Homemade Fruit Leather
Posted: | Categories: Recipes | Tags:Dairy free dessert Easy dinner kid-friendly
Homemade Fruit Leather
Melissa Ben-Ishay
Sweet Recipes
If you ever find yourself with too much fruit that you know you won't eat before it goes bad, make this. I had a bunch of bananas that were way past their peak ripeness just sitting on my counter, and banana bread seemed too obvious. Enter: Fruit leather. With a candy-like flavor and leathery texture, one roll of this will bring you back to your cafeteria days of unrolling long fruit by the foot, but instead of preservatives and food coloring, you have all-natural ingredients and flavor. It's great for packing in lunches or snacking on when you want a little something sweet.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch overripe bananas (4-5)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions
- Add all the ingredients to a blender and pulse until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a pot and set over medium heat.
- Whisk occasionally as the purée heats and let it reduce by about half.
- Preheat the oven to 180°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Pour the mixture onto the parchment paper and spread evenly with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Bake for 4 hours, until the liquid has fully evaporated from the mixture and it has darkened to a light brown color. It should be sticky to the touch, but not hard.
- Remove the parchment paper from the baking sheet and cut into 1” strips.
- Roll the parchment paper up width-wise to create the banana by the foot.
