Bennett has been asking for fruit roll-ups a lot lately. I guess they must be a popular treat at school right now, and I think they’re fine as a treat, but not something I want to feed my kids every day. I remembered I used to make homemade fruit roll-ups when the kids were younger, so I thought I should give it a try again.
In my old recipe, I used plastic wrap, but I always wondered how safe it was to put plastic wrap in the oven. I know it’s at a low temperature, but still, it seems risky, so this time I used parchment paper. I also tried Cookina reusable parchment paper, which worked like a charm.
The only thing with the reusable stuff is that you can’t cut it with the fruit roll-ups on it. With regular parchment paper, it’s nice to just cut it up and roll it up with the paper still on so it makes it easier to unroll later when you want to eat it. Without the parchment paper, it’s a bit stickier, but it does still work.
The Whine Critics all approved! Bennett enjoyed them just as much as the regular fruit roll-up, and didn’t care that they were way healthier. Cole was also pleased with them and happily packed them in his lunch. They sure didn’t last very long.
Ayla loved them, but we discovered afterwards that she’s allergic to papaya! Soon after eating them, she broke out in hives all over her body. I wasn’t completely sure if it was the papaya or something else, but it was the only thing I could think of that she’s never had before. The next day I packed one in her lunch without thinking, and sure enough, when I picked her up from daycare she had hives again. Poor thing! No more papaya for her!
Since then, I’ve tried it with kiwi, strawberry and mango, and that turned out delicious as well. Because kiwis have a lot of seeds in them, I strained the blended mixture through a sieve before pouring it onto a baking sheet to get rid of the seeds. Depending on what fruit you use or how you feel about seeds in your fruit leather, you may or may not want to do this step. This is a great recipe to experiment with. Try different fruit combinations to find what you like best, and please let me know if you come up with a particularly tasty combo – I’d love to hear about it!
Ingredients
- 3 cups mango, peeled and cubed
- 3 cups strawberry, greens removed
- 3 cups papaya, peeled and cubed
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender, and blend until smooth.
- Pour out the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 170F for about 5 hours, until the surface is no longer tacky.
- Let cool, and cut into strips.
- Roll up the strips and secure the rolls with tape, plastic wrap, or string.
- Store in an airtight container.
https://foodwhine.com/2017/05/papaya-mango-strawberry-fruit-roll-ups.html