Strawberry Apple Fruit Leather

Ingredients

0 of 3 out on the counter

• 1 lb strawberries, hulled
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Wash the strawberries and cut off the green tops. Set up the dryer first. For the oven, line two rimmed half-sheet pans with parchment paper (not wax paper, it sticks). For the dehydrator, use two solid fruit-leather trays or two parchment-lined trays.
2. 2Blend the strawberries, applesauce and lemon juice until completely smooth. Pour the purée into a medium saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring often, to cook off some water so it dries faster. Let it cool 5 minutes.
3. 3Divide the purée between the two pans or trays and spread it to an even ⅛-inch layer all the way to the edges. Thin spots dry first and crack, thick spots stay sticky, so keep it level.
4. 4Oven method: set the oven to its lowest setting, 170 °F. Bake 4 to 5 hours (the 170 °F oven times in the versions we read were 3 to 4 hours for a 1 lb batch of fruit; ours is thicker). Check from 3 hours.
5. 5Dehydrator method: set the dehydrator to 140 °F. Dry 6 to 12 hours, and start checking at 6 hours. A lower setting of 125 °F works too but takes about 12 hours.
6. 6It is done when the center is dry to the touch, no longer sticky, and matte rather than shiny. Press the middle with a clean finger; no purée should come away. If it is tacky, dry 30 minutes more and check again.
7. 7Cool completely on the pan or tray; it firms up as it cools. Slide the parchment onto a board and cut the leather, parchment and all, into 6 strips with a pizza cutter or scissors.
8. 8Roll each strip in its parchment. Pack in an airtight container or bag.