{"id":2888,"date":"2011-09-01T13:59:45","date_gmt":"2011-09-01T13:59:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/therealhousewife.com\/blog\/?p=2888"},"modified":"2011-09-02T18:41:57","modified_gmt":"2011-09-02T18:41:57","slug":"homemade-fruit-roll-ups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/therealhousewife.com\/blog\/homemade-fruit-roll-ups\/","title":{"rendered":"Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups"},"content":{"rendered":"

The week before school started, Lilly Katherine and I got busy cooking good treats for school.\u00a0 We made Homemade Strawberry-Nectarine Fruit Roll-Ups (Fruit Leather) and Homemade Plum Jam.\u00a0 We really had fun cooking together, and the kids were excited to start school with food they helped make.\u00a0 My “Goin’ Granola-Granola Bars”<\/a> are in the oven right now, for another homemade treat.<\/p>\n

Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups (Fruit Leather) Recipe<\/span><\/h2>\n

You Will Need:<\/p>\n

About 8 Cups of FRUIT!\u00a0 You choose the fruit (Lilly Kat chose Strawberries and Nectarines), Lemon, Applesauce, and Sugar (If needed)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Wash and cut the fruit to a manageable size.\u00a0 No need to dice.\u00a0 It’s really nice if you have 2 extra little hands to help you.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>My food processor isn’t huge, so I had to puree my fruit in 2 batches.\u00a0 I pureed 4 cups of fruit at a time, and added applesauce and lemon to each batch.<\/p>\n

4 Cups of Strawberries…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>4 Cups of Nectarines…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>3 wild maniacs…and a lot of lovely artwork on my fridge…that could use a little organizing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I added about a tablespoon of sugar total (for 8 cups of fruit).\u00a0 The only reason I added that Tbsp was because I was in the middle of dumping the sugar when I decided the fruit really did not need the additional sugar.\u00a0 If your fruit is sweet, don’t add much.<\/p>\n

Then add both batches to a large saucepan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Stir to combine.\u00a0 It doesn’t look to appetizing now, but it is!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.\u00a0 Skim foam from the top with the back of a metal spoon.<\/p>\n

As my My Sicilian Great-Grandmother would say about her spaghetti sauce,\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Itsa gonna blub, blub, blubba.” <\/em><\/p>\n

Reduce heat to medium-low and let your fruit mixture, gently “blub, blub, blubba”<\/em> for about 35-45 minutes, stirring often.\u00a0 Beware that even boiling it gently, the “blubs” will splash.\u00a0 I used my splash guard, which helped a TON with the mess.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>You’ll know it’s ready when you can run a spatula across the bottom of the pan and the mixture stays separated until your spatula reaches the other side of the pan. (My fruit might <\/em>not have been exactly to that point because I might<\/em> have been running late to a doctor’s appointment, and I might <\/em>have had to put it in the oven about 5 minutes prematurely.)<\/p>\n

**This<\/a> is where I got the Fruit Leather recipe.\u00a0 I LOVE this blog<\/a>…I don’t know her, but I’m sure we would be BFFs if I did. :)\u00a0 She has a few different pics of the process, and her pics are beautiful.<\/p>\n

Next, pour your fruit mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I wanted our Fruit to be similar to the thickness of Fruit Roll-ups instead of Fruit Leather.\u00a0 Roll-Ups are a little thinner, and I thought they might last a little longer around here. :)<\/p>\n

So, this is where I deviate from most recipes.\u00a0 Most tell you to pour the whole mixture on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.\u00a0 I divided the mixture in half and filled 2 cookie sheets.\u00a0 If you have a jelly roll pan, that pan alone would work great.\u00a0 I don’t have one…so I used 2 cookie sheets and it worked beautifully.<\/p>\n

Actually these pictures are quite unappetizing, but you get the idea.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Turn your oven on the lowest setting.\u00a0 145\u00b0 if possible.\u00a0 Many ovens start at 170\u00b0, but the lowest setting on my fancy, circa 1988 oven is WARM (there’s no temperature).\u00a0 I placed both cookie sheets in one oven and just rotated them every hour or so.\u00a0 Cook about 8 hours or longer if needed.\u00a0 Cook until they are leathery and not soft and squishy in the middle.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Let them cool and cut into strips completely.\u00a0 Roll individually and place them in an air tight container or Zip-Lock.\u00a0 I apologize that these pictures are so u-g-l-y this time.\u00a0 My Fruit Roll-Ups were not the prettiest color and I was in a huge hurry, so this is what you get this time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>*They are much better and easier to eat the second day.\u00a0 They are a little tough straight out of the oven…or at least mine were. :)\u00a0 But they soften in the bag and they were SO good the next day…and the next…and the next.<\/p>\n

Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups (Leather) Recipe<\/span><\/h2>\n

Ingredients:<\/p>\n