After using so many of our apples to make applesauce, I started to think we had more applesauce than we could ever use. That being said, we still had boxes and more boxes of apples to use and I really didn’t like the idea of seeing any of them go to waste.  The first idea I came up with was another use for all the extra applesauce we made.

When I was a kid, my mom used to make “fruit leather”, kind of a homemade fruit roll-up.  She would cook the apples, mash them, add different flavors, and put the mixture in the food dehydrator for 10-12 hours.  Once it had cooked she would use kitchen shears and cut the leather into strips that my sisters and I could eat it as snacks.  In our house we do not have a food dehydrator, so I decided to make my own fruit leather in the oven. This is an easy recipe, but it does take some time to cook.  For me, this is a weekend recipe that I get a start on first thing in the morning because I know it takes some time to cook.

Fruit Leather:

What you will need:

6 cups of Easy Applesauce

Parchment Paper

Cookie Sheet

Optional Ingredients for Different Flavors:

Kool-Aid packet(any flavor) Mixed with Your Homemade Applesauce

Other Berries Cooked Down and Blended with Your Applesauce

First, preheat your oven to 175-200 degrees.

Then line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Spread the applesauce on the parchment paper to 1/4 inch thickness.

You’ll need to cook it in the oven for 8-10 hours(you will know the fruit leather is done when it is shiny on top).

I like to double this and put two cookie sheets in at a time. I check my fruit leather every couple of hours and I turn the cookie sheet around once or twice during the cooking time.  After it is done I slice it into 1.5 x 5 ” strips and put it in a storage container and my kids can enjoy it one strip at a time.

I usually let my kids decide on what flavors we will use.  They each pick out their favorite Kool-Aid package or another fruit and they each get to make their own flavor(the Kool-Aid is also neat because it turns the fruit leather interesting colors).