Friday, March 2, 2012

Homemade Fruit Leather



I have been making these for years and my kids love them! Who am I kidding? I LOVE them!! You can use lots of different fruits for this too. Apricot, strawberry, peach, apple, plum...the list goes on! They are all natural and perfectly healthy & sweet, you will never want to buy store bought again!!

2 cups fresh fruit, sliced 
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce ( I add this no matter what flavor I am making, it helps with the fruit leather texture)
3 tbsp agave nectar (you can also sweeten with 1/4 cup sugar, but I don't think it needs it)

Combine all ingredients in a blender, & blend till smooth.
Line 2 baking sheets with plastic wrap and pour half of the mixture on each baking sheet. With the back of a spoon evenly spread the fruit mixture to a very thin layer. Bake in oven @ 200 degrees for 5 hours or until leather is dry and starts to pull away from wrap. I like to cut mine into about 6x6 in squares, but cut them to whatever size you like. Store in a ziploc bag or airtight container. Oh my fruity, chewy, goodness!!!

5 comments:

  1. Ok, crazy question...the plastic wrap doesn't melt in the oven?

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  2. Oh another question, can frozen fruit be used?

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  3. Hi there Hollie! With the oven set at only 200 degrees, your plastic wrap will not melt. Maybe the edges that overlap your pan will curl up a bit but that's all. As far as frozen fruit goes, I have never made this with frozen, but I think it would work fine. If you try it let me know it works for you. These are the best in the summer time when all the fresh fruit is plentiful!

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  4. What if you used wax paper? Would that work? And if so could you cook it quicker? I am SO excited to try this! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  5. My only concern with wax paper is I'm afraid it might become one with the fruit leather and just completely stick to it. I have had other recipes do this with wax paper. However I could be wrong and maybe it would work great! Sorry I'm not much help here. If you do end up trying it with the wax paper please let me know how it works for you! You are going to LOVE these! Peach or apricot is also really yummy! :)

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