Apple Banana Fruit Leather Recipes

FRUIT LEATHER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 150 degrees F (65 degrees C). Cover a baking sheet with a layer of plastic wrap or parchment paper.
• In the container of a blender, combine the sugar, lemon juice, apple and pear. Cover and puree until smooth. Spread evenly on the prepared pan. Place the pan on the top rack of the oven.
• Bake for 5 to 6 hours, leaving the door to the oven partway open. Fruit is dry when the surface is no longer tacky and you can tear it like leather. Roll up on the plastic wrap and store in an airtight jar.

FRUIT LEATHER

Steps:

• Tip the strawberries and apple into a saucepan. Put the pan over a low heat, you don't need to add any water. If you've used frozen fruit, juice will run out as they thaw. Heat gently, keeping an eye on the pan until the strawberries start to break down, you can put a lid on the pan if you like, this keeps the steam in and helps the fruit break down. Cook until the strawberries have softened and given up their juice and the apple is soft.
• Take the pan off the heat. Purée the contents with a stick blender or in a food processor. Squeeze the purée through a sieve into a clean pan, pushing as much pulp through as possible.
• Put the pan back on a low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the purée thickens enough to leave a clear patch on the base of the pan when you pull a spoon through it. The more moisture you drive off now, the shorter your drying time will be.
• Heat the oven to as low as it will go. Pour the purée onto a lined baking sheet (we use a reusable silicone tray liner) and spread it out to a thin layer, the purée should be thick enough to look opaque.
• Put the tray in the oven and dry until the surface is no longer tacky when you touch it, but the leather is still flexible - don't overcook it or it will turn brittle. This will take several hours depending on the oven temperature. If it is very hot and sunny you can air-dry the leather, or use a dehydrator.
• Leave the leather to cool to warm and then peel it carefully off the tray. Trim off the raggedy edges. Roll the leather up, then cut the roll into sections, using scissors is easiest. Each of these will unroll to make a strip. Keep the strips individually wrapped and airtight. The offcuts can be chopped up and used in baking, or snacked on.

BLACKBERRY APPLE FRUIT LEATHER

Steps:

• Over a large bowl or pan, add both ingredients to a food mill. Run the applesauce and berries through the food mill, until only the blackberry seeds remain.
• If you don't mind seeds in your fruit leather, simply add both ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat on medium for about 3 minutes until blackberries are well blended into the sauce.
• Spread the mixed puree on the fruit leather trays for your dehydrator. (This recipe nicely fills three trays on my Nesco FD-61). For a good result, it's important to spread the puree evenly, with no thin or thick spots. Spreading it perfectly flat and even is the trick to perfect fruit leather!
• Dehydrate at 135 degrees for about 6-7 hours. Fruit leather will be done when it's fairly dry to the touch and feels like soft leather. It will be a bit glossy, and shouldn't leave any indent when you touch it.
• Allow to cool, then peel off dehydrator trays. You can easily tear it by hand, or for tidier strips, use scissors or kitchen shears to cut to the desired size.
• For OVEN drying, spread puree evenly onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Dry at 140 or the lowest temperature your oven allows. Timing will be less consistent than in a dehydrator, so start checking on it after a few hours, then keep checking every half hour til it's done. You'll be looking for the same signs of "done-ness" as with the dehydrator method.
• Store in air-tight container at room temperature for up to 1 month, or store tightly-sealed in the freezer for longer storage.

FRUIT LEATHER (NO DEHYDRATOR NEEDED)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to its lowest setting (between 150°F and 200°F depending on your oven - anything up to 200°F is fine). Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking sheet (Silpat). Spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
• Puree the fruit in blender or food processor with sweetener, lemon juice and flavoring(s) until smooth. Pour puree onto prepared baking sheet and tilt pan to form as thin and even a layer as possible. Bake in preheated oven 2-8 hours, until the fruit is just barely tacky to the touch and peels off the sheet easily.

APPLE-BANANA FRUIT LEATHER

Steps:

• Blend ingredients in blender until pureed.
• Dry in dehydrator for 7 1/2 hours at 125 degrees.

PINEAPPLE FRUIT LEATHER

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.Line a 13" x 18" baking pan with silicone baking mat.Pour the mixture and even out with silicone spatula. Bake at 200 ° F for 3 to 4 hours or until surface is dry and no longer sticky.Let it cool completely and then carefully peel off from the baking mat. Cut into strips and roll in parchment paper.Keep in an airtight container or jar for up to 1 week.