Fruit leathers are a sweet alternative to candy, but instead of getting store-bought snacks, why not try making these healthy treats at home? Kids will love chewing these flavorful fruit leathers as part of their lunch or after school snack. And while making this recipe (courtesy of My Whole Food Life), your house is going to smell like yummy spiced apples all day long.
Serving size: about 20 fruit leathers
Ingredients:
4 cups unsweetened applesauce (can also use real apple puree)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
2 T maple syrup (Optional)
Method:
1. If using an oven, preheat to the lowest setting or 135.
2. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
3. Line your baking sheets with parchment and spread the mixture out evenly and thinly.
4. Bake for about 4-6 hours (depending on how low the temp your oven will go), until tacky .
If you are using a dehydrator, line the trays with parchment. You can use the dehydrator sheets as well, but parchment is cheaper and works great. These go in a dehydrator at 135 for about 6-7 hours. Once it feels tacky, it’s pretty much done.
Have you tried making other fruit leathers? What kind of fruits did your kids love best?
This recipe comes from My Whole Food Life, a food blog founded by mom and wife Melissa. Focused on eating clean and wholesome foods, My Whole Food Life journals family meal time from breakfast to dessert. For more vegan friendly, healthy foods, check out Melissa’s blog here.
