I am going to give you the simplest recipe for fruit leathers ever! Even better than how simple they are to make is how great they taste. My boys love these so much. Both the boys like to make their own batch and roll them up for a quick healthy snack. I love that they can make them themselves with a bit of guidance. When I first decided to try making our own fruit snacks I read through many recipes. Most of them called for a fruit dehydrator which I did not have, nor did I want to go out and buy. I came across an oven recipe with fruit and honey. I thought to make it simpler I would skip the fruit puree part and just use applesauce. It worked out wonderfully and I had all ingredients on hand.
The only two ingredients you need are applesauce and honey. You can of course add cinnamon or other spices if you like. We chose to use strawberry applesauce because that is what the boys like the most. I have experimented with many other flavors of applesauce. There are a lot out there to choose from. I’ve also experimented with different flavors of honey. Blueberry honey is amazing with plain applesauce and cinnamon! It’s a simple recipe with many unique options. That is part of the fun. Let the kids choose their concoction and make it their own.
Here’s how to do it! In a bowl mix 2 cups of applesauce and 1/4 cup of honey. Mix it together thoroughly.
On a cookie sheet put down oven safe plastic wrap. With a spatula spread the mixture onto the plastic wrap. Making sure to get it to be about 1/8 of an inch thick. We do sometimes make ours thicker as my youngest likes it that way. It is okay to do this, but just know that it may take longer. Once it is evenly spread out, pop it in the oven at 170 degrees. Our oven does not go lower than 170. I leave the oven door open an inch or so to lower the temperature a bit. It will need to bake in there for about 3-4 hours. I know that sounds incredibly long, but if you make them in the morning, they will be ready for afternoon snacks and won’t interfere with dinner plans.
Check on the fruit as it bakes. When it is ready it will no longer be sticky to the touch. It will harden up, but still be flexible. Think of the consistency of a fruit roll up. When it is done let it cool. Once it is cool, you can peel the fruit off of the plastic. It should come off in one nice sheet. Then you can cut into squares and roll them up! Some people choose to cut the fruit into squares with the plastic still on the back and roll it up with the plastic. I am not a fan of this method and find it just as easy to roll up and unroll without the plastic. However, if packing in a lunch the plastic may help it keep better.
There you have it! I told you it was simple. When your kids are bored or say there’s nothing to eat, have them make their own snacks. Warning, they will want to make them all the time, and store-bought ones will no longer do!