Our Little Miracles: Tasty Tuesday - Homemade Fruit Roll Ups

At work we could run a dog daycare and child daycare. There's at least one kid there 60% of the time, and often times three or four kids running around. H and B are eating almost every time we go into work, food keeps them happy, so often times kid friendly foods come up. We we're talking about homemade fruit roll ups last week, so I thought I'd give them a go. Carolyn and Kara, this one's for you.

If you search Pinterest for homemade fruit by the foot, you get lots of different pins with tons of variations on how to make these. I don't have a dehydrator, so any recipes using one were out. I also skipped any recipes that wanted me to put plastic wrap in the oven. I don't microwave plastic, why would I bake with it? After reading 4 or 5 recipes I decided to wing it using various info from each one.

I was hoping to avoid using the stove top, but after seeing the consistency of the blended puree, I did use the stove. I also didn't want to grease my silicone mats even though some recipes are adamant that you do. A few recipes call for the use of an offset spatula, which I don't own, and I was able to get by without one. I do recommend having silicone mats and a pastry brush. I know those aren't things every kitchen has, but they make this process easy. Plus, they're just amazing to have.

These are super easy to make, but a very lengthy process. At least 6 hours, maybe more. Worth it, in my opinion, for a snack that consists of just fruit. No added sugars, chemicals or dyes.

Homemade Fruit Roll Ups

Ingredients

1 pineapple

1 6oz package blueberries

1. Rinse blueberries. Peel, core and slice pineapple.

2. Put fruit in blender and purée until smooth.

3. Pour puréed fruit into a saue pan and reduce over medium heat.

Before and after

4. Pour onto silicone baking mat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Spread with on offset spatula, or tilt pan from side to side to evenly spread mixture. (I tilted the pan and had great results.)

5. Bake at 140*, or your oven's lowest setting, for 6 to 8 hours.

6. Occasionally take pan out of oven and moisten edges with a pastry brush that had been dipped in water. (Optional step)

7. Once the center is fully dry, slightly sticky but no longer mushy or wet, cut into strips using a pizza cutter or knife.

8. Roll strips onto strips of waxed paper and store in an airtight container.

Notes: I made a second batch using raspberries and nectarines. The flavor is great, but they are very seedy. If using fruits with seeds, strain mixture before pouring onto silicone mat. One recipe suggested baking them for a couple hours before bed, turning off the oven, and then letting them sit in the oven overnight. I tried that, and it didn't work. In my oven it took about 6 hours to get them fully cooked. I moistened the edges 4 or 5 times to keep them from getting too crispy. When removing the strips, as soon as I got a corner free with my nail, they peeled right off of the silicone mat, no need for greasing.

Harrison was very excited about his new treat. Then in true Harrison fashion, he shoved the whole thing in his mouth.