DIY Pear Fruit Leather
I have never made fruit leather before and was a little unsure on how to go about doing it. I saw a few recipes online where it was just fruit thrown in a blender and voila, fruit leather. I wanted to cook it down with spices and vanilla and see how it turned out. Turns out – I almost know what I’m doing. I made clean eating candy.
I would never have thought I would have been so excited to make fruit leather, it was kind of the disappointing snack your mom would buy as a kid (unless we’re talking Fruit Roll Ups – I loved those). Regardless, I wanted to use up the pears from my pear tree without making tarts (and other sugary desserts, that with the fact that I don’t can, I kind of felt like I was low on options (I’m not familiar with pears). Since I made the fruit leather I have made Pear Butter and Healthy Pear Muffins, and I may have a whole new appreciation for the fruit.
First things first, I had the monotonous task of washing, coring, and peeling. It didn’t take too long, but it’s definitely not a fun job. Prep work is always the worst part of cooking. I cut up 10-11 pears, just enough for eight cups.
Okay, now we’re getting somewhere! At this point in the process, my house began to smell amazing. I added my pears, honey, cinnamon and vanilla and cooked on medium height. After ten minutes, I came back to check on it and was surprised with how much water was in the pan (duh – the pears) so I have reduced the amount for the actual recipe below. I cooked this on the stove for about a half hour, stirring once in a while. I kept it going until there was very little liquid left over. IÂ then put it aside to cool down for a bit and then pureed it in my blender until it was a lot like a pear sauce.
This recipe made enough for a 9×13 glass Pyrex pan dish another cookie sheet. I sprayed the glass dish and the cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray and then put down parchment paper. I highly recommend doing that because otherwise, the paper will lift and not stick properly in the corners.
Divide the puree between the two dishes (this is where I made a mistake, I put more in the glass dish then the pan) and pop in the oven at 180 degrees. 180 is the lowest setting my oven will go to, I read that 140 is ideal.
Now you wait…for many many hours. Enjoy the fact that your house is smelling divine.
The fruit leather that finished first was the one I placed on the cookie sheet. This one is really thin and it was in the oven for 3 1/2 hours. I made it too thin. I didn’t want it to dry out and be super hard, so I rolled it up with the parchment paper thinking it would help. It’s almost like I know what I’m doing.
The one in the pyrex dish took a lot longer, I put it in at 1:45 and I believe it was taken out around 7. I then took a pizza cutter and sliced it up. I am well aware that it looks like turkey bacon, don’t let your eyes fool you – it’s delicious.
Homemade Pear Fruit Leather
Pear Fruit Leather
Making fruit leather is so easy, try this pear version!
Servings 12
Calories 68kcal
Ingredients
- 8 cups chopped pears peeled
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees (or the lowest setting possible).
- Place a large pan over medium high heat and add all of your ingredients. Stirring often, cook down until there is very little to no liquid.
- Let cool for a few minutes.
- Place in a blender or food processor and puree.
- Spray two casserole dishes/cookie sheets with non stick cooking spray and lay parchment paper down.
- Divide the puree between the two baking sheets and throw in the oven.
- Depending on how thin the puree is let the fruit leather bake for 3-8+ hours. It will be ready when it's dry and no longer goopy. Use your judgement.
- Run a pizza cutter through it to cut and store in an air tight container, or wrap with saran wrap.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 68kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 27IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg
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Have you ever made fruit leather before? How do you do it?
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Yum! That looks delicious and healthy! I love pears.
Love this idea. Never thought of making fruit leather, I’ll have to give this a try!
Wow, that’s really neat that you made your own pear leather! I would love to try some. That’s crazy how long it cooks in the oven, though!
I know, it’s a downfall. I wish I had a dehydrator.
OMG yummy!!! Thanks!
Pinning this baby! I can alsmost smell it your pictures are so good! I love pears this time of year. They are so ripe and healthy and great in lunches etc.
I’m really coming to love them. I REALLY like to feed them to Carter, they’re so soft and easy for him to chew.
Looks delish!! I have a bunch of pears that are needing to be used, so this might be the perfect thing! Thanks for sharing!
Give it a try and let me know what you think 🙂
Oh my gosh! This is awesome! Thanks for sharing. Going to make these for my little one!
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Love this! Thanks. I do have a dehydrator so I may adjust to see if I can get the same great outcome as you! 🙂 Merci!
I would love this especially because it’s so healthy. I’d do some berries and other fruits to.
Thanks for the recipe! I’ve already done apricot leather & love it. I was given a bunch of Asian pears so I’m gonna try that next. I use a 15×11 jelly roll pan and silicone baking mats. No stick! Every time I’ve tried paper I couldn’t get it off.