What could be more festive than a gorgeous orange garland (or slices) in combination with some fresh pine in time for Christmas? They add such a stunning visual with just the right amount of texture and a perfect pop of colour with the deep greens of Christmas season.
These beautiful slivers of citrus are so easy to make (which if you know me, you know I love easy projects!) All it takes is some oranges, a cookie sheet or baking rack, and some time.
Now, I used a cooling rack that is also oven-safe for this, but you can easily omit that and just use a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I did some comparisons for baking times and did scope out how others dried their orange slices, but I found that the oranges were coming out a little too browned on the edges, so in my guide, I highly recommend using a lower heat in the oven and a longer dehydrating time.
Types of Oranges
Start with selecting some oranges, which when cut to 1/8″ slices (you only need about 2 oranges for a 9 ft garland) makes about 20-25 slices.
I ended up using 2 navel oranges, and since I’ll be using these in a floral arrangement and some gift wrapping, I didn’t need too many. Then, simply arrange them on your baking sheet or rack and bake at 200 degrees for 5-6 hours. This is the cooling rack I’m using.
This does take roughly an hour longer to bake, compared to the 250 many other how-to’s use, but it ensures that the orange is dry and not burnt, and that the colour is maintained to the max vs. browning and losing that gorgeous orange. The slices still come out very dry, with just a tiny bit of tackiness on the flesh itself, perfect for decorating with.
I hope you enjoy! This is a super fun project to do with kids especially, and please tag me if you decide to try it!
