How To Make Dried Orange Slices

Drying orange slices in the oven is easy, with beautiful results. Try this bright idea for fall, there are so many ways to use these beauties. You can add them to your cheese board, add them to hot tea or hot toddies, even use them purely for decoration. See the "recipe" for how to make dried orange slices, in your oven, at the end of this post. Aside from adding these to hot tea, hot toddies, or even your favorite spiced pumpkin drinks, the dried orange slices are so decorative. And don't stop at just oranges, any citrus fruit is wonderful in thinly sliced dried slices! Nestle a few in a bowl with some cinnamon sticks on your fall coffee bar. Add some dried lemon slices to jars of honey, it will infuse the honey with beauty and a little lemon flavor. Fall is a great time to add a beautiful dried slice of orange to a drink. A Manhattan is especially great with an orange slice. If you don't drink cocktails {I really don't, a small glass of wine is more my thing} it could look wonderful floating in a glass of wine, too. Tuck a few of the slices in your potpourri to add beauty. This small antique bowl filled just with orange slices and a few sticks of cinnamon would welcome the season in a fragrant way, too. I especially love them in our beautiful Bitter Orange Potpourri. No elegant home is ever completely decorated until it has its most important accessory – home fragrance. A signature scent can elevate your interior, lift your mood and that of your guests. This is my favorite scent! Made with the finest botanicals, this decadently fragrant potpourri is a special blend of aromatic and fragrant roses, rose hips, French lavender, rosemary and cloves. It comes packaged with one slice of orange, but here at home I add my own home-made orange slices to the antique blue and white bowls I display the potpourri in on our living room table and dining room buffet.

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You can also make garlands with the orange slices to hang on your mantel, over a mirror, or anywhere else you want to add a touch of French Country decor! It's what I did as a young wife and mom for fall and the holidays. HOW TO MAkE DRIED ORANGE SLICES Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees. 1. Wash and dry oranges {you can also use blood oranges, lemons or limes.} 2. Slice them really thin - about 1/8. I use my mandoline {slicer} for this! 3. I use a cooling rack that fits over the baking sheet. If you don't have one, be sure to cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or your Silpat mat if you have one. 4. Lay slices in a single layer on the baking sheet, 2 " apart, use more sheets if needed. 4. {optional} Sprinkle with superfine sugar. 5. Bake at 200 degrees, for about 2 1/2 – 3 hours. Watch closely during the last hour to be sure that the slices don’t burn. 6. I let the slices air dry overnight on cooling racks. Remember that you aren't trying to bake the orange slices but dry them. Don’t turn up the oven temperature in hopes of speeding up the drying process, you will end up with burnt, crispy baked orange slices instead of beautiful and pretty dried ones. The orange fruit should almost turn clear, and the peel will be dry. Store these in a dry place, in a zip-lock bag, not your refrigerator! ps. this is a wonderful fall recipe to use the dried orange slices with! The orange slices make the pork look as festive as it's delicous!

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