Fruit Leather

Ok, I was a little unsure of this one, but it is awesome (which is good since there is a lot of cutting and peeling involved). I did learn a few things along the way, but I will certainly make it again and am excited to experiment with other fruits...I was happy this called for apples and pears as I had a bunch from my in-laws trees. First, I will admit that a blender DOES NOT work. I don't have a food processor (which I think would be the best to use) so I used the fine grater on my KitchenAid after chopping up the apples and pears. The texture was probably courser therefore the finished product looks different from store bought fruit leather, but the taste is terrific. I had some very ripe pears so I actually only used 1/4 of the sugar and honestly only did that because I had measured out the whole amount, started to pour and had second thoughts...this could be made without the sugar and you wouldn't miss anything. Oh, one more bit of advice. I wasn't sure how thick the fruit should be spread out. I spread it out as thin as I could without leaving holes and when it was finished drying there were areas that ended up looking lacy and turned a bit crispy. This wasn't bad, but just not the idea that I had for what fruit leather should be.

I make this all the time for my daycare kids. In order it to work in a blender you must cook the apples first in about 1/4 cup of water until barley tender. Then puree in blender as directed.

Instead of sugar I added a few tbsp of strawberry jam! It was delicious!!

At the risk of being repetetive, here is what I did, based on reviews: Cut the recipe in half, using only apples, blanched the apples before pureeing them, used 1/2 sugar called for, spread over parchment paper, 5 hrs at 170(as low as mine will go) w/ door propped open. PERFECT! Can't wait to do again!

If you do not have a Vitamix...I HIGHLY suggest it as it is perfect for this, as well as many other recipes. I did not have to peel or core the apples, just remove the stem. This way you have much less prep time and you get even more nutrition with all the skins, core, and seeds. No you do not notice or taste any difference because they process well. This recipe did make a very full blender of mixture. I suggest possibly cutting it in half. You could also use this mix as just applesauce as well. Find the biggest cookie sheet you can fit on a single rack as using 2 racks doesn't work well. It did take over 8 hours to get it to a peelable consistency. Try to spread it as thin as possible without getting bare spots. I think that should cut down on the dry time also. I do believe the recipe meant to use waxed paper, not plastic. Another tip, do not let the leather cool before removing from the paper or it will be very hard to peel. I tore the leather into strips then rolled it up in plastic wrap to keep it from sticking to itself and to keep it fresh and from drying out. The flavor was wonderful! I did use organic Blue Agave in place of sugar. It's a gluten free, low glycemic organic sweetener I found at Costco. I gave it 4 stars due to the trial and error with the paper and the correct pour thickness but with practice, you'll have it down in no time!

Love this! I made some adjustment like most of the reviewers on here did. I cut the recipe in half and instead of apples and pears we did apples and strawberries. I didn't really cut the lemon juice in half though guess I like it a little more tart. *Tip instead of boiling the fruit to soften, steam it. I think it's easier that way and it still retains all the vitamins. I also used a food processer and it worked awesome.

I made this for my diabetic mom and adapted this recipe for my NuWave oven. I pulverized the fruit in the Cuisinart with 1/8 cup of lemon juice, 1/4 cup of Splenda, 1/4 cup of raw honey and a couple tbls of soy protein powder. Mix it really well then cook it for 4-5 hours at about 160. No added sugar and packed with protein!

Okay, this was fun in terms of trying something completely new. It also reminds me of my mom, as she used to dry fruits and make fruit leather when I was little. However, I experienced a few difficulties with this recipe. I don't have a blender but I'm inclined to agree that a blender isn't going to puree apples and pears adequately. Before my blender broke, I couldn't even make hummus well bc it didn't puree. I used the food processor and it pureed in a minute. I just couldn't put plastic wrap in the oven, so I used parchment paper instead, which worked just as well. I really wasn't sure how thick to put the puree on the pan and ended up with about 1/2 inch thickness. My oven also does not go to 150 degrees--only to 170, which is what I had it on for hours. Even at 7-8 hours, the fruit was just as applesauce-y as when I started. So I turned the oven to 200 degrees and left it on overnight. Woke up this morning and voila! Fruit leather! I only used half the sugar and it's plenty sweet and tastes good. It does, however, take a very long time. Next time I'll use my dehydrator for this instead, as I don't like having the oven on so long. Still, it's a fun recipe and with adjustments it would be great. Thanks for the recipe!

Delicous and healthy recipe! I was so excited when i found this because my nutritionist put me on a strict diet where i cant have cake or chocolate. I was craving somthin sweer so i made this

I thought it was great and my kids love it! I used plastic wrap and it came out perfect. I didn't measure the lemon juice or sugar but used a little of both. I also had to boil my apples before I put them in the blender. It was great! I will definitely make it again!

I just popped this in the oven but had to come rave. The puree from the fruit (I used apples, pears, and strawberries) is absolutely DELICIOUS by itself. I did not bother to peel (more fiber!) or precook the fruit, omitted the sugar, and used the juice of one large lemon. The blended mixture becomes amazing apple/pear sauce and would make a great snack or smoothie on its own. This is also highly adaptable- use any fruit you have on hand. Taste the fruit before adding extra sugar.

I used five pears which I did steam to soften for blender and three cups total of raspberries and blackberries. Used the lemon juice but no sugar of any kind. Blended them all together and then put through a strainer to remove seeds. Cooked at 170 degree for six hours on wax paper (don't spread too thick). It was great - my boys LOVED it!

Delicious! I have made this about five times so far and following the reviews and others I made a few changes. To keep it clean, I added honey instead of sugar. I used my new Silpat baking mat instead of the plastic wrap and it worked out great. I puree the fruit first (always apples but I think berry-apply blends are best: apple-blueberry has so far been my favorite, followed closely by pine-apple-apple-raspberry)then cook it over a medium heat for maybe 10 minutes or so. I find the cooking helps bring out the flavor in the fruit. My gas oven does not have markings below 265, so I just get it as low as possible so that does not go out and leave the oven door about halfway open. You should be able to put your hand in the oven and its warm but not hot. About 4 hours average time in oven. I am making these as christmas presents for friends and family...i have a lot of dehydrating to do! Great concept to be expanded by the adventurous! I am going to try a mango-chili-lime!

Wasn't cooked after 10 hours, gave up since there seemed to be no end in sight and was wasting a lot of natural gas leaving oven door open. Perhaps you could make modifications to make it work, but the recipe as-is doesn't work.

I was hoping for a nutritious alternative to snacktime for the kids, and also a way to use up an excess of fresh pears. The end result--just not a good flavor at all! A lot of prep work involved. The edges were overdone and the center was underdone. I won't try this one again!

For getting the most out of a pile of apples - after you've made apple sauce, juice the cores and peels, leave liquid overnight to settle, skim off the thick stuff and use for leather the juice can be left as juice or used for jelly. The little bit of pulp left goes in the worm bin. All good - no waste.

I did this with VERY ripe pears so I used about half the sugar. I did use my vitamix and it does make it easier. It's not really necessary to peel the fruit, but you do need to remove the seeds, especially apple seeds as they are pretty toxic. My 19 month old grandson loved it. His Mommy liked it too! At first I was unhappy because I didn't get it super evenly spread, but the edges got a little cripsy while the middle was chewy. It was two foods in one, fruit leather and fruit chips! Thanks for the recipe!!!

Every time I make it I use a different combination of fruit. So far the family favorite is 4c. Apples 4c. Bananas and a handful of raspberries. I use the lemon juice but no sugar, and my boyfriend loves that he has the same snack for dieting and exercising!

Awesome, but time consuming. Need to try to find another way to dry the fruit.

I give this four stars, because I took instructions from another recipe & made in into one. I used 8 pears & 4 apples, since that's what I had. Chopped them up & placed in a large pot with 2 tbsp water, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 1/2- 1 cup of honey (I added a little to start and taste tested along the way, and added a bit more until it was the right amount of sweetness), a generous sprinkle of cinnamon and about 1/8 tsp of cloves. Cooked over medium until fruit was very soft, smashed with a fork, and let it cook down until almost no fluid was left. Then puréed it in the food processor. Then spread over cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Placed in oven at lowest temp (mine is 170f), closed the door all the way & let bake for about 7-9 hours.

Tastes great, but the time to cook it is a lot longer than it states in the original recipe. I poured it into a large cookie sheet and a 9x13 pan on parchment paper. It turned out to be a nice thickness.

I tried this recipe with strawberries and raspberries and it was not good. May be I should have used different fruit and added more sugar, but it took nineteen hours to dry the fruit and it was not good. I'd rather buy the fruit roll ups in the store. I usually love the recipes from this web site.

You can use bottled or canned fruit for this recipe too. Drain the juice and puree. It's so much easier to eat a fruit roll-up than a bowl of drippy fruit.

I have made this a few of times and the kids love it! I blend my fruit in my Ninja until it looks like Applesauce, then ad the rest of the ingredients, taste it and ad Sugar accordingly, then throw it in the oven. Mine seems to cook forever though. My oven only goes down to 170 and so at first I kept the door cracked and watched over it for more than 16hrs. The last times I left it at 170 with the door closed and it takes about 10-12hrs. Turns out perfect!

So delicious! I used asian Apple pears from my tree and omitted the sugar since those are super sweet. I boiled them first- skin and cores minus the stems. Then I threw it all into the Vitamix blender with a handful of raspberries for color- which really augmented the taste considerably... so I made sure to do that again the second time around as well. I overcooked the first batch, so it ended up kind of crispy, which my 10 year old prefers. The second batch turned out just like a store bought fruit roll-up which my 8 year old loves.

I used strawberries, raspberries, apple sauce, & lemon juice. The apple sauce makes them sweet enough by itself. Cooked about 5 hours on 170. The raspberries & lemon juice kept them from looking too brown. I baked them on parchment paper. When they were done and cooled I cut them into strips, while still stuck to the paper. Then I just pressed a owl shaped cutter into them

I made some strawberry syrup with some fresh strawberries and didn't want to just throw out the left over strawberry mash and then I saw this recipe. It came out really nice but I wasn't able to roll it very well. Even if it didn't have the consistency results I hoped for, I still loved the flavors and it was still the same chewy texture I hoped for.

I tried the honey with 1/2 cup sugar! Tastes awesome, but doesn't have the consistency of leather. Probably my fault, I should have blended better.

Great recipe! I didn't have apples and just used pears. I didn't spread out over the sheet and it took longer, longer than 6 hours, I did let it cool over night in the oven, but turned out great! Oh! I used parchment paper with some Pam spray for just in case stickiness. It tasted great.

My kids LOVE these and will not touch the store bought ones now, which makes me very happy as a mommy! I NEVER put sugar in these, however I will add a little bit of honey to taste, depending on what fruits we are using. This weekend we made strawberry/blackberry mix together, And My kids along with my husband were eating them before I could get them rolled!

This is a good recipe, but I use a food mill, and have apple puree, which is great. I also like to add different flavored extracts to have different flavors, which helps to not add too much sugar. Honey is also a great alternative, and adds a unique flavor to the leathers. I also use a dehydrator, it is much easier than an oven if you happen to have one, and they are fairly inexpensive to purchase. But this is a great recipe to start with.