Homemade Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

I saw this recipe for homemade fruit roll-ups here. I love dehydrated fruit everything. I know, I know....more calories blah blah blah....but it doesn't stop me from loving it!!! When strawberries went on sale, I went down and grabbed a few pounds. I actually halved the recipe, but I'll share the full recipe, and some adjustments I'll be making next time. I messed this up enough that I almost didn't share it, so stay with me for the 'don't do this if you like this idea' part or you will hate me, BUT it was soooo tasty...I had to share. I'm keeping this recipe, and I'll be making the adjustments I'll include below next time I do make this...which will be the next time strawberries go on sale!
Ingredients:
4 pounds of strawberries
1 c. of sugar
Juice of one lemon
Parchment paper
Instructions:
1. Remove the hulls from the strawberries (all the pictures you see are half of the ingredients, so...imagine this doubled if you want to do the whole recipe).

2. Place strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar in a blender...and blend until smooth.

3. Place blend into a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil, stir the whole time. Skim the white 'stuff' off the top after you lower it to a simmer.

4. Continue to simmer for about 45 minutes. I check it every 10 minutes or so, did a little more 'white stuff skimming'....stirring....and watching. Once it is about the same thickness as apple sauce....it's ready for the next step.

5. This is the first step I'd do differently. I laid down on sheet of parchment paper across a pan. I would cut long strips (imagine the 'fruit by the foot parchment paper'....or smaller squares so that things cooked more evenly. I'd then spoon the mix along my strips of parchment paper. Leaving a little white on the edges. It was thick enough that it didn't spread so much that it spilled, so that's good. Here is what I actually did....

The problem with this is it didn't cook evenly, and the sides got a little overdone while the center was finishing baking. As you can see, 2 pounds covered an entire baking sheet, so you'd need even more room for 4 pounds.
6. Bake for 7 hours at 170 degrees. Yes, you read that right...7 hours...so, overnight. I actually had to bake it about 4 hours longer so the middle would not be sticky, but I think if I make it in smaller strips that won't be a problem. When you can touch the middle, and it doesn't come away as a liquid, they are ready to come out.

7. Cook, and roll. (I had to roll, and then cut mine apart, which left them less neat than the example. I also had to trim off the edges.) This recipe is very yummy, it's worth another try in my book. Half the recipe made 10 width to width, rolled up fruit leathers.

4 comments

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

I'm coming your way from Btw Naps on the Porch, Metamorphosis Monday. Those lemon wedge cookies are so sweet. Love lemon anything! I can see you are up to a lot of fun stuff over here. We are hot, hot, hot where I am. Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday. Best wishes, Tammy :)

Anji* said...

This sounds very yummy.. I wonder if it could be made without the sugar.. we get dried fruit leathery type bars from the health food shops here which are sweetened with apple juice I think.. The kids do love them!

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Holly Lefevre said...

I have been meaning to find a recipe like this. I am so excited!