Thursday, February 16, 2012

Home Made Fruit Roll Ups:


      After making these peanut butter cups for Shahin (of TheJukeBoxGallery.net) for our anniversary, he brought up another childhood treat I always loved. Does anyone else remember Fruit By The Foot? I have very fond memories of lining the top of my mouth with these strips of fruit leather, pretending it was a retainer, and showing everyone how gross I was. I realize that this may be an unappetizing story to some, but it's a fond food memory from my childhood. Looking back, my only problem with Fruit By The Foot was that the gummy fruit strips lacked any fresh or authentic flavor. So, (of course) I decided to make my own! These fruit rolls ups do require you to stay at home near the stove or oven for quiet awhile but this recipe requires very little skill and next to no hard work. The best part? These fruit roll ups can actually be made without sugar if you have overly ripe fruit on hand, making this recipe not only utterly tasty but also extremely healthful!  


Magic Ingredients:
-1 pound fresh or frozen strawberries
-3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
-Sugar to taste (depends on the ripeness of your fruit)

Let's get started!
1: Blend hulled strawberries with the sugar and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until smooth.


2: Transfer mixture to a pot and cook on medium high heat until it boils.



3: Once the mixture has been brought to a boil lower heat to medium low and let reduce for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally in the beginning and frequently towards the end. Mixture should look something like the photo below (sorry for the mess... cooking isn't always clean):


4: Cover a cookie sheet with foil and line it with parchment and pour the berry mixture to the center of the sheet.


5: Spread the mixture to the edges of the parchment paper leaving a small border. 


6: Bake in a 200 degree oven for 3.5 hours. (I know its a long time but using your oven beats buying a dehydrator!). Remove from oven, let cool, and cut fruit leather into even strips.


7: Roll and tie the fruit strips with string:



8: Serve! 


      Store these in a plastic zip lock in your fridge for up to one week! Mine didn't last past day 2.....


Yours,
Nico



19 comments:

  1. wow this is nice
    www.mrs-ca.blogspot.com

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  2. OMG Nico! I was a huge fruit roll up and fruit by the foot fan! I remember when fruit by the foot was launched...guess you know how old i am! LOVE this and beautiful job tying them up with the bows!

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  3. What a great idea! I actually still eat fruit roll ups and fruit by the foot and I love how this is a healthier option.

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  4. wow, this is so cool! i loveeee fruit roll-ups would love to give it a try!

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  5. Hi Nico,
    Those fruit rolls look simply delicious!
    Yes I do all the headbands featured on my blog and the crochet bags as well as pins and necklaces.
    You can have a look here.

    My Etsy shop:http://www.etsy.com/shop/NatbeesFashion?ref=si_shop

    Let me know if you wanna order something and I'll send you a pair or pom pom earrings as a gift :)

    xo,
    Anastasia

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  6. These fruit rolls look delicious!
    Following!

    -Charlotte
    http://incharlottesshoes.blogspot.com/

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  7. I can't believe you made fruit roll ups!!! So creative and I bet they were delish!

    Rhe
    rhestyle.com

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  8. Mmm this look delicious!!
    Thank you for your sweet comment, and about your question: the leopard print wedges are actually very comfortable; if they are worth the investment? to me definitively yes, since I love the leopard print!!
    xxxo

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  9. Oh my word, these are great!
    Haha, I remember Fruit by the Foot. It was my favorite snack. I'm bookmarking this to make this weekend! :)

    http://www.trendyteal.blogspot.com

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  10. Nom nom nom :) I love recipes that are both delicious and amazingly looking! This looks just perfect Nico!
    I learned all my cooking and baking in France, where I was working as an au pair at the time. It´s actually quite funny, because my Mom was trying desperately to teach me something in the kitchen, and I would resist all her attempts. And then, after two months in France, I knew almost everything :) It still makes us laugh :)

    Happy Friday sweetie!

    xx Ivana

    Stop by sometimes :)
    Macarons and Pearls

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  11. Seriously you amaze me with these fun and creative treats! You are so talented! And yessss!!! Fruit by the foot!!!! I remember eating those with some koolaid koolers and I'd run around for hours :)

    XO
    www.pearlsandpaws.blogspot.com

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  12. Love these pics!!! xoxo from Rome

    www.rockandfrock.com

    Ps. Follow each other???

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  13. this is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank you for sharing!! in norway where i live they dont sell the fruit roll ups, and i loved them from my college days in canada!! this made my day!! will def make some this weekend!!!

    love K

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  14. This seems like a really good healthy alternative to the store bought ones. Therefore, I am nominating you to come to Atlanta to make these for me. I'll take a combination of lemon/strawberry.

    I would love to make these but I just know I'd mess the up.

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  15. it looks so yummy and adorable! so perfect to give to our loved ones in valentine's day!

    I'm happy to have a fantastic reader like you, have a nice day!

    Cheers, Helen
    My Random Thoughts

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  16. Amazing..so cool!! Looks great..I remember those as a child..been a long time since I since them again!! Hope you have a marvelous weekend dear Nico!! xxx

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  17. OH my gosh, these are so coooool! I can't believe you made your own! I used to love these and my kids love them now!

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  18. Not only pretty to look at, delicious too! I forwarded this blog to family and heard back from them that they plan on making these yummy fruit roll-ups often.
    I just love your blog as it combines two passions of mine, food and fashion. Keep up the great work please!

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  19. I use to love these! HAHAHA Never had a remote idea how to make them. LOL What can't you do Nico? hahaha
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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Positive comments are always appreciated!