Fruit Rolls Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Combine the fruit and sugar in a blender. Add the lemon juice to taste (use 2 tablespoons for apples or bananas) and puree until smooth.
• Transfer the pureed fruit to a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally at first and then more often toward the end, until most of the liquid evaporates and the mixture is very thick, 35 to 45 minutes. Be careful: The mixture may splatter.
• Line a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with a silicone mat or nonstick foil. Use an offset spatula to spread the fruit on the mat or foil into a thin layer. Bake until barely tacky, 3 hours to 3 hours, 30 minutes.
• Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and let the fruit leather cool completely. Peel off of the mat or foil. If the leather is still moist on the underside, return it to the oven, moist-side up, until dry, about 20 more minutes. Lay the leather smooth-side down on a sheet of wax paper and use kitchen shears to cut it into strips on the paper. Roll up the strips and store in zip-top bags for up to 1 week.
• Plum: 5 medium, unpeeled, chopped
• Peach or nectarine: 5 medium, unpeeled, chopped
• Apple: 3 large (Gala or Granny Smith), peeled and chopped
• Strawberry: 4 cups, hulled and chopped
• Raspberry: 5 cups
• Grape: 3 1/2 cups (preferably Concord), seeded if necessary
• Banana: 5 medium, peeled
• Mango: 2 large, peeled and chopped
• Raspberry-Vanilla: 5 cups raspberries plus the seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
• Strawberry-Banana: 3 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped, plus 2 medium bananas, peeled
• Apple-Ginger: 3 large apples, peeled and chopped, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons grated ginger
• Spicy Mango: 2 large mangoes, peeled and chopped, plus 1/8 teaspoon each salt and cayenne pepper

Steps:

• Puree berries or chopped stone fruit, sugar, and lemon juice. Cook in a saucepan over medium heat until thick, 30 to 35 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve onto a baking sheet lined with a nonstick baking mat; tilt to distribute. (Use a pan that isn't warped to prevent pooling.) Bake at 170 degrees until dehydrated, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Let cool for 10 minutes. Cut into eight 4 1/2-by-5 1/2-inch rectangles. Roll in parchment. store at room temperature for up to 1 month -- or 2 seconds, depending on your kids' appetites.

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.