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The kids go crazy for this apricot fruit leather. I used to buy fruit roll ups and fruit leather all the time but you won’t even believe how much better this tastes than store-bought!
There are only TWO INGREDIENTS, way less sugar, zero preservatives and 100% real fruit which has great natural fiber. If you have a large crop of stone fruit like apricots, peaches or plums, by golly you had better make this! I don’t usually say by golly but it is fun to say, “by golly!” 😉 The adults love fruit leather as well. It’s a wonderful snack and a great way to preserve a bumper crop of fruit.
Great news!…You can either dry your fruit leather out in the oven or in the sunshine. The sunshine method is my favorite because you can make a whole bunch at once without heating your oven in summer.
Ingredients for Apricot Fruit Leather:
5 lbs ripe sweet apricots
1/2 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
How To Make Apricot Fruit Leather:
1. Rinse apricots, cut in half and discard pits. Place on a large baking sheet cut-side-up and bake at 400˚F for 15 minutes (it’s ok to crowd the fruit snuggly in a smaller pan, just keep them in a single layer). Remove from oven and let cool until just warm enough to handle.
2. Transfer to a blender or food processor and process until a smooth puree (process in 2 or 3 batches if needed).
3. Pour puree into a large mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup sugar, or to taste and stir until sugar is incorporated.
There are 2 ways to dry these out:
1. How to Make Fruit Leather with Sunshine (my favorite way):
Spread puree between 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick on a large parchment sheet or plastic wrap covered baking sheet, extending the paper slightly past the rim. This recipe fills 3 large baking sheets. Set in the sunshine until no longer sticky when you poke the centers. If it sticks to the paper, let it dry longer. It can fully dry out in 1 day if it’s hot out or 2 days if warm and sunny (store indoors uncovered overnight).
Note: if you want to make big batches, you can lay out large strips of parchment paper on a portable surface and just put the puree directly on the paper without needing baking sheets. We literally used 40 lbs of apricots for fruit leather this year.
2. How to Make Fruit Leather in the Oven:
Spread puree on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place baking sheets in a preheated oven at 200˚F for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours, depending on how thick you spread it. It’s done when it no longer sticks to your fingers when you poke the center. Note: do not place in the oven while it’s preheating or it can burn.
We slice fruit leather into strips with the backing attached and make fruit roll ups. Store at room temperature in a large ziploc or foodsaver bags.
How to Make Apricot Fruit Leather
Ingredients
- 5 lbs ripe sweet apricots
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
Instructions
How To Make Apricot Fruit Leather:
- Rinse apricots, cut in half and discard pits. Place on a large baking sheet cut-side-up and bake at 400˚F for 15 min (it's ok to crowd the fruit in a smaller pan). Remove from oven and let cool until just warm enough to handle.
- Transfer to blender or food processor in batches and process until a smooth puree.
- Pour puree into a large mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup sugar, or to taste and stir until sugar is incorporated.
How to Dry Fruit Leather with Sunshine (my favorite way):
- Spread puree between 1/8" to 1/4" thick on a large parchment paper or plastic wrap covered baking sheet, extending the paper slightly past the rim. This recipe fills 3 large baking sheets. Set in the sunshine until no longer sticky when you poke the centers. It can fully dry out in 1 day if it's hot out or 2 days if warm and sunny (store indoors uncovered overnight).
How to Make Fruit Leather in the Oven:
- Spread puree on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place baking sheets in a preheated oven at 200˚F for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours, depending on how thick you spread it. It's done when it no longer sticks to your fingers when you poke the center. Once at room temp, roll and store at room temperature in large ziploc or foodsaver bags.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
It’s so sweet how much my kids LOVE this apricot fruit leather! I hope you try your hand at this fruit leather. It’s so easy and you can give the kiddos in your life a sweet surprise :).
I just made a double batch and poured it over parchment paper it was 7 feet long. I dried it in the sun and it took two days. I have two questions. How did you keep the leather covered from bugs and flies? Next question when you roll them up how do you get them to stay tight? They just want to open back up and tape will not stick to them so I’m hoping you have a solution to keeping them rolled up tight. Thank you
Wow 7 feet – that’s awesome! We took the fruit leather inside the garage overnight and then brought it back out into the sun the next day. If you’re curious, we also kept it uncovered outside and in the garage and didn’t have any issues with bugs.
Natasha,
I’ve never had the sticking problem as many reviews mention. Although it’s not mentioned in the instructions after drying in the 400° oven I change out the parchment paper bc it’s so wet from the 15 min drying process. And I dry off the tray from any residual moisture. Then replace with new parchment. Maybe that’s why ppl have had so many problems????
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Cindy!
I’ve made this recipe any time I can get my hands on tree ripened apricots. It’s so delicious! Plus you can control the amount of sugar you want in your leather strips. My grandson hours crazy for this stuff.
Hi Cindy! Thank you for sharing that!