Fruit leather is good. Homemade fruit leather is really good. And it’s a treat you can almost feel good about giving to your kids (certainly better than the commercial variety – though sadly, I’ve not figured out a way to make tattoos. Yet.).
And, like sorbet, fruit leather is most forgiving of less-than-perfect produce. Which means that if you (ahem) “overbuy” again – even late into the season – you can still make good use of your bounty.
Ingredients
- 4 cup berries (chopped if using strawberries) or chopped stone fruit*
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Directions
- In a food processor or blender, puree your fruit, sugar and lemon juice.
- Cook in a saucepan over medium heat until thick, 20-30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or Silpat. Shake the pan to level.
- Bake at 170 degrees until dehydrated, about 3 hours (puree should be just slightly sticky but not dry). Let cool for 10 minutes.
- If you lined your baking sheet with parchment you can cut the dried fruit into desired shapes. If you used a Silpat, place a sheet of parchment (cut to the size of your baking sheet) on your work surface. Carefully invert the fruit and Silpat onto the parchment and peel the Silpat away.
- Cut into eight rectangles, or about 13 crosswise “strips”. Roll up with the parchment and tie with twine or baker’s string. Store at room temperature for up to 1 month.
*if using peaches, peel the skin first. The easiest way to do this is to cut an “x” into the bottoms. Submerge each peach in boiling water for 30 seconds; remove with a slotted spoon and run under cold water. The skins will slip right off.
For the full post, visit Donuts, Dresses and Dirt.
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Living.
