Apricot Leather Recipes

Steps:

• Place apricots in a small saucepan and cover with water by 1 in. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until soft. Drain and cool slightly., Place apricots in a blender; add sugar. Cover and process until smooth. Add extract., Preheat oven to 175°. Line two 15x10x1-in. baking pans with silicone baking mats. Spoon half of apricot mixture onto each baking mat, spreading to form a 12x8-in. rectangle; repeat with remaining fruit. Bake 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until almost dry to the touch. Cool completely on a wire rack., Transfer to a cutting board; dust both sides with confectioners' sugar. Cut into 1/2x8-in. strips; roll up. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200°F. and oil a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
• Pit apricots and coarsely chop. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook apricots and sugar over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Cook mixture at a bare simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 40 minutes more. In a blender purée mixture until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Transfer purée to baking pan and spread evenly over bottom.
• Dry purée in middle of oven until it feels drier but slightly tacky, about 1 hour. Cool leather completely in pan on a rack.
• Peel leather out of pan and roll up in wax paper. Leather keeps, wrapped in plastic wrap, at cool room temperature 1 month.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 160 degrees with rack in center. Place apricots in a large bowl, and cover with the water; let soak until they are completely soft, 30 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a fine sieve; drain, and reserve liquid.
• Place apricots in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade; add honey and sugar. Process until mixture is very smooth and easily spreadable. If it is too thick, add up to 1 tablespoon soaking liquid.
• Cover two 10-by-15-inch baking sheets with plastic wrap. Divide puree between the sheets; spread in a thin, even layer with an offset spatula. Let dry in oven until mixture is firm but slightly tacky, about 8 hours or overnight. Remove from oven; let cool.
• Peel fruit leather from plastic wrap, and cut into 1-inch-wide strips using a pizza cutter. Roll tightly into cylinders, and serve.