amazing!
- Make a garland: if you’ve got the patience to make a lot of dried orange slices, they look incredible as a garland or attached to a traditional pine garland. Drape it over your fireplace mantel or down your stair balustrade.
- Add it to a simmer kit: simmer kits are a fabulous way to make your home smell amazing and make for a beautiful home made Christmas gift idea.
- Eat it: yep, they make a delicious snack on their own or dip them in chocolate to elevate them!
Have you been inspired to try this dried orange slice tutorial? If you do, I’d love you to tag me in your pics (find me at @stylecuratorau on all social platforms) or to email them through to hello@stylecurator.com.au!
More Christmas DIYs
Reader DIYs
Orange slice dried — chocolate dipped
If you want to get extra fancy, you can also half dip your dried orange slices into chocolate as Yvette from @yvettelwilson did when she followed the tutorial 😉 It makes me so happy when you put your own spin on our DIYs to make them your own!
Dried orange slice garland
Cheyenne of The Little Flame Co also put her own spin on how to make dried orange slice decorations, making a huge batch of dried oranges to create a garland to drape over her stunning fireplace.
Dried citrus to garnish cocktails
Karen also followed this tutorial to make dehydrated lemon slices for her G&Ts! When stored in an airtight container, dried citrus fruit slices can last many weeks.
This article was first published in December 2020 and continues to be updated with latest information and images.
