I feel like it’s safe to say that all kids absolutely love fruit roll-ups, fruit leather, fruit snacks, and fruit by the foot. It’s time to find your inner child and give homemade fruit roll-ups a try. Fruit roll-ups are puréed fruit that’s spread out and dried, then rolled up to enjoy and store…kind of like the beef jerky of the fruit world. It’s perfect for using up excess peaches and preserving your peach bounty in a fun new way. This simple recipe has just three ingredients (fruit, honey, and lemon juice) and is much cheaper than the store-bought version. Plus, since you can control what goes into the purée, this homemade version skips all the added sugars and preservative and makes for a great natural, healthy snack for kids and adults alike. Try it with other fruits like strawberries or raspberries or try mixing fruits together like strawberry peach.
Makes 10-12 fruit roll-ups (depending on the size of your pan)
Ingredients
Peach Fruit Roll-ups
4 cups peaches, pitted and chopped (you can leave the skins on)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp honey
Directions
Peach Fruit Roll-ups
Preheat the oven to a low 170°F convection. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (I used an 11x17-inch baking sheet). (A convection oven will speed up the process and help dry out the purée more evenly.)
Add the chopped peaches, lemon juice, and honey to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook for about 5 minutes until the fruit has softened and released its juices.
Transfer the mixture to a blender and purée until completely smooth. Taste the mixture and add more lemon juice or honey if desired.
Pour the purée onto the baking sheet and use an offset or rubber spatula to smooth the mixture to the edges. Tap the baking sheet on the counter a few times to ensure the mixture is evenly distributed and to remove any air bubbles.
Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 5 hours (if using a convection oven). If you don’t have a convection setting, it may take 6-8 hours to completely dry out and form fruit leather. Keep checking the oven every half hour to one hour. The fruit leather is done when it is no longer wet on the surface and easily pulls away from the parchment paper.
Remove the fruit leather from the oven and let cool completely to room temperature. Gently peel the fruit leather from the pan keeping the parchment paper intact. Use a sharp knife, scissors, or pizza cutter to cut the fruit leather into 1½-inch wide strips. Then roll the strips up to make fruit roll-ups. Store in an air-tight container.