Dried Fruit Wreath
Materials for Dried Fruit:
- One or two apples
- One or two oranges
- Lemon juice
- Salt
- Cookie sheet
- Paper towels
- Sharp knife
- Oven
- Optional: cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg
Materials for Wreath:
- Heart shaped grapevine wreath
- Spanish moss
- Dried apple and orange slices
- Artificial fall colored berries
- Raffia
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
To Dry Oranges:
- Slice oranges so they are approximately 1/4" thick.
- Use paper towels to absorb as much of the juice from the slices as you can without misshaping or tearing them.
- Place them on a cookie sheet in a single layer
- Bake at 150o to 175o for approximately 6 hours with the door slightly ajar to allow moisture to escape.
To Dry Apples:
- Slice apples so they are approximately 1/4" thick.
- Soak apple slices in a mixture of two cups lemon juice and three tablespoons salt for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the mixture and pat dry with paper towels.
- Spread apple slices on a cookie sheet and bake at least 6 hours at 150o to 175o with the oven door slightly ajar to allow moisture to escape.
- Once apple slices start to curl, flip them over.
- Optional: Mix 2 TBSP cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground cloves and 1/2 tsp nutmeg together and sprinkle on one side of the apples before baking.
- Note: The apple slices may seem thick, but as they dry out they will shrink.
To Assemble the Wreath:
- Make a bow using anywhere from three to eight strands of 30" long raffia.
- Lay dried apples and oranges along with Spanish moss, artificial berries and the raffia bow on the grapevine wreath.
- Rearrange until you get an arrangement you are happy with then glue in place using hot glue gun.
- If desired, you could collect little acorns and add them to your wreath.
- To make a hook for hanging your wreath, cut a piece of wire approximately 4" long and attach it to the back of your wreath by threading the wire through either a piece of wire that is holding the wreath together or a couple pieces of the grapevine. Twist the wire hanger to keep it in place. A twist tie or pipecleaner can also be used as the hanger if you do not have wire handy.
Hints:
- When arranging the dried fruit on your wreath, place the cinnamon side of the apples face down as they are less attractive.
- When choosing apples to dry, choose a variety that is not to juicy such as Granny Smiths.