Homemade Fruit By The Foot
We took a road trip last week and as I was packing up snacks to keep my little guy busy during the drive, I realized that I had a few containers of berries that needed to be eaten before we left. My son loves fruit leathers and I usually just spring for the expensive organic ones at the store, but they usually have added sugar. I’d been wanting to make them from home in my dehydrator for quite some time but just never got around to it, so this seemed like the perfect occasion.
Of course, we had to do a taste test to make sure they would satisfy him on our trip. I’m always so relieved and excited when Asher eats the things I make. He’s my biggest critic, aside from my husband!
| Ingredients
4 cups mixed berries (I used raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries)
*If using frozen berries, omit the apple juice and substitute 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce |
Directions
Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Simmer for 20 minutes, until the berries have popped and some of the liquid has evaporated.
Pour the mixture into a blender, then carefully blend until smooth.
Line 2 rimmed baking trays with a SilPat or parchment paper, then pour half of the fruit mixture through a fine mesh sieve and onto the first tray and half onto the second. Use a spatula to lightly spread the mixture evenly across the baking sheet, to about 1/8 inch thick.
If you have a dehydrator with a fan in the back, these will only take about 3 hours on the high (150 degrees) setting. Without a fan, they’ll take about 8-10 hours on 150 degrees. I would assume that a convection oven would also take less time, but have not tried it yet.
You will know they’re done when you touch them lightly with your finger and they are no longer sticky. If the edges get a little too brittle and dry, you can brush a tiny bit of water over it and will be good as new!
If you used a SilPat, gently lift from the corner and peel off the rectangle. Lay it on a piece of parchment paper, then cut into 1 inch strips using a pizza cutter or knife. Next, use scissors to cut the parchment into strips in the same size. Roll them up and keep in an airtight container for a week. If the rolls come undone, you can secure the end with a small piece of tape.
Shared with Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays
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[...] came across this fun recipe today http://www.againstallgrain.com/2012/06/26/homemade-fruit-by-the-foot/ which is pretty much an uncle tobys fruit roll up…you know the ones…real fruit flat [...]
If you over cook (dry out) these until they become brittle you can break them up and use them as “sprinkles” on ice cream. I have a “sprinkles” recipe that I keep meaning to write-up but it is very similar to this.
aww what adorable photos! those look delicious! i used to love “fruit by the foot” — these look fabulous and healthy too!
Already making these for our trip on Thursday. Thank you!
These look so yummy and fun and much easier than other recipes I’ve seen out there. I just pinned it and plan to try it sometime over summer! Lots of Blessings, Kelly
Oh my gosh! These look like such fun treat. I must try this!
these are fantastic! i love this idea!
Great recipe Danielle! Love the no added sugar. Have not had fruit leather for years and will have to try your method. Thanks.
Just made these today. I used stevia instead of honey and used water (not juice) and they turned out great! The lowest my oven went was 170 degrees and it took about 6 hrs before they weren’t sticky. They finished just before my 2 year old went to bed and he was really enjoying them. Great recipe! Love the feeling of feeding my family good healthy food.
Would these work in a fan oven? I don’t have a dehydrator
I adore fruit leather, so would love to be able to make these! 
Can frozen berries be used? Would the amount of water/juice need to be changed since frozen berries seem to be very juicy when they thaw?
I was wondering if you have any advice for getting them poured evenly. I have had problems with this recipe and others where it was partially wet still in area of the rectangle after drying. Any advice would be much appreciated!
Can these be done in the oven? My dehydrator is an American Harvester, which is round with a whole in the center of the trays. Not exactly conducive to making fruit roll-ups. Also, do you see any reason these can’t be frozen? I’d like them to keep longer than a week.
I have notes above about doing it in the oven. I’m not sure about the freezer, but they would probably last longer on the shelf than a week. That’s just how quickly we eat them!
I can’t see the notes about the oven??
I just wanted to clarify the instructions. You put it on med-high heat and then do you reduce to simmer for the 20 mins or do you keep it at med-high and boil for the 20 mins? Can’t wait to try these and neither can my two boys!
This recipe looks great! Do you know if you can use frozen berries? If so, do I need to adjust the amount of juice? Thanks.
What’s the benefit to cooking and straining rather than just blending and dehydrating? Do they taste better/different?
It’s really just a matter of if you like the seeds or not
I used a combination of frozen strawberries, papaya and bananas along with fresh raspberries. I decided to strain the frozen fruit first since there seemed to be so much water. I then put it all in a pan w/o additional liquid and 1 T. honey. I set my convection oven to 170 and within 2 hours they were done! I just got finished rolling the fruit and let me tell you, they turned out great! Thanks for the easy, very healthy snack that I know my kids are going to love!
Excellent recipe! We live in Switzerland so fruit roll-ups/leathers are not available here.
This was my first experience making a fruit roll up by hand! I used a medley of frozen berries & 1 fresh banana sliced and 1/2 cup of no sugar fruit juice that I had on hand. I also added honey and lemon juice per the recipe. I omitted the lemon zest. After simmering 20 minutes I pureed with a hand blender and then strained to remove the tiny seeds. I baked mine in a normal electric oven at 170F for 5 hrs — I probably could have gone only 4.5 hrs. They turned out excellent and my 3 year old LOVES them!!
Thanks for the excellent recipe — this is a keeper!!
I did this today using all frozen fruit…so I didnt add any water or juice. I just was careful about not scorching my fruit before it thawed and released all the water. I used organic peaches, raspberries, and a few strawberries. Costco had organic fruit this summer and I overbought and now that its cold I’m beyond a smoothie. So anyway, I didnt cook 20 minutes..just enough to thaw and mix in my honey and lemon and zest. I pureed and put on my silicon sheets with seeds. I started out with my (adjustable temp) dehydrator on 100 thinking I’d keep my fruit raw, then realized it did come to a boil so I’d already lost any enzymes I guess. It’s a bit tart b/c I was minimal in sweeteners but it is great. i learned that if you have any thick spots, they were still gooey so I’ll check more thoroughly next time before I take the trays out. But i am soo glad to have a use for my extra fruit. Thanks Danielle! Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the feedback! I noticed a few of the same things after making them yesterday and paying more attention so I’ll add a few of those notes to the recipe.
I made strawberries and champagne “leather” years ago – quite tasty. I also leave the seeds of berries for the fiber.
Is there anything that can be used in place of the lemon? I’m allergic to citrus.
No I’m sorry. Lemons are necessary to help the fruit set and bind in the strips.