Homemade Fruit Leather… Apricot

I picked up three fresh apricots earlier in the week. While I do enjoy eating them right off the pit, I was wanting to do something a little different with these. But I only had three… so that ruled out a tart or a pie or jam. What to do… what to do?

A quick Goole search yielded a recipe for fruit leather. It required six apricots (about 2 cups), but I could make half the recipe, right? Okay… fruit leather it was.

Apricot Fruit Leather

3 Apricots (1 cup)
1/4 c Sugar (I used super fine)
1 tsp lemon juice (I used a Meyer Lemon)

1. Chop apricots and add to small saucepan with sugar and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until all the sugar dissolves.



2. Meanwhile, line a small cookie sheet with plastic wrap and pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees F (or to the lowest setting).



3. Once all the sugar is melted, pour mixture into blender and puree.



4. Pour puree onto lined cookie sheet and use a small spatula to evenly spread the mixture into a uniformly thin layer.



5. Leave in 150 degree oven for 4 to 6 hours or until leather is no longer sticky when touched. Prop the oven open with a spoon to keep the air circulating — allowing the leather to completely dry.



6. Once finished (mine took about 5 hours), lift plastic wrap out of cookie sheet and let cool. Peel leather off plastic wrap just as you would a store bought “fruit roll-up”).

The end result was delicious… though sort of small for the amount of work or time it takes to dry. I think when I make fruit leather again (and I will because it tastes just like store bought), I will make a large batch and essentially fill up my oven with mulitple cookie sheets.

And the pièce de résistance? Check it out for yourself…

Slightly tart, sweet, chewy and plump. Another keeper.