However, we have struggled so much with Kesha's weight gain (she was almost 1 kilo underweight last summer and would rather run around than eat) we have been looking for nutritious snacks that would do well for us on the go.
Our local grocery store did not offer too many wonderful options past whole fruit (which we do provide her with and she scarfs down). However, Pinterest (of course) is quite the source for ideas for such homemade delicacies.
When we visited my parents in the US back in December Kesh fell in love with these natural fruit leathers (the only ingredients were fruit pulp). I was able to find a recipe via Pinterest for something similar and decided to give making my own, homemade fruit leathers a whirl.
Here is the link to the original recipe (and yes, her fruit leathers are much prettier than mine!).
Well, let me tell you...
When you don't have a cookie sheet or a silpat (I have very basic cooking equipment people) , these do NOT turn out well. My first batch I burnt to a crisp by forgetting to leave my oven open (LEAVE YOUR OVEN OPEN PEOPLE!). The second batch I tried to make using wax paper instead of parchment paper... yes, the wax melted right to the fruit puree.
I almost gave up. Instead, I gave in and purchased a cookie sheet and a silicone baking mat. And guess what... IT WORKED!
Kesh has loved some of my combinations, and others I have had to finish off myself. But what I love about this snack is that you can use of leftover fruit and not have to throw as much away, and you can come up with your own combinations depending on what you and your little ones like!
So, here is the recipe and a few photos from my successful attempt at making my leathers. Please share your favorite combinations (or recipes if you have a different one) and enjoy!
Strawberry Orange Fruit Leathers
Ingredients:
1-1.5 cups of strawberries cut in to quarters (the quantity will depend on the size of your strawberries)
The juice from 1 medium-sized orange
Honey to taste (this will depend on how sweet your orange and strawberries are)
Step 1:
Preheat your oven to the lowest possible temperature (as you will see my oven has no numbers on the temperature gauge, so I just made sure the gas flame was as low as possible without going out)
Leave the oven slightly open (as pictured)
Step 2:
Cut up all of your strawberries and place them in a small pot (I would recommend one slightly larger than the one I used).
Step 3:
Juice one orange (removing the seeds if it has them)
Add juice to the pot with the strawberries
Step 4:
Boil the juice and strawberries until they are soft enough to puree in a blender (best to do with a top on the pot so you don't lose all of your liquid)
Step 5:
Put in blender with your honey and puree
Your puree should come out fairly thick, but it should be spreadable and free of chunks (yeah yeah I know, in the photo below mine has a chunk in it...)
Step 6:
LIGHLY OIL YOUR SILICONE BAKING MAT (do not forget to do this or your leathers will stick)
Evenly spread your puree on the mat
Step 7:
Bake for a ridiculous amount of time WITH THE OVEN DOOR OPEN!
I think mine took around 3 hours.
You can check it every hour and you will know when it is ready because it will no longer be sticky and will easily peel away from the silpat and will have no "wet" looking spots.
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| LEAVE THE OVEN DOOR SLIGHTLY OPEN!!! |
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| My finished strawberry orange leather fresh out of the oven |
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| How a finished leather should peel away from the silpat (this was my nectarine peach orange mixture... it was very good!) |
Step 8:
Let cool, rip (or cut) in to pieces and store however you would like! (I obviously opted for the every classy ziplock baggie storage method)
Step 9:
Enjoy! (ours were gone within about 24 hours)
I would love to hear your favorite fruit leather recipes, be it the fruits you combined to make leathers using this recipe or another recipe you have!
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