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Pumpkin Leather

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The whole idea of making fruit leather out of pumpkin sounds crazy, but it tastes like pumpkin pie without the trouble of making a pie. This recipe is based off one I found in the University of Georgia’s So Easy to Preserve book.

Here are a couple tips for dehydrating and making fruit leather:

  • If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can use a low oven as a substitute. This is a good alternative if you aren’t ready to invest in a dehydrator.
  • If you are ready for a dehydrator, they range from $35 for the round Nesco brand that you find at places like Farm & Fleet. Middle of the road dehydrators cost about $125, such as the L’Equip Filter Pro that I carry and use. High end dehydrators include the 9 tray Exclaiburs that cost around $250. Things to look for include temperature control, timing, number of trays that can be stacked, air flow, and noise. My first dehydrator was the Nesco brand, and I found it to be very noisy and I didn’t like that I couldn’t set the temperature. I’m happy with the Filter Pro that I have now. I haven’t upgraded to an Exclaibur because I don’t have the space for it and also because I honestly don’t use a dehydrator that often.
  • When making fruit leather, I like to spread the puree about 1/8 inch thick on a parchment that I’ve laid in the dehydrator tray. Someday, I plan to cut some silicon sheets to fit as a replacement for the parchment, but in the meantime, parchment makes it easy to pull the finished leather off.
  • For more tips, check out the University of Georgias’ fact sheet. This is taken from So Easy to Preserve.
Pumpkin Leather
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Pumpkin leather ends up tasting like pumpkin pie. It’s a little weird, but also kind of a fun treat!
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of pureed pumpkin (either cooked homemade or from a can)
  • 1/4 cup of applesauce
  • 1/4 cup of honey
  • 1/2 t cinnamon
  • 1/8 t ground cloves (or less, to taste)
  • 1/8 t ground nutmeg
Instructions
  1. Combine all the ingredients. Spread onto parchment or fruit leather trays in your dehydrator. Dehydrate at 140 degrees for about 10-12 hours until the top is dry to the touch (not sticky). Add time as necessary. This will make about four 4 by 6 inch fruit leathers.

 

Easy Homemade Fruit Leather

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Fruit leathers are homemade fruit rolls and they are very popular in our house. I love them because they are a great way to use up leftover fruit, don’t contain any added sugar, and the kids gobble them up.

You’ll need a couple special kitchen tools for this recipe. The first is a blender. I use my immersion blender to keep the clean up simple, but any good blender will do.

This batch of fruit includes blueberries and mangos.

The second tool is a dehydrator. A decent dehydrator runs about $100 and can be used for other preservation projects. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can try to do these on a very low oven – they will take about 18 hours in an oven. You can also dry them in the hot sun – it will take about 1 to 2 days to dry in the sun.

Fruit leathers ready to go in the dehydrator.

For the diabetics out there, make these without added sugar and they should contain the amount of fruit allowed for a fruit exchange.

This recipe is written for 2 cups of fruit, but it can be multiplied to accommodate as much fruit and drying space as you have.

Enjoy!

Easy Homemade Fruit Leathers
Recipe Type: snack
Author: Andrea
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 13″ x 15″ leather
These homemade fruit roll-ups are a great way to use up extra fruit that isn’t getting eaten quick enough. They are also an awesome low-sugar snack.
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of any combination of ripe or slightly overripe fruit – blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, banana, kiwi, mango
  • 1/4 cup of applesauce (optional, to help thicken the fruit)
  • 2 t of lemon juice or 1/8 t ascorbic acid for light colored fruit to prevent darkening (optional)
  • 1-2 T of honey, to taste (optional)
Instructions
  1. Prepare dehydrator trays by lining them with parchment paper over the surface of the tray. I cut out the center hole on my paper to help it fit better. Edges of the parchment paper can be folded up at the edge of the tray. Depending on the size of your dehydrator trays, you will need one or two trays for 2 cups of fruit.
  2. Wash fruit or berries in cool water. Remove peel, seeds, and stems.
  3. Using a blender or immersion blender, puree the fruit.
  4. The pureed fruit should be slightly thick so that it doesn’t run apart when poured onto the dehydrator trays. If it seems too runny, add a little applesauce to thicken it up. The applesauce will also help decrease tartness and make the leather smoother and more pliable. If the fruit seems to thick, add liquid, such as orange or apple juice, to thicken.
  5. Taste and add honey, if needed. I rarely add any honey at all.
  6. Pour the pureed fruit mixture onto the prepared tray. Avoid the edges of the tray. Spread it out to about 1/8 inch thick. Thicker spreads will take longer to dehydrate. Spread into any shape you like. I usually do about 2″ x 8″ rectangles. Larger shapes can be cut smaller later, but will take longer to dry.
  7. Dry the leather at 140 degrees F. The leather will dry from the edges to the center.
  8. After about 4 hours, test for dryness by touching the center of the leather – your finger should not leave an indent.
  9. While warm, you can peel from the parchment and roll. Allow to cool and rewrap in plastic. I usually let mine cool flat and then bag it and freeze.
  10. The leather usually will get eaten pretty quickly. But it will last about a month at room temp or it can be frozen up to a year.
Notes
This recipe can be multiplied based on how much fruit and dehydrating space you have.